So I’m thinking, “Hey, that guy he’s fighting looks familiar…” That was Sir Gunther Kegslayer, from Northshield, right? Sometimes I really miss Pennsic…
My Lowden O32. I’m sure I’ve played better guitars, but it takes me a while to fall in love. It always makes me smile.
I am also very fond of my music stand from Mr Standman .
For cooking, my 8" Deglon chef’s knife is pretty sweet.
In woodworking (relative newbie) the best equipment I have is a set of Hirsch Firmer chisels. But I have the most fun with my Dozuki saw. 
Angling afficianado checking in…
For regular equipment, nothing but G.Loomis GLX rods and Shimano reels… the best single spinning combo we have is a GLX 822 paired with a Shimano Stella Spinning reel… pair that up with a good quality FloroCarbon line and you can feel the shad fart on your bait. For BaitCasting equipment, the GLX 854 with a Shimano Chronarch MG is about the best there is out there right now.
Electronics wise, We have the Humminbird 987 “Side Finder”… its new technology that allows you to get an almost picture like view of the bottom to the sides of the boat.
I probably need to start a thread to see if there are any other fisherdopes out there that even care about this stuff.
Addi Turbo Needles.
Worth every penny.
Sir Gunther – sounds right. That was an all-polearm tourney, bear-pit style; good fun and games. Don’t know if I’ll ever go back to Pennsic; sleeping in a tent for a week seems like more of a hassle than it once did.
My main hobbies don’t require all that much equipment, so I’ll have to say my laser pointer for checking line of sight in tabletop wargames. I love the thing.
I have to add a ball winder to my list too. I bought one off of Ebay and within the first hour of getting it set up wound five skeins of yarn…because I could.
I build free flight model planes as a hobby, my best tool is a small utility knife and sandpaper. 
Appart from that I have a crush for my Proxxon mini-drill, it´s at least 8 years old and still can beat the crap out of any drill I´ve seen (link )
I’ve a few hobbies to mention…
As a Stength-Athlete, I’ve found that my Sport-Kilt is probably my best piece of equipment; especially when competing against amateurs. In a team tug-of-war recently, the captain of the opposing team made the comment “We’re not gonna let a guy in a SKIRT pull us down!”
They were wrong.
As a drummer, I have a mid 1960’s Rogers drum kit. Still sounds fabulous.
As a Magician (when I was a teenager), nothing, but nothing could beat the feel of Bicycle brand poker cards. AB-SO-LUTELY the right size and shape for my hands. Never once have I opened a deck that had a flaw. Perfectly workable for me the moment I broke the seal.
Any particular brands? Unless I got one for Christmas (unlikely!) I’ll be in the market for one in January. I’m sick of winding by hand when I could be knitting!
More knitting: my Knitpicks bag set that the husband got me for my birthday. I just got them, but they’re amazing. High quality, especially for the price, and really versatile. They hold a ton of notions, and the zippers are nice and smooth, so they don’t snag the yarn.
Let’s see.
For golf, I really like my TourEdge 410cc Bazooka driver, and 36" Ping Piper putter - tho many other folks would consider them nothing special.
For aquaria, I really like Hydor in-line heaters - allow you to get another piece of equipment out of the tank.
For martial arts, the best piece of “equipment” were some of my many training partners.
For gardening, my fave tool is a round pointed shovel with a long straight handle. Bought a Craftsman maybe 20 years ago and am on my 4th or 5th replacement. The last one they gave me has a fiberglass handle. I’m not quite sure how I’m gonna break it, but I’ll figure out a way. Gotta love a lifetime guarantee! 
The interconnected constellation of GPS satellites and its earthly control system.
This setup might be the single biggest, fanciest, most expensive thing ever conceived as a project and an entity working as an integrated whole, and it is a study in complex elegance.
I survey ruins for a hobby.
Though, I do have to share the GPS system…
I knit, too, and I have to support the Addi Turbos. I have one Addi Turbo circular needle – US size 1, for lace. That thing is like butter. Handles smoothly, but the stitches stay where they’re supposed to. Even the metal cord (my needles are that old school) isn’t a problem. I wish I had an entire suite of Addis.
I also sew, and my favorite machine is the one I used at the costume shop at school, some sort of Brother that was well-maintained and had this miraculous drawer for that held all the feet, a pair of embroidery scissors, and three seam rippers. It spun bobbins like a dream, and was very quiet for a portable. It convinced me to upgrade to a Brother some day.
The best fabric I ever used was a magenta silk faille taffeta that I ordered from Fashion Fabrics Club. Beautiful luster, gorgeous hand and drape, doesn’t fray . . . so amazing. I made an 1860s ball gown out of it, and it was so heavy that I didn’t have to interline the bodice or line the skirt. If I could only work with one fabric for the rest of my life, it would be silk faille taffeta.
AFAIK, the only ball winder out there is Royal. The one I picked up on Ebay was/is about 30 years old and it looks exactly the same as the ones in the catalog.
Purl and other knitters, here is a seller on Ebay that I’ve bought all my addi’s from. Great great prices. Shipping is a bit slow from overseas, but who really cares when you can get such a savings?
As a chess player, it was great to be asked to test one of the first ever endgame tablebases* (two bishops v knight).
Yes it beat me. That’s its function.
*
- generate all legal positions of King + two Bishops v King and Knight
- extract all mates in one
- extract all positions leading to mate in one
- extract all positions leading to the above
- repeat until all positions classified
- create database so any position can be classified as ‘mate in n’ or ‘draw’
- find carbon-based life-form and challenge them