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

[Mrs. Roombah]

Varusteleka make a good rain jacket and cold weather stuff in general. I gotten holes in their thermal underwear though. Don't buy tech bro outerwear.

I fixed for you

 

[bliblblblbbllb]

I’ve seen Carhartt recommended several times in this thread. I’d caution away from buying new, as quality has dipped while prices have stayed the same or increased, due to the brand becoming a hipster status symbol.

Basics, I know you don’t leave the house Jersh but you’re a standard moid who doesn’t care what he looks like Costco’s clothes, socks, and underwear are all excellent, and have the best return policy in the world if you end up not liking them.

This is good to know! I felt a little suspicious about their hoodies that don't seem to be made from the same quality of magic rain-repelling fabric my coat is. Just seemed like a pretty normal sherpa hoodie for 2x the cost.

 

[Ghostse]

Seconding Klein tools and Carharhart clothing.
I have a Rain Defender jacket that holds up (the chest pocket got a hole in it, but otherwise fine), I have replaced all my t-shirts with theirs.

For bags I'm going to simp for 5.11 Rush series bags
Now hold the fuck on - they are stupid expensive and with MOLLE everythign you will look like some freshly EOS'd one-and-done promoted to civilian boot, but they hold up. I have a Rush 24 that I've been using almost daily for 2 decades and the only thing wrong with it, other than a little caked-in dirt, is the straps are pretty worn (padding has collapsed, stitching on the covering has started to come accross). If I could replace the straps, it'd be like new.

Lodge enameled cast iron is solid.

I've worked with plenty of old geezers in my time and most of them say the same thing about Carhartt: not as good as they use to be. They all swear by Duluth now.

Duluth isn't all that, except for their pants/jeans.

Brother laser printers.

I got a Brother laser printer from the trash room at an old apartment. It had wifi (never used) and ethernet.
I eventually gave it to goodwill when I moved because I figured I'd just get a new cheap one when I got to where I was going.
Worst mistake of my life.

New furniture is dogshit. Oftentimes, even "premium" items are nothing more than MDF and cheap veneer that wears horrible and is easy to break. The warranties on them are useless too because they will never actually replace/repair your stuff.
[...]
Unless you're buying a custom, craftsman-made piece, you quite literally better off going to a Salvation Army thrift store for your furniture.

Due to children killing themselves with dressers there is currently a big hole in the market due to new safety laws. Compliant Ikea stuff won't be out until June/July, the better made (aka actually cares about foreign laws because they aren't just a fly-by-night) Chinese stuff is also unavailable, so you're pretty much left with upper end shit (overpriced) that was worth the retrofits to conform or bottom-barrel chinesium. So you are boned for quality dressers until summer.

Look at places that do Corporate furnished housing. If anything is less than perfect - like tiny dings or any visible scratch - they'll resell it for deep discounts.

Danner

Danner used to be worth it, but even in the past couple years have really slid off in quality. They have moved from boots you can resole to one-and-done disposable ones.

 

[TV's Adam West]

Buy a gun. You'll need it.

 

[Twinkie]

Moving is extremely stressful. To add onto that the expectation to do things perfectly the first time and "buy it for life" ?? That's only going to make things more stressful. For most household items (excluding large appliances), just buy what is serviceable for now. Upgrade later, once settled.

And God I hope Null doesn't listen to the people telling him to buy used furniture. Enjoy your roaches, silverfish, bedbugs and fleas. It may not be an issue in Europe but it definitely is in America and not worth the risk.

 

[PFM]

Welcome to HVAC, you finally accepted the m12 Milwaukee surge + Veto Pro Pac meta. You can finally call yourself a true tech.

Not HVAC but yeah it's a great combo for a bunch of lines of work.

 

[Cougar Pump]

Lodge enameled cast iron is solid.

Their plain cast stuff is also great, and relatively cheap. You just have to re-season it straight away because the factory finish doesn't hold up.

