BIFL: Buy it for Life (the Good Stuff General) - or, Anti-Consumerist Consumerism

[Cat Hyde Boots]

Thread inspired by @Null's Xitter's post asking for "Buy It Forever" goods.

Promote brands, products, etc. that are among the best in their industry. "Best" is defined by the value the item has.

Value is (price - money made)/years used. For example, a jacket you bought for $200, sold for $120 after 12 years of wearing it has a high value because it only costed you $6.67 per year.

 

[Cat Hyde Boots]

I'll begin with what I know best

Hand tools

• Klein Tools
• Knipex
• Wiha
• Wera
• Midwest
• PB Swiss
• Mac Tools
• SK

Mechanics simp for Snap-On but it is extremely expensive for no real benefit. It is the Gucci of hand tools.

Big Appliances

• Speed Queen washers and dryers
• GE and LG make great range stoves. A convection setting is essential.
• Basic, American made fridges and freezers are the best. They still suck though. Sub Zero is my favorite but they're expensive.
• Bosch is the only brand I'd consider for the dishwasher. Miele is as reliable but much more expensive.
• For your mechanic room appliances (furnaces, AC, boilers, water heaters), the brand matters much less than the guys who are installing and maintaining it. Vet your HVAC and Plumbing companies. Also, if you have a tank water heater, replace the anode rod with an electric one. They're made by corro-protec and have a 20 year warranty. They greatly extend the life of your water heater.
• Mitsubishi make the best mini splits AC systems but mini splits suck in terms of reliability. Expect only 4-6 years out of them.
• Technology Connections has no idea what he is talking about with heat pumps. They have horrible reliability which makes them more expensive than natural gas furnaces in the long run. Maybe they are worth it if you live in Florida and only have resistive heat currently or something.

Furniture

• Never buy new.
• 1stDibs, Chairish, and eBay are your best bets.
• Flea markets and antique stores can also be good, albeit less reliably.
• Ikea is dogshit. If you need cheap furniture, buy it from Amazon. It will be about equal.
• La-Z-Boy is acceptable to buy for your sofa. Sofas that fit what you're going for can be hard to source use d and La-Z-Boys are built like a tank. Still, they lack resale value.

Kitchen Tools

• Go to your restaurant supply store. The stuff offered there will be cheap, easy to replace, and reliable.
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• CuisineArt Food Processor
• Vitamix Stand Mixer
• Crockpot Pressure Cooker
• Vintage cast iron. Unmarked vintage cast iron is likelg Wagner but due to the lack of s Wagner stamp, it is much cheaper. Stargazer (unseasoned) is the best new cast iron that cooks like a vintage pan. A new Lodge is still better than a teflon pan but you can easily get better.
• Le Creuset for enameled cast iron
• Your local cabinetmaker is the best guy to buy cutting boards from.
• Cotton kitchen towels are better than paper towels for everything.

 

[Bloitzhole]

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Le Creuset for enameled cast iron

Both of these brands quality has deteriorated over the past 2 decades and seem to survive largely based on reputation or design. Kitchenaid Stand Mixers in particular, if you regularly do bigger dough batches for, say, pizza, will not last like they are supposed to. Le Creuset Enamel is not as hardy as their reputation, and price, would suggest.

Kenwood and Pyrex will do just fine, I'd wager better in case of Kenwood, at a lower price.

Bosch is the only brand I'd consider for the dishwasher.

Bosch, Siemens, Neff and other German associated brands all use identical parts for their dishwashers (if you have ever had reason to replace something you will find every part fits a dozen different brands) and have done so for ages. Thus if you really want German, they are largely interchangeable and reliability is no different between them.

Note that well seasoned cast iron will still not be able to withstand boiling acidic foods for long in them without stripping some of the built up coating.
It's good to have options, so add some stainless steel pans for when you need to move the pan around a lot, which isn't fun with cast iron.

It's perfectly fine to have a modern non-stick pan for pancakes or throwing together pasta and sauce that gets replaced once a decade (assuming you use it often but dont scratch it up with metal tools).

