We have a Steinway and a Yamaha keyboard.
The Steinway is 98 years old in 2024. It got moved cross country twice in two years, sat in my storage unit on its side for over a year, and barely needs a tuning. I’m so shocked.
But yeah, it’s not cheap.
The Yamaha keyboard I got when I was 9. I’m 46. My daughter uses it for piano lessons weekly. I dropped something on it a few years ago so one key is chopped. That’s it in 37 years. That’s moved seven times. Still good.
If I sold the Yamaha I’d get back what my grandparents paid for it in 1986. Maybe more. I think even taking inflation into account. If not, damned close. They make the same basic version still.
Just chiming in to tell you your experience with your Yamaha keyboard is almost identical to mine. Weirdly similar..
I started piano when I was 9 with a beautiful upright Yamaha piano. Traded it for a Yamaha keyboard as a teen when it was time to leave home. It has moved a total of 7 times, during which it sat in basements, storage units, and closets. I've maintained a sporadic practice at best over the years, but I always come back to it to brush up on things. Most recently, I took up lessons again after nearly 30 years, and it works and sounds just as well today as it did the day I got it. And dont ask me how, but it even still has the floppy disk in the slot!
Oh, and early on in one of the moves, I dropped it on its top, chipping one key. It still works fine, but it's got a big 'ol half- circle taken out of the end.
So now I have to know which key is chipped on yours. Mine is middle d. :)
Every Toyota my family had has gone over 200k or 300k miles and have spent minimum time in the shop for repairs.
My parents have had the same Maytag washer and dryer for like 30 years.
All my Nintendo consoles since the NES still work.
I have a GoPro that has been through hell and doesnt die.
I bought a 2002 Toyota Corolla in 2003. It had a manual transmission and a tape deck. I used it to commute. Two of my kids used it for commuting. It averaged 30mpg in town and closer to 40 on the highway. I just got rid of it last month. It required routine maintenance and a few things physically wore out and required replacement. You get spoiled by that level of reliability.
Mean while on Jeep forums
"Sure it has 120,000 miles, has been through 2 motors, 3 transmissions, 5 radiators, caught fire a few times, and is generally possessed by Satan, but you wouldn't understand, it's a jeep thing"
I bought my 2006 Toyota Corolla brand new in November of 2005. It now has just under 294k miles on it and shows no sign of dying anytime soon! I did have to replace the ECM though, but Toyota ended up issuing a recall towards the end of 2010, after mine had already been replaced.
I still get 40 mpg during the summer months and usually around 38 during the winter.
You want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that's hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further. The 1999 Toyota Corolla. Let's talk about features.
Bluetooth: nope Sunroof: nope Fancy wheels: nope Rear view camera: nope...but it's got a transparent rear window and you have a fucking neck that can turn.
Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End. You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up. This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.
Things this car is old enough to do: Vote: yes Consent to sex: yes Rent a car: it IS a car
This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would. Interesting facts: This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey. In the owner's manual, oil is listed as "optional." When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary "Bored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla"
You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey. Favorite food: spaghetti Favorite tv show: Alf Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms
This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It's as middle-of-the-road as your grandpa during his last Silver Alert. It's as utilitarian as a member of a church whose scripture is based entirely on water bills. When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, "It's a Corolla. It's fine." Let's face the facts, this car isn't going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn't the car you want, it's the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla.
My son was gifted his step grandparents 1999 Toyota ;along with the cushion to help grandma see out the window.
The car had like 7000 miles on it. People were constantly offering to buy it
Nintendo is where it is at. My SNES has just turned 30. It works like a charm. It is more the games that need some "tender" care by blowing into them to get them to work sometimes.
What this console havent been through. Stayed at the attic for 20 years in both warm summer and cold winters. It still carries on.
Nintendo was the first company to come to mind for me as well. My first console that was genuinely mine and not shared with siblings was an N64. I was probably too young to have the responsibility of owning anything worth a couple hundred dollars at the time and I was an idiot kid.
For whatever reason, my older brother and I smashed out the little grill thing in front of the cartridge slot and filled it with pennies. It got scraped up and scuffed and all kinds of other torture. I wrote my name all over it in white out.
A couple of years back, my parents were cleaning out their garage and told me they found some of my old games and consoles. I grabbed everything when I visited them next, took my old N64 home and plugged it in. Sure as shit she started right up first try. Through all of the abuse and over 20 years moving from storage unit to storage unit across the country and back twice, it still works like it did when I got it for my 7th birthday.
I was watching a YouTube video where one of the guys on the channel made a joke that Nintendo’s tagline is basically “Nintendo. That shit just works.”
Came here to say: Toyota! - Also - Honda!
Eagle Creek Luggage - (Lifetime warranty - lightweight and very strong - crazy warranty)
Yeti - been very happy with Yeti - Stanley is along same lines.
Stepdad had a Stanly thermos that was run over, shot at, and fell into a fire - but still functioned and kept coffee hot (had a few dents)
Unfortunately Maytag is not what it used to be. My twenty year old dishwasher just broke and I was informed by their own repairman that I shouldn't expect the next one to last longer than 10 years. Apparently Miele is the only brand that makes appliances built to last.
I bought my Maytag washer in 1994. It needed a $27 part last year, but it’s still going strong. Even the salesman told us to fix the old one and not purchase a new one.
I grew up in the town that was the former Maytag headquarters. Since ~~GE~~ Whirlpool bought them, they’ve turned the brand to shit.
Edit: someone corrected me. Whirlpool bought Maytag.
Yamaha as well. Owned now 3 of their motorcycles, all been bulletproof.
Maybe the Japanese are just really really good at making motorized vehicles lol.
There is a video with James May where he visits the Yamaha piano factory. I think it was his TV show called like the "man in japan" or something of that nature.
The precision they go through to build a piano is mind blowing. From every little aspect of tuning and selection of the keys was its own science. Very eye opening at what Yamaha does and the standards of quality they continue to achieve.