 

[Myrtle the Turtle]

Disclaimer: I don't know what the politics of any of these companies are but here are my suggestions. Some are expensive "buy it for life" items but for the purposes of this list I skewed to more budget friendly BIFL options. For some things on here, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, Goodwill, eBay etc are your friend. Just depends on your budget, availability and how fast you need it. If you take care of your items and service them properly, they will usually outlive their expected service life and take care of you. As a good rule of thumb, companies can change, costs get cut and quality suffers so what was once good 5 years ago may be complete garbage now.

Reddit has good BIFL page but only here on the Farms can I call bongoid James Dyson a niggerfaggot for making the most hostile products to repair.​

Appliances

1. Washer & Dryer: Speed Queen, GE Profile (GE makes a normal line, Profile is their better premium option thats more durable) Speed Queens get used in laundromats.
   1. LG and Maytag are also good for washers and dryers. Get a drain pan installed on your washer in your house.
2. Bosch for dishwashers.
3. For gas ranges I swear by Wolf but those are upwards of $4k / unit so I am unsure of what cheaper alternatives there are. They make electric ovens which are relatively cheaper.
4. For furniture like side tables, coffee tables, some chairs, bed frames, etc, hit up Salvation Army, ReStore, Goodwill or a thrift market. Learn how to sand off the finish, repair then restain or repaint it. Natural wood furniture is based, durable, timeless and lasts generations but new wood furniture like Stickley and Audi is expensive.
   1. If you must get something immediately, Ikea, Wayfair or Amazon. I have great furniture brand recommendations but thats a huge rabbit hole for another post.
   2. CAUTION BUYING ANYTHING SECOND HAND. Use your brain when it comes to buying second hand furniture. If its in the ritzy part of town or grandmas estate from a clean home then you should be okay but caveat emptor for everything. Inspect carefully. A good idea is to nuke it with Lysol, use disinfection whips and/or rub it down with a bleach/water mixture depending on the item. Be careful before bringing anything into your home.
5. Sealy for mattresses. No mattress is BIFL but Sealy is a great buy, Original Mattress Factory is great too. Rotate your mattress so that it gets even use and flip it if you can to prolong life. This is more a personal preference category.

In the Kitchen - Someone mentioned Americas Test Kitchen, I would highly recommend them as well.

1. OXO for utensils, they don't break and are good at what they do. Well made and useful. I love their measuring cups.
2. Restaurant supply store for almost everything else. Commercial kitchens need workhorse grade material that won't break. No frills.
   1. Stainless steel pans. Cast iron is a meme and while it is good, its also heavy. Le Creuset is better & lighter than cast but its pricey af. AllClad makes the best stainless steel sets, some with copper cores but again, pricey. A basic stainless restaurant supply store set will work just as well.
      1. Avoid non-stick coatings. They wear off after several months and can be highly toxic if the pan gets too hot.
3. Bone China is best China. Corelle is good but if you want something better, go with Villeroy and Boch or Mikasa.
4. Mixers KitchenAid Mixer or Ankarsrum Assistant
   1. KitchenAid is more accessible and cheaper, you can pick one up from a secondhand market for much less than retail and they are serviceable even if broken. Get an older model off eBay if you can before Whirlpool took over. The Hobart Era is best era. Parts are readily available.
   2. The Ankarsrum Assistant is a strange beast. Its a Nordic Swedish style mixer thats unusual and has a bit of a learning curve but the machines are rock solid. Will last you generations. Very pricey at $700+ for a unit though. It is stronger and more stable than a KitchenAid.
   3. For a hand mixers, Breville or KitchenAids versions work great
5. Flatware: Oneida or Pfaltzgraff. Don't bother with designer stuff unless thats your thing.
6. Knives: Victorinox. Don't bother with Wüshtof or Nippon fluff. Victorinox does the same job for much cheaper, get a set of them.
   1. I highly recommend adding a Spyderco Z-Cut serrated knife to your collection. Get a whetstone off Amazon while you're at it to sharpen those blades and learn how to use it.
7. Japanese Zojirushi rice cookers, the same company also makes bread-makers & fantastic water bottles if you want alternatives to Yeti and Stanley.
8. Breville makes a phenomenal convection smart oven air fryer. Its something I would take with me everywhere if I could. Its a workhorse; I have never burnt toast in it, it makes side dishes with ease and reheats food easily.
9. Blenders: Maxima Blender - 2,5L - 1800W - Pulse Function. Vitamix series 5200 works just as well but is more pricey at $500+. I would recommend NutriBullet as well but its capacity is smaller.
10. Coffee Makers: For simple drip coffee, get Bunn commercial coffee makers. They are simple, serviceable and reliable. Get one without direct water hookup. For more options like timers, temp etc, Bonavita makes a premium consumer version that works great too. Avoid Keurig plastic garbage, its a liquid goyslop maker.
11. Nordic Ware for baking sheets.
12. Boos Board for cutting boards. Never use glass, they will dull your knife.
13. Food processor: Cusinart or Breville. Robot Coup if you have "fuck you" money.

