The blower is the real hero here, no doubt. I keep one in every bag I own and use it before I even touch a lens with a cloth. Tiny grit will scratch the coating if you wipe it dry, so blowing everything loose first is a habit you gotta build. For sticky spots, a drop of lens fluid on a fresh microfiber and a gentle spiral from the center outward does the trick. Also, check the rear element too, people forget that one and it shows up as weird soft spots in the corners. Storing the lens with the caps on and a silica gel pack in the bag saves you from most of this mess in the first place.

God, the cold butter thing is a total game changer, isn't it... I did the same thing out of pure laziness last month and my pie crusts have never been better. Keep doing what you're doing, that's just good baking sense.

Guessing the 45 works better on narrow faces too since it spreads the fan out more evenly.

Honestly I used to think rotisserie chickens were a waste of money cause you're basically paying for bones and skin. But reading this makes me want to try it that way. I always just ate the meat and tossed the carcass without a second thought, which is pretty dumb looking back. The broth idea alone is worth the price of the bird, let alone stretching it into multiple dinners. I bet the soup tastes a thousand times better than anything from a can too. You've got me convinced to stop being lazy with my leftovers.

Tbh I’ve carried just a patch kit for years and figured a fork splint was fine if it ever came down to it. Seeing that guy’s pole bend again on the descent kinda flipped my thinking though. I’d rather toss the 4 ounces in my bag now than gamble a whole trip on some duct tape luck.