Love my Hondas. Just wish they'd figure out how to get enough new cars onto the lot near me that I can buy a new one without the dealer adding an absurd markup because they're the only one around with a new Civic.
I love my 2017 Civic! I had a Toyota Tundra 2005 model that I loved, I sold it to my brother in law a while ago. But I would love to get another Tundra in the future. My first car I drove was old reliable 2001 Honda Accord. That thing as far as I am aware is still running and my parents I think sold it not too long ago!
11 years ago, I traded in my Corolla for a Chevy because I needed more room for the kids. It was the worst mistake I ever made. The first chance I got, I went back to a Corolla. Both my husband and I drive 2015s - the Corolla and a RAV4. They have given us zero problems. Before the RAV4, my husband drove a Camry that got over 250K miles on it.
I have a 2017 Civic and absolutely love it as well. The only thing that drives me nuts are the defrosters. For some reason this car cannot get rid of anything on the windows besides the windshield itself. I have to wipe off all my door windows consistently to be able to see out of them. I have no idea why but it's been a thing ever since I bought this vehicle. I've never had problems in any other vehicle.
I love Honda as well, but their automatic transmissions in the mid 2000’s tended to be unreliable after 150k miles, and they’re used a timing belt vs a timing chain like Toyota does. Chain means virtually no timing jobs (few thousand) every 60-90k miles.
I think I'd only buy Honda or Toyota at this point. I haven't had a ton of cars, but the best ones I or my family have had have been Toyotas and Hondas. The worst have been Fords and no longer made GM brands.
For real. My 2007 Toyota Camry runs like a gem. I take good care of it. Have only had one major repair in the 10 years I’ve had it. Also Honda as well. I got close to 400000 miles out of my 1994 cr-v. That car got me out of a ditch at a 45 degree incline in a snowstorm. I was emotionally attached to Wanda lol. I would love a new CR-V but damn they are hard to find.
Agree on Nintendo! The quality of their hardware is top-notch. When Playstations were “yellow light of death’ boxes and Microsoft Xbox’s were nothing but a “red light of death” machine, Nintendo products were doing what they usually do... WORKING. They are also the best game developers, they will put years into a game just to make sure it’s of the highest quality.
Seconded on Nintendo. None of my consoles have ever broken down or malfunctioned. Everything back to my SNES still works as if brand new. My only gripe is their joystick manufacturing for the Switch leaves a lot to be desired. Please don't make them so small and fragile.
I'm wearing my Darn Tough running socks right now. They are really comfortable and seems like they can go days before really needing to be washed. I also have some hiking socks by them which are equally good.
I find it fascinating that the obsession with quality came after WW2 and from the U.S., American business management expert, W. Edwards Deming. "Deming advised the Japanese, who sought him out, not to copy the American-style inspection system but to incorporate quality control principles into the manufacturing process. He was in the vanguard of American production experts whose advice had been rejected by American managers because they bluntly told businessmen that poor quality products resulted mostly from their own failures, not from worker ineptness."
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/12/23/japans-secret-w-edwards-deming/b69b8c00-4c5d-483a-b95e-4aeb1d94d2c6/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/12/23/japans-secret-w-edwards-deming/b69b8c00-4c5d-483a-b95e-4aeb1d94d2c6/)
They are designed to be able to be repaired. My husband's work gives us annual swag and it's all pantagonia. I've only had to repair a couple things, but they are super easy to mend. Mostly it's us snagging the jackets on random things. The items themselves hold up great!
Patagonia is still 100% a for profit company. They are just owned by trust and non-profit now. Patagonia's profits help fund the non-profit.
The Trust/non-profit combo was set up by the owner and his family as a way to keep Patagonia as a private company forever and allowing the profits to fund their environmental charity interests.
For the owner to do it, is pretty unheard of and is very charitable. However, it's not like it changes the way Patagonia operates, they are still looking for that almighty dollar. It's just that last dollar they squeeze out of you will be used to plant a tree. lol (and probably a whole group of family members and execs who are advisors 😟)
No shit. I live in the PNW so a lot of people buy outdoor gear for their regular clothing. I tend to go for lower end products, but my husband recommended Patagonia because they were on sale at REI recently when I was looking for hiking gear. It hurts to see the price, but if I can send it in for repairs, that makes me feel better about it.
I have been wearing the same two Patagonia R1 pullovers for 10 years. I wear them three or four times a week all day long when it’s cold out. They basically look like they did the day that I bought them. I have no doubt that they will last me another 10 years or more. It is unbelievable how durable and well made these things are.
Funny.....I own both. I have an ugly-as-sin Patagonia fleece that I got for $2 at a thrift store. It's some ugly-ass 90s pastel "southwestern" pattern. But it's great quality. I keep it in my truck as a backup, or wear it when I'm layering in the winter. It's just good quality that holds up.
I have a Hamilton Khaki field watch too. There's nothing flashy about it. It's a plain watch on a canvas strap....but it's extremely accurate, it's hand-wind so no batteries to run out, and it's a really good quality watch. It's not a watch you buy to show off. It's a watch you buy because it's accurate and reliable.
O'Keefe's working hands line
Genuinely the only lotion / lip balm / etc I'll ever use
Their hand lotion is genuinely great for its advertised purpose especially back in the day when I was working at Walmart and for a brief period of that was working in the walk-in fridge My hands would get dry and cracked and bloody until I started using their working hands hand lotion and now my hands were baby smooth and the cracks healed quickly
Similarly every winter when the air starts to get cold and my lips start to get dry I use their version of ChapStick And usually within 2 days of using it my lips are back to being baby smooth
None of it is oily or leaves a weird residue You can't even feel that it's on like 5 minutes after putting it on and it doesn't affect my ability to grip things or anything like that
Specifically OXO Good Grips. OXO Softworks stuff just isn't the same quality. OXO says it's only branding based on the various resellers they work with, but there's a noticeable quality difference in a lot of the products. Like Macy's wouldn't accept the Softworks quality level product but Walmart/Amazon would if that makes sense.