Misc. House Items

1. Lawn Power Tools: Stihl & Husqvarna. Would not recommend anything else if we are going solely BIFL. They are what commercial landscaping companies use.
   1. You can get cheap alternatives from FB marketplace, people have lawn tools they don't use all the time
2. Space heaters: Delonghi oil heaters. They make less noise, consume less power than infrared and provide softer heat for longer.
   1. If you must go with infrared, go with Vornado's lineup.
   2. Avoid Dyson fans/heaters. They look nice and I have 2 myself but are plastic and unserviceable.
3. Vornado for fans.
4. Riccar or Miele are king for vacuums. You can get a Kirby but those suckers are heavy af. NEVER buy a Kirby retail, you can buy them for 1/10th of the price off Facebook. Both Riccar & Kirbys are reliable and serviceable. Miele is just as reliable but less serviceable for a DIY job. Bagged vacuums are better than bagless.
   1. Dyson is British, overrated, overpriced plastic garbage for vacuums however I will concede that there is not a good alternative for their stick vacs, avoid their uprights.
5. Grills: For gas, Weber or Broilmaster. Charcoal is nice but I prefer gas for convenience. For charcoal, Big Green Egg hands down. Works as a smoker, a grill and even a pizza oven. Fantastic tool that will outlive you. Kamado Joe is the cheaper alternative to BGE that works just as well.
6. Printers: Brother Laser printer. Get an older version if you can. AVOID INKJET PRINTERS. They clog and become useless. AVOID HP. HP IS EVIL.
7. Electric Razors. Braun Series 9 Razor. I have tried alternatives but nothing beats the 9 Series.
8. Combat knife: Eickhorn KM 2000 BW German Army Combat Knife. Tanto style knife. Utilitarian with a serrated blade at hilt. I have one and its great but others may have different opinions.

Clothing & Linens :

• Patagonia - They will repair your clothes if you send it into them. They stand by their stuff and it looks good. Never had any issue with them.
• LL Bean is another company that makes high quality items. I love my Bean Boots & shirts from them.
• Uniqlo for basics, their shirts are thicker which I like, I have a ton of stuff from them with no issues.
• Comfort Colors; basic tees, shirts and sweatshirts, its thick durable cotton thats great quality.
• Barbour, make great waxed jackets that are BIFL quality. Pricey at retail but will last forever.
• Bed sheets: Amazon, Wayfair, Target. These days you can get a good durable set online. Get 100% cotton and read the reviews well, Ive gotten some good sheets at Target that have lasted well. No need to spend $1000s on something like D Porthault.
• Towels: Online vendors. Turkish cotton only. NEVER use fabric softeners. I prefer white because I can bleach them if necessary. Invest in a bath sheet for a HUGE towel, they're nice.

