I’ll start. I have recently gotten into 3D printing, and, while incredibly frustrating sometimes, there’s nothing more rewarding than getting a perfect print.
I am a geologist that also has a lifelong interest in anomalous natural phenomena and paranormal claims. So I do a website called Spooky Geology. I think I can count the number of people who can do this on one hand. Like me and one other person I know of. So, that seems very niche. I also have a community here for weird news. [email protected]
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: [email protected]
Not sure if it’s niche: Bouldering. It’s such a great sport and comes really natural to us, like running or swimming. It provides a full body workout without feeling like a workout. It makes you quite strong without feeling like repetitive or dull. The community is very nice and positive.
I heard that you do races as well, although that was from my very unreliable friend, so it’s probably all just balderdash
Yeah that’s pretty much balderdash (like that word). Never did a bouldering race before or seen one, and I’ve been doing this sport since 7 years.
But there’s speed climbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZ5RiaMFYI
Most climbers belittle it, but it’s really entertaining to watch.
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It’s pretty popular among my fellow students here, but I’d agree that it may be pretty niche overall.
I want to start working out again without going to a Gym. There is a climbing Gym close to where I live and I need to check it out. How did you start do you recommend taking classes? Any gear I need to buy?
For bouldering all you need is a pair of shoes and a chalk-bucket! :) if there is an intro class, I would definitely recommend that, otherwise just bring some friends and have fun!
The main equipment you’ll need are shoes and a harness. But most gyms will let you rent those for you to try out the sport.
You don’t really need to take classes to start. The gym staff will tell you the initial info you need to go, then just get started by climbing some easy top rope routes or basic boulders to get a feel for it!
Hobby board games. There are thousands of board games out there and enough variety there’s something for everyone. The games I’m usually into are called Euro style board games since they originated in Europe.
Euro style games are mostly high skill games with little luck similar to chess, but have varied starting positions to make them more interesting. They typically play with up to 4 players or more which adds a good bit of complexity. They’re a good way to sit around, talk, drink, and have a fun time away from computer/phone/TV screens.
I’ve also gotten really into mahjong specifically over the past year. I’ve played over a thousand games and still learning. I mostly have to play that one over an app, but it’s a fun break during the work day. I’m able to play occasionally in person, but there’s a pretty steep learning curve which makes it hard to convince people to play. I’m always trying to get more people into it though.
Gunpla. It’s literally assembling Gundam (Japanese transformers) models. Modern gunpla kits are very cool with what they can do. This can be a pricey hobby if you get really into it (painting, air spraying, even 3d printing) but it can also be a $20 a month hobby. It all depends on how far you want to take it and what aspects you enjoy.
I got into this recently. Seeing that there were Evangelion kits helped too. Blows my mind how intricate it is. It’s so relaxing.
Recently got a fountain pen and have been practicing my handwriting with it. Oddly meditative and relaxing
How did you find out about it?
For me it started with r/pens, which led to r/fountainpens.
One of my vices is buying things, and I excessively research almost everything I buy. So one stressful day I realized I needed more pencil lead, and ended up researching mechanical pencils for like 5 hours. In that process I kept going through a thought loop of “I rarely even use a pencil, why would I buy a nice one? I guess I could use it for drawing. But I already have drawing pencils. I should probably just get a pen. But then I’d spend another 5 hours shopping for pens and I need to stop wasting time. So I’ll just get lead. But pencils are cheap, just buy one”
Then after I bought a pencil, I got a YouTube recommendation for a video on fountain pens because Google is creepy, and then I watched it. Pretty much downhill from there
And it is quite a hill! Pens, nib grinds, inks, papers and notebooks, cleaning/maintenance, penmanship! I feel like Pooh hitting the honey jackpot. It really is a delight writing without applying pressure.
I badly want a Montblanc Agatha Christie fountain pen, but they are a bit pricey.
Lol I hope I never get to the point I buy a pen that expensive o.o
I play the flute in the marching/concert band of my small town (we are all amateurs).
Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned already but Mechanical Keyboards. I’ll spend hours scrolling for different builds. There’s also something therapeutic about spending hours lubing and soldering switches.
I do nearly all my clothes shopping at second hand stores. I love finding just the right items to make up great outfits to go out in. It can sometimes take months to piece together an outfit, though I do also mix and match things. It doesn’t matter to me how long it takes; I enjoy shopping around, I enjoy a bargain, and I enjoy the challenge and reward of making my own great outfits at a tiny cost.
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More of crime than a hobby.
Still, it’s niche as far as I know.
I like buying LEGO minifigures and then designing/building biomes for them to inhabit. I use BrickLink Studio to design the builds and then upload my parts list to BrickLink to get used bricks to build them. I also post them on Rebrickable for free, but I’ve fallen behind and need to post more on there.
Here are a few that I’ve built.
Hey that’s pretty sweet man. Has some diorama feel to it.
Home server take an old pc setup with a load of old harddrives noodle about with all the self hosting apps.
I have a fascination with VFDs/VVVFs/frequency inverters. They are the controllers that gives of a specific hum/whine from electric trains/cars and from other 3 phase electric motors.
I’m making my own sudo-vvvf at home. I just think they sound awesome and are Hella cool
https://youtu.be/-SDYdHzT7Qw (sound starts at 0:13)
That’s really dope!! I’ve heard about this a few times. So you have a good video or site you could recommend that explains for layman why they do that?
I can suggest simply looking around YouTube. That way you can get a sense of how they work and what kind you’d like to know more about. I happen to have practical experience with the, because I used to work on trains that had some giant versions
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Oh neat!
Role-playing games. It might hit close to mainstream now - those tv series and movies where they appear directly or indirectly, certainly made the hobby more famous - but as an actual hobby, it’s still a niche thing.
I think they should be part of educational program, globally.
Like DnD? Or what role-playing games?
Tabletop role-playing games in general. D&D and Pathfinder are now the most widely recognized and played ones, but there’s whole library of alternatives. Thousands of games out there, catering to different needs, offering different experience, set in different worlds and offering different choices.
For example, there’s BLUE PLANET in production - a SF/cyberpunk/environmentalist game in production, taking place on a distant planet covered mostly by water. In terms of the setting, it’s antithesis to DUNE, or very old, but stil amazing DARKSUN but the undertones are similar - people fighting against greed that ruins their world.
Whatever idea you have, zombie apocalypse, kids saving the world, people investigating Lovecraftian horror, spaceships, weird west world, clash of fantasy kingdoms - there’s a game for that.
I second with Vampire: The Masquerade, The Dark Eye, Shadowrun and StarWars RPG in my family. Teach your kids to play and they will never have time or money to waste on drugs. ;)
A man after my own heart!
By the way, do you know “Star Wars: REUP” edition?
No, sorry. We are playing Age of Rebellion rules during the Old Republic, because the children wanted to be Jedi.
Parkour! I’ve been practising the sport in one way, shape or form for over half my life now!
Am I any good? No, probably not - but it’s still a lot of fun to explore the world in a new way
I’m a big fan of amateur radio, specifically portable operation, and Parks on the Air.
I’ll take my radio out to a remote location, throw an antenna up into some trees, and talk to people all over the US.
Currently I need mains power, but I’m looking to buy a battery soon, and I already have some solar panels gifted from a club member.
I live in Michigan, and last time I was out, my most distant contacts were in Dallas, Texas, around 1100 miles away, while I was sitting at a picnic table at my local state park campground.
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