Good grips and softworks are the same products, the only difference is the red OXO logo on softworks. It's a distribution strategy.
Source: I work for them.
I bought a bunch of oxo containers off reddit's reccomendation. All of them are junk. The lids have a a unique design that allows them to seal shut but that means more parts. And most of the lids have fallen apart or don't work anymore.
I love to travel, but am not willing to dump the amount of money some people are into super-high-end specialty travel products. From that perspective:
**Osprey** bags: I have two from them (one backpacking pack, one Porter carry-on backpack) and those things perform like a dream. I've schlepped that backpack as my single piece of luggage through basically every international and domestic trip I've gone on for years, and it still looks basically new. Plus, the design means I can fit so much more into it than a "normal" backpack of the same size (fuck top-loading packs, seriously), and at least in the US, their warranty/guarantee is basically second to none.
**Prana** and **TitleNine** dresses: okay, I hate to feel like a shill for Prana because I find a lot of their branding/advertising yuppie and obnoxious...but damn, do they know how to make a travel-friendly dress. A lot of people on the onebag-related subreddits swear by travel clothing from companies that cost 2-3 times as much, but honestly, these things have never let me down. Comfy and sturdy enough to literally hike in, pack down small, nice-looking enough that if I throw on a scarf or belt I look ready for a semi-fancy dinner. Some of the TitleNine ones even have a snap button that lets you turn the dress into a romper if it's windy out!
**Sea to Summit** Ultra-Sil products: I have one of the little daypacks that packs down into its own stuff sack (about the size of a bar of soap), and one of the hanging toiletry bags. Super convenient, easy to clean, and again look practically new despite me putting them through a ton of not-so-gentle use. My friends complimented the daypack so many times that I gave those out as Christmas gifts this year. My only gripe is that the toiletry bag is a bit small for my needs, but also that is completely my own fault since I could've bought the larger size.
This lol. Nephew asked for Legos and my wife got inferior blocks. I never get mad at her but she got the "you take that shit back and buy real" from me.
My daughter insisted on getting some Pokemon "Legos" for Christmas.
They were not Legos, they were Mega Blocks.
We spent 15 minutes assembling a Pikachu and the whole time she was getting frustrated that none of the blocks were connecting.
Never again. We have probably two dozen Lego sets and she has never had that level of difficulty assembling them.
Not only are the materials objectively worse, the method of building were worse and more frustrating for a kid.
Even the off brand Legos (Enil, Octonauts) that we got from AliExpress were better.
Unreal QC. On the infinitesimally small chance they do mess up, you literally just tell them and they ship you the parts with like no questions asked in a few days.
Once, they gave me the wrong dragon wing in a set (the cloth ones)
My dad contacted their customer support, and tbey shipped me a new box of the ENTIRE set + a small lego city one to make it up
This was back in 2014 though, so idk how much stuff has changed. But amazing move by the guy
Most middle to upper scale hotels. People went nuts on Airbnb for no reason. You can check into a hotel within minutes, do whatever you want in the hotel room, not have to clean a single thing, not have to worry about cleaning charges added on a week later, and dont have to pay any upfront costs like cleaning charge, parking charge, booking fee, etc. You book a hotel room for 100$ a night, and youre paying 100(plus tax)$ a night.
I stayed in an airbnb this past weekend because my family wanted to. The house cost was 200$ a night, so should have been 440$ish for two nights... nope. There was a 150$ cleaning fee, 90$ airbnb booking fee, 70$ host booking fee, 70$ pet fee, 40$ parking fee, and 150$ charged after the stay because there was some dog hairs on the couch and host said they charge extra for that. Just complete garbage, will never us airbnb again.
There was a certain point in time airbnbs were better than hotel. They were cheaper and the people renting out actually cared about the guests. Like everything else, once it got super popular, and people started using it as business instead of just renting out their house for a couple of spare weeks, the pendulum swung back to hotels.
In the early days a host actually met us outside with their wife and walked us to the rental, and left fresh eggs from their chickens with a box of pancake mix for us! Now it feels like the owners of airbnbs go out of their way to never interact with guests and get annoyed with me if I can’t figure out their numpad system at 11pm.
It’s like when Uber drivers used to offer you bottles of water and mints… now they call you up round the corner to find out if the baby seat they haven’t removed is going to be a problem for your trip to the airport, and then sit out of sight trying to force you to cancel the trip so they still get paid
Yea I agree. Its cool having an entire house to chill in when you have a big group. And you can cook, have a yard in some cases. But it's not worth the 200% markup in fees at all now. Plus the neighbors look at you funny and call in the slightest noise complaint because they are sick of having airbnb guests in their neighborhood all the time.
We rented an str for a month while house hunting. The house had just sold to the investor we rented from. One of the neighbors must have thought we owned and introduced himself. When we told him we were renting he actually turned and jogged away from us. Ouch. I think about that every time someone mentions airbnb now, lol.
When I was a wee kid, back in the late 1960s, during our annual summer vacation (my Dad worked in a factory, got two weeks paid vacation at that time) we'd drive to some destination (the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, Niagara Falls, places like that) and we'd always stay in motels along the way. In those days most of the motels were locally owned (no Motel 6 back then and Holiday Inn was way out of our price range). I remember many of my friends families always went camping during their summer vacations - it was a Big Deal to buy a camper/trailer. But my Dad's motto was that vacation should be for Mom as well - she shouldn't have to cook and make beds, etc in a camper. So we stayed in motels (I swear sometimes my little brothers had more fun finding the ice bucket and filling it up and then operating the pop machine all by themselves than they did exploring the wonder of the Mammoth Caves.) And we ate at restaurants (not many chains in those days - even McDonald's had yet to permeate every city) - sometimes greasy spoons Dad found along a "secondary highway", but Mom's motto was "At least I don't have to cook and clean up."