Hit up your local dry cleaner. Some will have a seamstress that can fix and mend most clothes so you can avoid throwing them out. Goodwill used to be a great place to find deals but since 2020, side hustlers and thrifting zoomers have ruined this. You can find some good deals on eBay and other second hand marketplaces if you're patient and smart. Caveat emptor applies.

Edits: Some spelling corrections, furniture recs edited, Dyson stick vac exception, added mattress & knife recs.

 

[SHIGGSHOGG]

For sharpening stones, Shapton Kuramaku stones are the best value if you can catch them on sale. They work on a good amount of super steels as well, they just take a bit more time. Assume regular water stones are shit unless they're really expensive, but even if they're good they still wear out kinda fast.
400 grit cheap stone, 2K Shapton, and 5-10 micron diamond compound on some denim will fill all your regular sharpening needs.

 

[OttoWest]

So I see a lot of people saying to 'buy secondhand furniture'--However I wouldn't since I've known THREE PEOPLE that got royally fucked buying used furniture recently.

One got a dresser that looked perfectly fine -- EXCEPT THERE WERE ROACHES HITCHHIKING IN IT.
One friend bought an upholstered chair that had fleas (surprise!).
Worst of all though was a college buddy of mine who bought a couch that had FUCKIN BEDBUGS hidden in it. That shit just about ruined her life for a solid year.

So it's a hard pass from me.

Buy it if you want -- but inspect the ever loving fuck out of it before you bring it into your house.

I reupholster antique furniture as a side gig, and I cannot agree with the above enough.

Secondhand hard surfaced furniture (wood, metal, and stone) off the sales floor is usually fine, but flip it over and open drawers to check for bugs or egg sacs.

Any upholstered items are running the risk for fleas, mites, and bed bugs. Smell before you buy— rot, mold, pet urine? Pass it up, it’s never leaving. Your best bet is to quarantine the item in the garage or shed, while keeping it airtight in plastic for a few days to suffocate any bugs out. Steam clean it after if you can. Or get it reupholstered.

The best fabric in the history of time and space is linen. Clothes, furniture, kitchen, bed, it does it all. Quality 100% linen bed sheets will last for decades, get softer after every wash, and stay cool in summer, warm in winter thanks to the hollow structure of the linen fiber.

 

[Baraka Obama]

Cars - Go with what the Mexicans and Muslims are buying.

Im not buying a rusty decade old korean shitbox.

 

[Ghostse]

I'd like to shill Purple for matresses, but since I bought mine they have been bought by Casper. People say its not the same but I don't know if they are actually dropped in quality or if people are buttmad its not exactly the same as before. My friend has a Casper and likes it.

I'm also going to recommend BigLots for furniture.
Not as a "Buy it for life", their shit is disposable. But you will spend often less than Wayfair for something that will hold up well enough for a couple years until you can find something better on sale or second hand.
Basically the furniture version of the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Faggot Gun.

but you are agoing to have issues with quality flatpack/particle board furniture. Tl;dr there have been two severe forest fires in Canada over the past couple years which have raised lumber prices but more importantly eviscerated the secondary lumber market. Basically tree farms have deals to sell X boardfeet to Y buyers. They plant usually 20-50% more than that to cover things like disease, etc. once the contract is fulfilled, if the buyer doesn't need to make up any other shortfalls, the rest + mill seconds end up at auction. Those seconds wind up fueling the chipboard plants.
With the reduction of surplus, mills are being more efficient. Stuff that would be scrap/seconds is now going to the 1st-line buyers. This means not just higher prices for chipboard, but less supply. This is why you seeing a lot of more mixed metal & board furniture avaible instead of the traditional foil-wraped particle board/chipboard.

NEVER BUY ANYTHING UPHOLSTERED SECOND HAND.