-----

Invest in one good workhorse kitchen knife and learn to maintain it with whetstones. If you want a good overall steel that is affordable, buy VG10 and a 1000 stone. Sharpen once every 3 month if you cook daily and you'll be fine for life. Tojiro knives are cheap and use perfectly good VG10 but may not be well sharpened out of the factory - if you can learn to do it yourself, as you should, they're a bargain.

If you are willing to clean and dry your knife immediately after use, Aogami Super ("Blue Steel" manufactured by Hitachi) can be hardened to absurdly high HRC and takes and maintains a wonderfully sharp edge but will rust if you do not give it a wipedown after use.

 

[Cat Hyde Boots]

Both of these brands quality has deteriorated over the past 2 decades and seem to survive largely based on reputation or design.

Ah. My perception was built by my used units. Various 1960s-80s-era Le Creuset pieces from my grandparents have served me well. The move definetly to buy used then.

Now, with KitchenAids, the biggest thing with them is that they need regular service. Back when I did a lot of chiller maintaince, I developed a little side hustle where I would clean then regrease their stand mixers. It is rather easy.

I've only seen KitchenAid in commercial kitchens. Perhaps their commercial line is better? Anyways, I decided to look at the alternatives and America's Test Kitchen recommends Ankarsum. They're all 7.3 quarts and costs $750 before attachments (near the same as a commercial KitchenAid of a similar capacity). They come with a 7 year warranty too and apparently their warranty department is better than KitchenAid's.

Bosch, Siemens, Neff and other German associated brands all use identical parts for their dishwashers

That's good and all for you Europeans but we in Burgerland have to import Siemens and Neff if we really want them for some reason. Bosch is really the only one widely avaliable over here before you get into the luxury appliance realm with Miele, Thermador, etc. At this point, they have no functional difference with a Bosch 800 series except for the price.

Note that well seasoned cast iron will still not be able to withstand boiling acidic foods for long in them without stripping some of the built up coating.

Using stainless steel pans should go without saying alongside cast iron. Now, I should mention that your cast iron can still withstand acidic foods very well. Just don't use it to make a long boiling tomato sauce or something. Remember, the seasoning is carbonized, bonded to the iron elements and those bonds are best broken with basic solutions, not acidic ones.

Also, modern teflon pans are mogged by carbon steel, to the point where the non-stick pan is reduced down to a unitool you use for one or two recipes.

 

[Angry Shoes]

I'll repost my response from the MATI thread. Truggs.

People act like Toyota trucks are the pinnacle of reliability. And the reputation isn't exactly unearned. But older ones tend to have an issue with rust. It's kinda sad how many older Tundras you see that still have a lot of life left in the mechanicals being completely eaten away by body rot. Proceed with caution. The 2nd generation Tacomas are generally bulletproof though, they didn't really have the rust problems of the first generation Tacomas or the early Tundras.
Nissan gets a lot of flack for selling cheap cars to people with awful credit scores, but their Frontier trucks have always been very reliable once they worked out some early-model issues. After around 2010 they were on-par with Tacomas in terms of reliability. They also made this exact truck, almost unchanged, for about 15 years straight so parts are abundant. I don't know much about the Titan full-size but I'd assume it would be more of the same.
Older Chevy Silverados and S10s (also their GMC counterparts, the Sierra and the Sonoma) are much like the Tundras: if you can find a rust-free example it will outlive you, but unless you're moving to a state that doesn't use road salt they are few and far between. The 350 small block (common in the Silverado/Sierra) is a proven old engine with tons of available parts if/when things start to go wrong. Same applies to the 4.3 Vortec in the smaller trucks, it's essentially a 350 with two cylinders removed.
Fords seem to have lest rust/rot issues than older Chevys and GMCs. Avoid the 5.4L 3-valve Triton that was common in F-150s though. The 302 is a very popular engine much like the Chevy 350 with the same benefits, albeit with less displacement. The 4-cylinder Rangers are known for being very efficient and reliable for small trucks, and their V6 options are known for being much more thirsty but not much more powerful.
lol Dodge

Overall if you wanted a full-size low-tech truck I'd recommend a Silverado with a 350 small block or one of the older F-150s with a 302. If you're looking for something midsized check out the early 10's Tacomas or Frontiers. I purposely excluded diesels because they tend to require a specific type of mechanic. This would be the one place Dodge would shine, people love Cummins diesel engines and they're known for being tough as hell.