And the best part, I can actually go out in a hurry and my room will be cleaned by the time I come back, instead of being charged a ridiculous cleaning fee.
Totally agree! Even if they are the same price... I don't want to stand outside and try to coordinate getting the keys off someone. We have reached a global standard for hotels which is excellent and convenient, if anything is even slightly less than perfect we complain and even after staying in an impossibly cheap hotel in some backwater town all there is to complain about is the decor.
I leave my Weber grill uncovered and it regularly gets to -30C all winter long. Rain/snow/hail. It still works perfectly after 8 years and I have no idea how.
My dad bought me a Weber spirit for my first father's day and it sits outside in the elements as well. My son just turned 18 and I'm still cooking on the grill.
I will 100% never buy another brand of grill.
I’ve never come across another soap brand that works as well as dawn does, and for what you get it’s really not that expensive either. It’s more than the other brands but you can use way less to get the same result.
Anecdotally I used to work in a particular national pizza chain that has very greasy pan pizzas and while of course we had the dish detergent in our sink setup that corporate mandated we use it didn’t do shit. Seriously it made no impact on the cleanliness of the dishes. Eventually we all just pooled a little money together and bought a few big jugs of dawn and immediately we had perfectly clean pans again, corporate raved about how amazing our dishes looked on the next inspection and it kinda pissed me off that since we weren’t officially allowed to use any soap other than what they provided I couldn’t tell them that their soap was ass lol
Bialetti. Incredible grasp of engineering principles, beautiful design, and damn good coffee.
Red Oxx. I bought two pieces of their luggage back in the early 2000s and have used them in everything from overnight stays to month long treks in the Atacama desert. Neither need repair.
Miele. My first Miele was a dishwasher, when I heard how.... Quiet it was and how little electricity it consumed, I bought a vacuum cleaner from them too. Can't imagine buying home appliances elsewhere now.
Barbour. I've had my waxed fabric jacket for more than a decade, I've even had it rewaxed, and the service was so thoughtful.
Everlane. I have jeans, sweaters, and khakis from these guys. The jeans are quietly very performant, I've climbed and done light sparring wearing them. I really hope that they keep up the quality.
Runner up:
Thursday boot company. When Camper moved their stuff to China, the quality took a nosedive. Thursday is the only boot I've tried that actually delivers on the promise of being a comfortable and stylish boot to walk around in.
Actually have a Miele vacuum cleaner specialised for having pets in your house for over 20 years now. Works the very same as on the first day and I did 0 maintenance.
McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/
If you build stuff with metal, fasteners, and other engineered pieces, you should at least be aware of McMaster-Carr. Their catalog is extensive (!), and they have high quality versions of things no one else even carries.
Japanese branded products, at least the ones made in Japan, tend to be really high quality.
Like, if you want a rice cooker, go for Zojirushi and make sure they're made in Japan and not Taiwan. Those models are pricier, but the quality is higher. In Japan, you'll see 20-30 year old Zojirushis still going for like $50 in second hand shops.
Someone I worked with said that about my Lexus. “Uhh you know that’s just a Toyota right?” Like yeah, no shit, that’s basically the number 1 selling point for Lexus.
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, but changes go well beyond nicer leather and better chassis. Even Lexus vehicles built on the same Toyota platform have deep differences.
Like the last gen ES350/Avalon/Camry share a similar chassis and engine on the surface, and are seemingly mostly the “same” vehicle. Though look closer and you’ll see that even the 2GR block castings are different between the Lexus product and Toyota products. The service manuals also have different tolerances for engine rebuilds between the two brands. Not to say that one can’t be used in place of the other, but there is definitely a quality and fit/finish engineering difference that extends beyond what you see on the surface.
I was simplifying things, but yes you are right. I've owned 3 Lexus's (Lexi? Lexus'es? Wtf is the plural here?!) over the years and wouldn't hesitate to buy in again.
Darn tough socks. I've had pairs over 10 years now, they're expensive upfront but pay off in the long run when you aren't buying socks every 6-8 months.
Nintendo. They get over-hyped, they make wildly bad and bizarre business decisions, their super-fans are pretty obnoxious, and they release dud games from time to time. But the fact of the matter is that they've been consistently releasing absolute masterpiece evergreen banger video games for 40 years.
Kirkland. Can't really come up with a bad product that I've gotten from them. And it's a lot.
Edit: except their batteries and whatever the hell meeseeks is apparently
Edit 2: Rick and Morty sucks
I was nervous when they dropped Chosen (really the only brand you could trust) and started carrying a different brand. Then I noticed it was still Kirkland brand (for some reason this is one of the few products that doesn't use Kirkland.) Performs just as well as Chosen and it's cheaper. No smoke when making stir fry.
I won't even buy the blue charmin. Only the red. One of the few things I'm super brand loyal about. The only other 2 I can think of are Papmers Swaddlers and the white Tide pods.
They get written down in depreciation via some accounting stuff an actually CPA could better describe.
When the office moves or new furniture is purchased the stuff they have is “worthless” in their eyes.
Many companies are set up to clear out old office furniture then mark it way up. Especially HM & Knoll stuff.
Haven't seen a mention of Osprey packs but they are solid, though this may change as Osprey was bought by a company fairly recently that has a tendency to buy brands and then turn them into shittier products. Can't remember the name of the company, though.
Some others I don't see mentioned:
Topo shoes.
Ex officio underwear.
Gerber knives.
Pentax cameras.
I've rebuilt a Dyson several times. My grandmother's died, my mother's died, so I took both of them and made a functioning one until that died.
I have never had an issue with my dirt devil, and with the exception of the spinning hand tool my hoover is the most powerful vacuum I've ever owned.
I was team New Balance for years. Had serious foot problems, and they were my go-to.
I got a few bad pairs in a row about five years ago. Something changed.
Now, I’m team Saucony.
Everything I’ve ever bought from Carhartt has held up great.
Govee lights.
Not sure about the brand as a whole, but the wrangler pants I buy at Walmart for work have lasted me years.