Caveat on this: Never buy anything unknown origin or without a neck to throttle second hand.
Smells linger on shit. But if the address on a second hand couch is the rich part of town, you might be in luck. If its a friend of the family, you might be alright.

Goodwill is hit-or-miss. I lived in an area between two cities, one Goodwill would actually seal, fumigate & air out any upholstered furniture before it hit the store, and anything with visible bed bugs or pest damage was tossed right out. The other Goodwill gave their donations some sort of combination insecticide, antibacteria, and fresh scent and since there are no visible bed bugs call it good enough.
I would not trust Salvation Army for anything padded.

OTOH, if you see something quality, you can take it to the shop and get it reupholstered.

But again, this is shit you do once you know an area and the right places to shop and take this stuff to.

Dyson is British, overrated, overpriced plastic garbage for vacuums.

The stick vacs are OK - they are nearly worth the upcharge if you can get them sale/overstock.
But yeah the floor vacs are overpriced and look like something a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain would use.

Bed sheets: Amazon, Wayfair, Target.

Target Threshold Performance sheets for sheet sets/fitted sheets accept no substitutes.
They are double elastic, I have never, ever had one of these fucks come lose and I thrash like a hooked marlin at night.

 

[Angled Associate]

Some of the best BIFL footwear are some good merino wool socks and some good resoleable boots. Darn Tough socks are made in Vermont and have one of the best warranty policies I've ever seen. I have a few pairs of DT socks and use them at work. I've walked roughly 350 miles in each pair and there are no holes or other issues with them. They are about 20-30 usd per pair, but they are worth it. Kirkland makes some VERY cheap merino wool socks, and they've so far been pretty good, but their outer polyester has had some damage after about 100 miles. No holes just yet.

I own a few resoleable boots as well, but there are so many good brands that it would be difficult to list them all, so I'll just list the boots that I have. Thorogood are great boots made in Wisconsin and they are good if you're looking for affordable boots that don't have a crazy long break-in time. Red Wing boots are amazing and incredibly durable, but they are more expensive and have a much longer break-in time than Thorogoods. Boot sizing is unfortunately a huge pain in the ass, so I'd recommend buying them in person or only buying them online after you've figured out your Brannock shoe size

As for boots that are not very great, I would never buy Doc Martens or Portland Leather. Doc Martens are overpriced and not built well, and Portland Leather boots are closer to Aliexpress quality than your average boot company.

If you want to buy one razor for life, I'd recommend getting a safety razor. There are a lot of brands to look at, but I personally use a Henson AL-13 Aggressive. The hard part of safety razor shaving is finding a brand of blade that you love, and for that I'd suggest buying a sample pack and trying those blades out after getting used to shaving with a safety razor. My current personal favorites are Voshkod, Gillette Nacet, and Feather.

I personally carry a pocket knife with me wherever I go, and some of my favorite companies are Spyderco, We/Civivi, Kershaw, Real Steel, and Buck.

Hope this helps you and others!

 

[AnOminous]

One got a dresser that looked perfectly fine -- EXCEPT THERE WERE ROACHES HITCHHIKING IN IT.
One friend bought an upholstered chair that had fleas (surprise!).
Worst of all though was a college buddy of mine who bought a couch that had FUCKIN BEDBUGS hidden in it. That shit just about ruined her life for a solid year.

I almost couldn't care less about roaches. I can get rid of those easily. Same with fleas, especially if you have pets you can give one of those anti-flea pills. They'll preferentially jump on the pets, die, and you'll soon be rid of them unless you're living in a filth hovel.

Bed bugs are an absolutely fucking demonic nightmare and costs thousands to get rid of. So anything you get that could have bed bugs (almost anything really) should be exposed to 113 F temperature for 90 minutes at least. Stuff like clothing, you can put in a garment bag if it's absolutely impenetrable by even the smallest thing, then put in the dryer for a couple hours.