 

[DavidS877]

• Mitsubishi make the best mini splits AC systems but mini splits suck in terms of reliability. Expect only 4-6 years out of them.
• Technology Connections has no idea what he is talking about with heat pumps. They have horrible reliability which makes them more expensive than natural gas furnaces in the long run. Maybe they are worth it if you live in Florida and only have resistive heat currently or something.

Well, my heat pump has been fine. And depending on where Jersh ends up he may not have gas as an option, or have to bring in propane.
Fine except for being a Mitsubishi, one fan motor(and fan, since the old one rusted to the motor) and one control board so far, both readily available and easily swapped even 7 years old now.
Sure less of a pain in the ass than wood, about the same price as purchasing wood where I am, but if I felt like cutting it myself I'm sure that would be far cheaper.

 

[Stan]

https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/see-all.html?plp=%3Arelevance%3Acategory%3ACountertopAppliancesStandMixers&plpView=list&currentPage=0

^^ get yourself one of these bad boys

 

[CHARizard]

Posting again here.
Heres an American made product that has a good proven warranty.
https://darntough.com/
Socks arent exciting but its one of the few things I can recommend from a buy it for life standpoint that I have personally used.

I also like those old Pizza Hut cups, they still sell them on amazon and kitchen supply store

You can beat the shit out of these cups.

Zojirushi is one of the companies that I am a fervent believer of. I grew up on their rice cookers and hot water makers and one of my first adult purchases was a Zojirushi rice cooker over a decade ago. I use that thing multiple times a week and it has held up splendidly.

 

[FamicomGorby]

For guns I'm gonna say that the generally unless you're buying a Taurus, Keltec, Hi-Point, etc, then it's a BIFL. I don't anyone's gonna be complaining that their mid-range rifle or pistol is garbage thirty years from now.

I would keep in mind that that even a well made gun will wear out, see all the rattly Beretta 92's that the army was using in the 2000's, but the average shooter isn't gonna put enough rounds through one to do that. But even if they did, if it's a popular pistol then it's usually possible to get the parts to make it work like new, at least until the frame finally cracks. If you do want maximum longevity then getting something with an alloy or steel frame would be better than a polymer frame.

Zojirushi is one of the companies that I am a fervent believer of. I grew up on their rice cookers and hot water makers and one of my first adult purchases was a Zojirushi rice cooker over a decade ago. I use that thing multiple times a week and it has held up splendidly.

Zojirushi is the bomb, have been using mine daily for years.

 

[John R. Brown M.D.]

This thread has been kindly sponsored by Henson Razor

 

[CryptoHermit]

Repost of mine from the MATI thread.
I would recommend that Null get a seltzer carbonation kit from some homebrewers supply.
https://www.kegoutlet.com/sp202-taprite-soda-carbonating-kit-taprite-regulator-5-lb-co2-tank.html
A sodastream is around $150-200 BUT their own proprietary CO2 canisters are $20-25 per canisters. These only carbonate around 60L of water to make seltzer and have typically low psi of around 7-10 psi. If Null wants to wean off the goyslurp of soda while still enjoying the fizz and not get gouged by an Israeli PepsiCo. subdivision then seltzer is a great alternative. These brewers kits have a 5lb tank and regulator to customize the amount of carbonation too. I usually want 30 psi for a real aggressive bite to my seltzer but it's your choice really. Any brewer supply place could also refill your tank for barely $30 sometimes. Mind you that these 5lb tanks last for months of everyday use to make seltzer.

 

[CHARizard]

For knives I am going to recommend something thats not exactly BIFL, but will last you a very long time.

This is my workhorse, it does everything I need. Easy to sharpen, easy to maintain, comfortable to hold. I cook almost everyday and this knife has replaced basically everything besides my serrated breadknife. I have multiple Global knives and they are fantastic, amazing tools, but they are so expensive and in reality I have them more for show because I only whip them out when cooking for company. If you want nice expensive knives I always recommend Global, but if you want something that will do the work of 90% of the knives you can buy, just get a chinese cleaver or an 8 inch chefs.