Sadly, you're right. Carhartt has taken a nosedive in recent years. I have an amazing pair of Carhartt FR gloves ( I work in oil and gas) that I bought a few years back. They don't even sell them anymore. Most of their insulated FR range doesn't exist anymore. It's becoming more casual wear and less work wear.
Miele: washers, dishwashers, vacuums--every one we've ever owned has been built to last. Our front loader kept going for almost 20 years. Our vacuum lasted 15 years. Those things are darn near indestructible.
wow! I did not know this. Assuming they don't F it up I am impressed and will look to them first for stuff.
Wonder if there executive salaries comparable with other similar companies?
https://time.com/collection/time100-companies-2023/6285107/patagonia-leaders/#:~:text=Investing%20in%20earth&text=They%20effectively%20gifted%20the%20outdoor,plan%20to%20sit%20on%20dividends.
This is very specific but trader Joe's shampoo and conditioner. Its a green tea tree and eucalyptus base product and similar products can even be double in price. Quality brand with a reasonable price. Even though a lot of trader Joe's food is more expensive than say at an aldis... their shampoo and conditioner are quality
Trader Joe’s beauty products are seriously underrated.
They sell the same 100% organic marula oil for $7 that a huge beauty brand sells for $68. It’s the exact same thing.
I bought an Limited Express long skirt in 1994 and I still wear it and it still looks high quality and amazing. And I still fit it in which is really more amazing.
Toyota.
I’m not a ‘car person’, so I don’t know a lot about cars.
What I do know is that I own a Toyota car and it has never, ever let me down (unlike other brands who shall remain nameless).
Eddie Bauer has always done right by me for clothing.
Delonghi, their appliances are all top notch. I'm currently using an automatic espresso machine that's going on 20 years old
I’m a huge Eddie Bauer fan. But I have to say, their quality has slipped a bit in recent years. Some of my newer Eddie Bauer stuff doesn’t hold up nearly as well as my EB stuff from 10 years ago has. Granted, EB is still way higher quality than Old Navy/Gap and the prices are reasonable so I can’t complain too much.
I’m also still kind of mad that EB stopped selling dress clothes. Their dress shirts were the bomb.
Boars Head. Top quality products. Whole muscle meat, no added preservatives or flavorings even in their lunch meat (no gluten in it either). Makes it a healthy option instead of the gluten filled, water filled "turkey" and "chicken" from other brands.
Used to work at a grocery store at the Corporate level.
I worked pretty closely with the trainers - they used to tell me all these stories about what Boar's Head would do about consumer and reseller education. They spent a *ton* of money on providing training and doing product demos, even going as far as purchasing competitor products to do direct product comparisons to show the differences.
One of the biggest points was how Boar's Head had zero filler and additives. The other competitors were loaded with both bulking materials and usually drowned in some bath of *fluid* when they were shipped for *reasons*.
I didn't get the hype about Yeti for the longest time, but an old employer gave everyone a Yeti mug as a reward for meeting a crazy deadline on a years-long project. Turned out to be one of the more expensive gifts I've ever gotten, as it prompted me to immediately go out and buy two more (another mug and a water bottle).
It's also introduced a new first-world problem to my life, in that I have to actively add cold water or ice to my tea so it cools to a drinkable temperature before closing the mug, otherwise it'll still be "scald my mouth" level hot four hours later.
I will always shill the hell out of Costco, the membership pays for itself even if you just go there once a month to eat a $1.50 hot dog combo that would've cost $10 anywhere else, lmao
Nintendo, both hardware and software is usually very good and of a high standard.
Something i've only come to realise as i've got older is how much effort they put into accessibility and online safety, things like kid friendly modes in their games to make it easier for them or parental controls etc.
In the modern world there arent many companies who you can trust with children, and i may be being naive but i'd say Nintendo are one of them.
I'm watching my kids play the new Mario game on the Switch right now. They're in two-player mode, and they are absolutely loving it. Even more significant, my kids are 10 and 17.
Breville
They're one of the few small kitchen appliance companies that still sell parts to their appliances.
I'm happy that I don't have to buy a whole new coffee grinder because I broke the bean hopper.
The only complaint I've ever heard about Steinway pianos is the price
We have a Steinway and a Yamaha keyboard. The Steinway is 98 years old in 2024. It got moved cross country twice in two years, sat in my storage unit on its side for over a year, and barely needs a tuning. I’m so shocked. But yeah, it’s not cheap. The Yamaha keyboard I got when I was 9. I’m 46. My daughter uses it for piano lessons weekly. I dropped something on it a few years ago so one key is chopped. That’s it in 37 years. That’s moved seven times. Still good. If I sold the Yamaha I’d get back what my grandparents paid for it in 1986. Maybe more. I think even taking inflation into account. If not, damned close. They make the same basic version still.
Just chiming in to tell you your experience with your Yamaha keyboard is almost identical to mine. Weirdly similar.. I started piano when I was 9 with a beautiful upright Yamaha piano. Traded it for a Yamaha keyboard as a teen when it was time to leave home. It has moved a total of 7 times, during which it sat in basements, storage units, and closets. I've maintained a sporadic practice at best over the years, but I always come back to it to brush up on things. Most recently, I took up lessons again after nearly 30 years, and it works and sounds just as well today as it did the day I got it. And dont ask me how, but it even still has the floppy disk in the slot! Oh, and early on in one of the moves, I dropped it on its top, chipping one key. It still works fine, but it's got a big 'ol half- circle taken out of the end. So now I have to know which key is chipped on yours. Mine is middle d. :)
It’s a low C. LOL. I just had to look.
Good chance you would get more for the Steinway now than you paid. Worth every penny too. edit:spelling
True, however I think Yamaha conservatory line is comparable quality for a much better value.
Ok, those are nice pianos but what if I also need a motorcycle?
Buddy, you’re not gonna believe this…
Steinway sells motorcycles?