Otherwise it can easily cost thousands to get rid of these evil filthy spawns of Hell, with it many times taking multiple visits from an exterminator. I'm speaking from experience and this was such a light infestation I NEVER EVEN ACTUALLY SAW ONE.

tea based pedantry: A kettle needs to be filled with freshly drawn water, then boiled and poured over the leaves.

Agreed on the freshly drawn part but disagreed on pouring boiling water on top of tea leaves. It bruises them and makes the taste bitter. This may be okay for Irish breakfast tea and other assam-heavy blends (or assam itself), where the bitterness is part of what you want especially if you're making a builder's tea, i.e. an extremely strong and bitter tea leavened with lots of milk and sugar and drunk right before working outside in the cold. In that case, it's delicious.

But it wrecks more delicate teas like oolongs, green teas, and even plebby teas like orange pekoe. It is an abomination to do this with green and white teas.

I think with most teas, you should pour the water first, let it go down a few degrees, then add the tea. Otherwise you're just bringing out the bitterness. You don't really want a Darjeeling to be bitter.

 

[PotatoSalad4711]

I have to second whoever mentioned Japanese cars (you can tell if they were mostly made in Japan because the VIN will start with a J). I personally have had a Suzuki for 13 years, and the only thing I’ve had to replace was the battery and tires, which is completely normal. I also should mention I live in a rural area so I’ve had to put that thing through a test or two, and it’s done just fine. In talking with friends/family with Toyotas, I’ve gotten the same impression.

Lodge for cast iron is great, just look up how to properly take of them. I wouldn’t recommend cooking fish on it when that pan has been used for red meat, use a separate one for that.

Of course, a lot of this is going to be figuring out what seems to work for you and your particular situation. For instance guns. I have a S&W .357 revolver for home, but you might want to look into a .22 for various vermin (although please do not kill opossums, they is good boi).

 

[indomitable snowman]

Lodge for cast iron is great, just look up how to properly take of them. I wouldn’t recommend cooking fish on it when that pan has been used for red meat, use a separate one for that

You can use a bit of dish soap on cast iron. It will help with the fishy residue. Just make sure to clean and dry it well, then give it some oil.
Really any modern soap is fine as long as it's not lye based and you don't let is soak in.

 

[Corydoras]

If you are managing property that's larger than a quarter-acre lot, I'd recommend buying a suite of battery-powered tools (weed-whacker, hedge-trimmers, saw etc.) I use Milwaukee and like the battery life and tool quality. Are they BIFL? No, obviously. Compared to the manual tools which I used exclusively during my first year on my property, the battery-operated ones are much more efficient. And truly, time is money.

 

[shinto minto]

Quality 100% linen bed sheets will last for decades, get softer after every wash, and stay cool in summer, warm in winter thanks to the hollow structure of the linen fiber.

Where are you getting linen bed sheets? The places I was looking at were asking upwards of $500 for a set

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

If you want to get a Shotgun Get a Benelli M2, these are probably one of the best Autoloading Shotguns out there.

M2 was always my dream shotgun, but I've been hearing from multiple sources lately that the Beretta 1301 is eating their lunch.

 

[Baraka Obama]

I personally have had a Suzuki for 13 years, and the only thing I’ve had to replace was the battery and tires, which is completely normal. I also should mention I live in a rural area so I’ve had to put that thing through a test or two, and it’s done just fine. In talking with friends/family with Toyotas, I’ve gotten the same impression.

Suzuki is a misery brand.

Every car I've heard recommended for reliability or repairability is the most miserable piece of shit imaginable. No, I will not drive a 2011 Toyota Matrix, my time is valuable enough that I would not ever want to spend it in one of those.

You aren't ever buying a car for life.

Beyond that any car made in the past 5 years is designed in such a way that any repair is a big cost, even for stupid shit like a headlight.

Might as well treat it as something that will last a decade if you're lucky and get something you find fun that has a nice interior.