This is the same knife this guy uses, you can go really expensive with these cleavers but the price to performance ratio is great with this one (Although it is like 20 bucks more expensive then when I bought mine)

For chefs knife I would recommend the Victoronix, I have one that was my daily before I got my Global chefs.



You can beat the shit out of this knife and easily resharpen it. Ive had one for a decade now.

This thread is making me think I should go through my knives. I have everything between expensive heirloom handmade Japanese that I never use to stuff like the Victorinox, I may be a bit of a hoarder but its hard to just get rid of a tool that still functions well even if you have replaced it.

 

[Super Dilator Duel 3D]

I’ve seen some Carhartt recommendations and I’d like to vouch for them. They make really nice winter gear. Most of it is quite expensive, but you’ll only need one or two good coats to last you the entire winter. They’re not particularly soft, but they’re really warm and fantastic at insulation. They’re quite durable as far as coats go, and in my personal opinion, they look quite good.

I find it much more efficient to spend more on winter clothes that actually manage to keep you warm as opposed to buying lots of cheaper shit that still lets the wind through, but I can understand if you’re not willing to spend so much on one or two articles of clothing.

 

[CryptoHermit]

I would also recommend people look into mesh clothing for better heat retention if you want to cut down on heating costs in your home or are a regular hiker. They're wool mesh layered clothes that have tiny mesh to trap air pockets between your clothing layers. More layers traps air which retains heat so a mesh base layer lets you have 1000s of tiny air pockets to far more effectively trap body heat. Having these mesh layers also makes it very easy to wash off sweat. Simply waving it through the air would be enough to dry it sometimes. Brynje are the company that sells the best imo. I haven't needed to turn on my heating at all if I throw one on with a light wool jumper. Saves me a good bit throughout the past few weeks.
https://www.brynje.no/gb/en/wool-thermo-light-shirt-16

 

[CHARizard]

I’ve seen some Carhartt recommendations and I’d like to vouch for them. They make really nice winter gear. Most of it is quite expensive, but you’ll only need one or two good coats to last you the entire winter. They’re not particularly soft, but they’re really warm and fantastic at insulation. They’re quite durable as far as coats go, and in my personal opinion, they look quite good.

I find it much more efficient to spend more on winter clothes that actually manage to keep you warm as opposed to buying lots of cheaper shit that still lets the wind through, but I can understand if you’re not willing to spend so much on one or two articles of clothing.

I owned 2 Carhartt work jackets I got over 15 years ago, they have held up really well. I cant speak to current quality but the ones I own are the only ones I have needed on harsh winters.

 

[Triple Flutz]

For guns, I got to try out so many when I moved here due to loved ones owning quite a few, and the tropey Glock 19 (gen 5) was absolutely my favorite to handle and comfortably use. It's never needed a repair, it's easy to do the upkeep at home, and there are plenty of accessories that are meant for it as needed- I'd have to look it up, but we have a torch that mounts onto it and blinds what's in front of you without blinding you at all. A lot of handguns were uncomfortable for me to use, but I immediately took to this one. It is great for conceal carry as well.
Dutch oven- I'm really partial to the expensive yet tried and true Le Creuset round dutch oven. Lodge is great for the price and absolutely worth it if you take care of it, but imho it chips and marks too easily. I do believe Le Creuset have a lifetime warranty as long as you use as recommended, I definitely took advantage of it a few years ago anyway. I use it for stews, braised vegetables or meats, crusty bread including no-knead ones, anything. Vintage Le Creuset is indeed better, but with the only issue I've ever had, they quickly and painlessly rectified by sending me a brand new analogous piece, so as long as that policy remains, you should be able to get a lot of mileage out of a single piece.
Chef's knife- Victorinox is great as an all-around solid, resilient, serviceable knife, and if you have an interest in Japanese-style knives, the MAC MTH-80 is a solid workhorse, we've had ours for years but they require more upkeep. If you're willing to learn how to use a whetstone and maybe practice on a shitty knife before you try it out on the MAC, it's pretty great.
Anyway, for things I cannot recommend-
For appliances, my mom groups have dubbed the Samsung brand ''Samsuck'' because they have terrible, premature issues so I would avoid that if possible. I have a GE oven that was wonderful until the front glass panel up and exploded whilst I was alone at home and in another room, and they were basically saying ''lol too bad, out of warranty by two months'' until I started talking about implied warranties and their inability to stand behind their product so I wouldn't pick them since they have a hard time standing behind their product. Definitely grabbed said Glock 19 because I thought the house was getting broken into when I heard shattering glass, though. Miele and Speed Queen get great reviews in said mom groups, but I don't have first-hand knowledge.
If you go somewhere with an actual winter, avoid Sorel boots. Growing up, they were the epitome of quality but I got some a few years ago for a vacation and the sole started peeling after maybe 20 uses. For rain boots- Hunters have also gone down in terms of craftsmanship.
Other than that, my only fields of expertise are perfume and ice skates, so I think I've been as useful as I can be.