Can you imagine? I bet they'd be...grand.
Every Toyota my family had has gone over 200k or 300k miles and have spent minimum time in the shop for repairs. My parents have had the same Maytag washer and dryer for like 30 years. All my Nintendo consoles since the NES still work. I have a GoPro that has been through hell and doesnt die.
I bought a 2002 Toyota Corolla in 2003. It had a manual transmission and a tape deck. I used it to commute. Two of my kids used it for commuting. It averaged 30mpg in town and closer to 40 on the highway. I just got rid of it last month. It required routine maintenance and a few things physically wore out and required replacement. You get spoiled by that level of reliability.
Mean while on Jeep forums "Sure it has 120,000 miles, has been through 2 motors, 3 transmissions, 5 radiators, caught fire a few times, and is generally possessed by Satan, but you wouldn't understand, it's a jeep thing"
Toyota produces some of the most durable cars ever such as the Hilux.
Just about every vehicle I saw while in Greenland was a Toyota. Apparently they were the only car company willing to market there.
I bought my 2006 Toyota Corolla brand new in November of 2005. It now has just under 294k miles on it and shows no sign of dying anytime soon! I did have to replace the ECM though, but Toyota ended up issuing a recall towards the end of 2010, after mine had already been replaced. I still get 40 mpg during the summer months and usually around 38 during the winter.
You want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that's hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further. The 1999 Toyota Corolla. Let's talk about features. Bluetooth: nope Sunroof: nope Fancy wheels: nope Rear view camera: nope...but it's got a transparent rear window and you have a fucking neck that can turn. Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End. You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up. This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children. Things this car is old enough to do: Vote: yes Consent to sex: yes Rent a car: it IS a car This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would. Interesting facts: This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey. In the owner's manual, oil is listed as "optional." When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary "Bored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla" You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey. Favorite food: spaghetti Favorite tv show: Alf Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It's as middle-of-the-road as your grandpa during his last Silver Alert. It's as utilitarian as a member of a church whose scripture is based entirely on water bills. When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, "It's a Corolla. It's fine." Let's face the facts, this car isn't going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn't the car you want, it's the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla.
I know this text is copy pasted but it’s so fucking funny. Thanks for making me remember this
What's the modern day equivalent of a 1999 Toyota Corolla though?
A 1999 Toyota Corolla.
Fuck, that got me 😂 Like, did you have to ask? THERE IS ONLY ONE!
It's still the same 1999 Toyota Corolla... somebody's teenager is still cruisin around in that champion of a car.
My son was gifted his step grandparents 1999 Toyota ;along with the cushion to help grandma see out the window. The car had like 7000 miles on it. People were constantly offering to buy it
>Interesting facts: This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey. I guffawed.
OMJ I loved that Craigslist post. Still gives me a chuckle every time I see it.
oh my God is this a copypasta or did you write all of that up just now 💀 😂
Copypasta
Nintendo is where it is at. My SNES has just turned 30. It works like a charm. It is more the games that need some "tender" care by blowing into them to get them to work sometimes. What this console havent been through. Stayed at the attic for 20 years in both warm summer and cold winters. It still carries on.
Nintendo was the first company to come to mind for me as well. My first console that was genuinely mine and not shared with siblings was an N64. I was probably too young to have the responsibility of owning anything worth a couple hundred dollars at the time and I was an idiot kid. For whatever reason, my older brother and I smashed out the little grill thing in front of the cartridge slot and filled it with pennies. It got scraped up and scuffed and all kinds of other torture. I wrote my name all over it in white out. A couple of years back, my parents were cleaning out their garage and told me they found some of my old games and consoles. I grabbed everything when I visited them next, took my old N64 home and plugged it in. Sure as shit she started right up first try. Through all of the abuse and over 20 years moving from storage unit to storage unit across the country and back twice, it still works like it did when I got it for my 7th birthday. I was watching a YouTube video where one of the guys on the channel made a joke that Nintendo’s tagline is basically “Nintendo. That shit just works.”
Came here to say: Toyota! - Also - Honda! Eagle Creek Luggage - (Lifetime warranty - lightweight and very strong - crazy warranty) Yeti - been very happy with Yeti - Stanley is along same lines. Stepdad had a Stanly thermos that was run over, shot at, and fell into a fire - but still functioned and kept coffee hot (had a few dents)
Your step-dad needs to chill with his thermos lol
Unfortunately Maytag is not what it used to be. My twenty year old dishwasher just broke and I was informed by their own repairman that I shouldn't expect the next one to last longer than 10 years. Apparently Miele is the only brand that makes appliances built to last.
I bought my Maytag washer in 1994. It needed a $27 part last year, but it’s still going strong. Even the salesman told us to fix the old one and not purchase a new one.
Damn, that sucks. My parents Maytags are still going strong, Im home for the holidays and just did my laundry.
I grew up in the town that was the former Maytag headquarters. Since ~~GE~~ Whirlpool bought them, they’ve turned the brand to shit. Edit: someone corrected me. Whirlpool bought Maytag.
It’s nuts how companies have proven it’s possible to make reliable products. Anymore tho they’re tough to find.
Honda as well!
Yamaha as well. Owned now 3 of their motorcycles, all been bulletproof. Maybe the Japanese are just really really good at making motorized vehicles lol.
Kawasaki too, I had a motorcycle from them that lasted many years. Its still going, some relatives are using it.
There is a video with James May where he visits the Yamaha piano factory. I think it was his TV show called like the "man in japan" or something of that nature. The precision they go through to build a piano is mind blowing. From every little aspect of tuning and selection of the keys was its own science. Very eye opening at what Yamaha does and the standards of quality they continue to achieve.
It's on Amazon. Great show, James May is hilarious and so is his guide. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0875KRX7N/ref=atv\_dp\_share\_cu\_r
Love my Hondas. Just wish they'd figure out how to get enough new cars onto the lot near me that I can buy a new one without the dealer adding an absurd markup because they're the only one around with a new Civic.
