Bespoke Post, $45/month, lifestyle box for me
Promo: Use BOX20 to save 20% off your first box or get a Groupon starting at $29 for one-month
I paid: $21 (by buying a 3-month subscription in Groupon with a discount promo)
Box retail value: $72
Enjoyment Factor: ☁
Canceling subscription: Painless, by sending an e-mail
Bespoke Post is a lifestyle subscription box for men. They offer a variety of boxes and add more every month. Each month, subscribers can choose between the default box of the month, and whichever other boxes are still available in their catalog. Subscribers can also skip that month and not be charged. Each box has a theme and includes two to several items around it.
I got a groupon that gave me credit for 3 boxes. When I signed up I could choose among the boxes they had available then or wait until new boxes were added. I wanted to have a box in hand to give to my husband for his birthday (I never give him anything, so this was an improvement), and none of the ones available were too appealing. I finally went with the Frontier box, because I thought he could at least make use of the products included.
While none of the products in this box were super exciting, he will probably put them to use. The box was also a great value – with a retail value of $71-90. This is what it came with:
Opinel No. 8 Folding Knife, $15
I was never a boy scout, much less Tom Sawyer, but when I look at this knife I get the image of a young boy, in the American frontier, carving something with a knife just like this one. Yes, I read too many books, watched too many westerns and practically grew up on Little House on the Prairie. I don’t think my husband thought this knife was as cool as I did. Indeed, he spent more time looking at the bottle opener below. But I really could see myself using this to, well cut something. Probably my finger. That’s why I didn’t fight him for it.
Machine Era Co. The Godwin Bottle Opener, $38 (on sale for $19)
My husband has absolutely no use for a bottle opener, but I think he really liked this. Probably because it had a whale, or it was so heavy. Maybe he was thinking what mischief he could do with it. My bet is that he’s lost it already.
Kaweco Black Sport Fountain Pen and carthridges, $28
My husband loves fountain pens so I figured this item, at least, would look like I had put some thought into his birthday present. Alas, it’s the tackiest fountain pen I’ve ever held. It’s made out of thin, cheap plastic, and the metal band just comes off. It’s also super short (just like you see it) and sort of fat with the cap on.
Now, it may very well be that this is a great fountain pen. But it looks and feels so cheap! It really awoke my inner snob.
Bespoke Post Black Soft Cover Notebook, $10
This is just a notebook. I don’t know that my husband uses these any more, but now he has one if he needs it.