 

[The Cheese Aisle]

If you do have to buy new for some reason, consider buying from a brand that has an unlimited lifetime warranty for returns or repairs. I’ve started doing this since the market is so saturated with cheap, low-quality shit. Be aware, though, that some companies have changed their long-standing lifetime warranties to limited lifetime warranties due to consumer abuse. For example, LL Bean is known for having a no questions asked lifetime warranty which has now been reduced to a year, unless it is due to manufacturer defect. A lot still do honor them, though.

 

[Justa Grata Honoria]

If you do have to buy new for some reason, consider buying from a brand that has an unlimited lifetime warranty for returns or repairs. I’ve started doing this since the market is so saturated with cheap, low-quality shit. Be aware, though, that some companies have changed their long-standing lifetime warranties to limited lifetime warranties due to consumer abuse. For example, LL Bean is known for having a no questions asked lifetime warranty which has now been reduced to a year, unless it is due to manufacturer defect. A lot still do honor them, though.

the link you send me is blocked for some reason

 

[Otterly]

Kitchenware:
If you can find older Viners brand Sheffield steel, get it. Lasts forever, replace the handles if you must.
Le creuset. Yes cliche but it lasts forever - I have some pans that are decades old.
Steel enamelled cookware - frankly any decent brand will work. I have some kockums from when I lived abroad, but any decent one will do. The stuff I got in charity shops as a student is still going strong. So are the sheets and towels I got to take to uni but alas not a brand that exists any more.
Sewing machines - buy a vintage machine that’s in good nick or refurbish one. The proper old singers will carry on for another hundred years happily, but if you want a modern machine get a second hand one from BEFORE they all started getting made in china. Metal body over plastic.
A Bernina when they were made in Switzerland or a husqvarna from when they were made in Sweden. Singer, huskies and Pfaff are now all made by SVP worldwide - in china and the quality is shot. before that, all were great. Janome and baby lock remain good, Juki are great as well (all Japanese brands.)

As well as just listing brands, there are two things you always should think when you get something new: is there a repairable option? Learn to repair things. Buy stuff that can be repaired. Learn to sew - learn to replace zippers, hem pants, repair things. Learn to repair knitwear (loads of tutorials out there.) when you buy something, think about what options there are and if it can be replaced or repaired - so the more expensive garden spade or fork with the metal head and the wooden handle? Get that one. You can’t easily repair the one with the fiberglass handle even if it’s cheaper. But you can replace the wood handle on the one with a solid steel head and a wooden handle.
Can the boots be resoled? Decent leather ones usually can. Trainers can’t.
I also think about materials - the less plastic the better for durability. Wood, steel, leather, wool, ceramics - they all last longer than plastic alternatives.
Gardening - save seeds. Swap the excess with neighbours or allotment owners. This also means you end up with varieties more suited to your locale.

 

[indomitable snowman]

For chefs knife I would recommend the Victoronix, I have one that was my daily before I got my Global chefs.

I also use the victoronx knife and have for several years. It actually feels good in the hand and is balanced.

For cookware, I do like my lodge cast iron. They come rough on the surface from the factory, but after several seasonings and using it, it's very smooth and non-stick.

For cooking stuff, I recommend checking the Americas test kitchen. They do tests and have a list of recommendations listing usually an expensive one and a good value one.

I like my Nissan Frontier truck, but it's bad on gas mileage if that's a concern. Just get one post 2012ish, since there was a timing belt or something that was bad on the previous ones.