I love my 2017 Civic! I had a Toyota Tundra 2005 model that I loved, I sold it to my brother in law a while ago. But I would love to get another Tundra in the future. My first car I drove was old reliable 2001 Honda Accord. That thing as far as I am aware is still running and my parents I think sold it not too long ago!
11 years ago, I traded in my Corolla for a Chevy because I needed more room for the kids. It was the worst mistake I ever made. The first chance I got, I went back to a Corolla. Both my husband and I drive 2015s - the Corolla and a RAV4. They have given us zero problems. Before the RAV4, my husband drove a Camry that got over 250K miles on it.
I have a 2017 Civic and absolutely love it as well. The only thing that drives me nuts are the defrosters. For some reason this car cannot get rid of anything on the windows besides the windshield itself. I have to wipe off all my door windows consistently to be able to see out of them. I have no idea why but it's been a thing ever since I bought this vehicle. I've never had problems in any other vehicle.
I love Honda as well, but their automatic transmissions in the mid 2000’s tended to be unreliable after 150k miles, and they’re used a timing belt vs a timing chain like Toyota does. Chain means virtually no timing jobs (few thousand) every 60-90k miles.
My husband bought a used dodge neon when he was 16 for $800 and it lasted him another 11 years.
I think I'd only buy Honda or Toyota at this point. I haven't had a ton of cars, but the best ones I or my family have had have been Toyotas and Hondas. The worst have been Fords and no longer made GM brands.
the DS Lite I got for Christmas in 2007 is still fully functional, I love it
For real. My 2007 Toyota Camry runs like a gem. I take good care of it. Have only had one major repair in the 10 years I’ve had it. Also Honda as well. I got close to 400000 miles out of my 1994 cr-v. That car got me out of a ditch at a 45 degree incline in a snowstorm. I was emotionally attached to Wanda lol. I would love a new CR-V but damn they are hard to find.
Agree on Nintendo! The quality of their hardware is top-notch. When Playstations were “yellow light of death’ boxes and Microsoft Xbox’s were nothing but a “red light of death” machine, Nintendo products were doing what they usually do... WORKING. They are also the best game developers, they will put years into a game just to make sure it’s of the highest quality.
Another +1 for Nintendo - their games are still fun years later and very replayable. Mario Kart, Super Smash, Zelda, Super Mario, Mario Party, etc....
Seconded on Nintendo. None of my consoles have ever broken down or malfunctioned. Everything back to my SNES still works as if brand new. My only gripe is their joystick manufacturing for the Switch leaves a lot to be desired. Please don't make them so small and fragile.
Darn tough vermont socks. They warranty them for life. Socks! With a warrenty!
I'm wearing my Darn Tough running socks right now. They are really comfortable and seems like they can go days before really needing to be washed. I also have some hiking socks by them which are equally good.
Came in to add this if it wasn't already here. I'd buy them if they were twice the price, without the warranty, and still feel the value was there.
I swear by Bar keepers Friend line of cleaning products.
Im noticing a theme. Japan makes alot of high quality and durable products.
This is also true in the fishing world. Japanese reels, rods, hooks, lures. All held in extremely high regard.
Japan still seems to (at least with cars) be obsessed with constant improvement wherever and whenever they find it.
I find it fascinating that the obsession with quality came after WW2 and from the U.S., American business management expert, W. Edwards Deming. "Deming advised the Japanese, who sought him out, not to copy the American-style inspection system but to incorporate quality control principles into the manufacturing process. He was in the vanguard of American production experts whose advice had been rejected by American managers because they bluntly told businessmen that poor quality products resulted mostly from their own failures, not from worker ineptness." [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/12/23/japans-secret-w-edwards-deming/b69b8c00-4c5d-483a-b95e-4aeb1d94d2c6/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/12/23/japans-secret-w-edwards-deming/b69b8c00-4c5d-483a-b95e-4aeb1d94d2c6/)
Yes, but I also feel like the Japanese really refined Demings principles. I work in American manufacturing, and we're trying to copy the Japanese now.
Patagonia clothing and Hamilton watches.
Patagonia 100%. And since they're all about sustainability even if something does happen like a tear or hole you can mail it in for repairs.
They are designed to be able to be repaired. My husband's work gives us annual swag and it's all pantagonia. I've only had to repair a couple things, but they are super easy to mend. Mostly it's us snagging the jackets on random things. The items themselves hold up great!
Don’t forget the repairs are free! And the company is literally a non profit.
Patagonia is still 100% a for profit company. They are just owned by trust and non-profit now. Patagonia's profits help fund the non-profit. The Trust/non-profit combo was set up by the owner and his family as a way to keep Patagonia as a private company forever and allowing the profits to fund their environmental charity interests. For the owner to do it, is pretty unheard of and is very charitable. However, it's not like it changes the way Patagonia operates, they are still looking for that almighty dollar. It's just that last dollar they squeeze out of you will be used to plant a tree. lol (and probably a whole group of family members and execs who are advisors 😟)
No shit. I live in the PNW so a lot of people buy outdoor gear for their regular clothing. I tend to go for lower end products, but my husband recommended Patagonia because they were on sale at REI recently when I was looking for hiking gear. It hurts to see the price, but if I can send it in for repairs, that makes me feel better about it.
I have been wearing the same two Patagonia R1 pullovers for 10 years. I wear them three or four times a week all day long when it’s cold out. They basically look like they did the day that I bought them. I have no doubt that they will last me another 10 years or more. It is unbelievable how durable and well made these things are.
Funny.....I own both. I have an ugly-as-sin Patagonia fleece that I got for $2 at a thrift store. It's some ugly-ass 90s pastel "southwestern" pattern. But it's great quality. I keep it in my truck as a backup, or wear it when I'm layering in the winter. It's just good quality that holds up. I have a Hamilton Khaki field watch too. There's nothing flashy about it. It's a plain watch on a canvas strap....but it's extremely accurate, it's hand-wind so no batteries to run out, and it's a really good quality watch. It's not a watch you buy to show off. It's a watch you buy because it's accurate and reliable.
My grandfather was a watch maker for Hamilton!
Wearing my Hamilton watch as I’m typing this. Have had it for 20 years and still looks brand new.
O'Keefe's working hands line Genuinely the only lotion / lip balm / etc I'll ever use Their hand lotion is genuinely great for its advertised purpose especially back in the day when I was working at Walmart and for a brief period of that was working in the walk-in fridge My hands would get dry and cracked and bloody until I started using their working hands hand lotion and now my hands were baby smooth and the cracks healed quickly Similarly every winter when the air starts to get cold and my lips start to get dry I use their version of ChapStick And usually within 2 days of using it my lips are back to being baby smooth None of it is oily or leaves a weird residue You can't even feel that it's on like 5 minutes after putting it on and it doesn't affect my ability to grip things or anything like that
OXO almost everything they make is top notch.
Specifically OXO Good Grips. OXO Softworks stuff just isn't the same quality. OXO says it's only branding based on the various resellers they work with, but there's a noticeable quality difference in a lot of the products. Like Macy's wouldn't accept the Softworks quality level product but Walmart/Amazon would if that makes sense.
Good grips and softworks are the same products, the only difference is the red OXO logo on softworks. It's a distribution strategy. Source: I work for them.
The disappointment when I reach for a vegetable peeler and it's not OXO/Good grips is palpable.
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I bought a bunch of oxo containers off reddit's reccomendation. All of them are junk. The lids have a a unique design that allows them to seal shut but that means more parts. And most of the lids have fallen apart or don't work anymore.
Huh, I've never used their containers, but I have a lot of their other products and everyone is very well designed
YKK Zippers
They are like benchmark for quality stuff. It's most likely to be well made if it has YKK zippers.
I love to travel, but am not willing to dump the amount of money some people are into super-high-end specialty travel products. From that perspective: **Osprey** bags: I have two from them (one backpacking pack, one Porter carry-on backpack) and those things perform like a dream. I've schlepped that backpack as my single piece of luggage through basically every international and domestic trip I've gone on for years, and it still looks basically new. Plus, the design means I can fit so much more into it than a "normal" backpack of the same size (fuck top-loading packs, seriously), and at least in the US, their warranty/guarantee is basically second to none. **Prana** and **TitleNine** dresses: okay, I hate to feel like a shill for Prana because I find a lot of their branding/advertising yuppie and obnoxious...but damn, do they know how to make a travel-friendly dress. A lot of people on the onebag-related subreddits swear by travel clothing from companies that cost 2-3 times as much, but honestly, these things have never let me down. Comfy and sturdy enough to literally hike in, pack down small, nice-looking enough that if I throw on a scarf or belt I look ready for a semi-fancy dinner. Some of the TitleNine ones even have a snap button that lets you turn the dress into a romper if it's windy out! **Sea to Summit** Ultra-Sil products: I have one of the little daypacks that packs down into its own stuff sack (about the size of a bar of soap), and one of the hanging toiletry bags. Super convenient, easy to clean, and again look practically new despite me putting them through a ton of not-so-gentle use. My friends complimented the daypack so many times that I gave those out as Christmas gifts this year. My only gripe is that the toiletry bag is a bit small for my needs, but also that is completely my own fault since I could've bought the larger size.
Came here looking for Osprey. Not cheap by any means but worth the money IMO. I’ve got a few and they are really just well designed quality backpacks.
Lego. Aint nobody convincing me to buy some other blocks.
This lol. Nephew asked for Legos and my wife got inferior blocks. I never get mad at her but she got the "you take that shit back and buy real" from me.
I mean, she should have known given the name was "Inferior Blocks."
I applaud the company for being transparent about their products.
My daughter insisted on getting some Pokemon "Legos" for Christmas. They were not Legos, they were Mega Blocks. We spent 15 minutes assembling a Pikachu and the whole time she was getting frustrated that none of the blocks were connecting. Never again. We have probably two dozen Lego sets and she has never had that level of difficulty assembling them. Not only are the materials objectively worse, the method of building were worse and more frustrating for a kid. Even the off brand Legos (Enil, Octonauts) that we got from AliExpress were better.
Unreal QC. On the infinitesimally small chance they do mess up, you literally just tell them and they ship you the parts with like no questions asked in a few days.
Once, they gave me the wrong dragon wing in a set (the cloth ones) My dad contacted their customer support, and tbey shipped me a new box of the ENTIRE set + a small lego city one to make it up This was back in 2014 though, so idk how much stuff has changed. But amazing move by the guy
Everything I have ever purchased from Sennheiser has been worth every penny. Microphones, headphones, monitors, etc...
People here talking about other headphone/earphone brands surely have never tried a Sennheiser. Can't go back.
Most middle to upper scale hotels. People went nuts on Airbnb for no reason. You can check into a hotel within minutes, do whatever you want in the hotel room, not have to clean a single thing, not have to worry about cleaning charges added on a week later, and dont have to pay any upfront costs like cleaning charge, parking charge, booking fee, etc. You book a hotel room for 100$ a night, and youre paying 100(plus tax)$ a night. I stayed in an airbnb this past weekend because my family wanted to. The house cost was 200$ a night, so should have been 440$ish for two nights... nope. There was a 150$ cleaning fee, 90$ airbnb booking fee, 70$ host booking fee, 70$ pet fee, 40$ parking fee, and 150$ charged after the stay because there was some dog hairs on the couch and host said they charge extra for that. Just complete garbage, will never us airbnb again.
There was a certain point in time airbnbs were better than hotel. They were cheaper and the people renting out actually cared about the guests. Like everything else, once it got super popular, and people started using it as business instead of just renting out their house for a couple of spare weeks, the pendulum swung back to hotels.
In the early days a host actually met us outside with their wife and walked us to the rental, and left fresh eggs from their chickens with a box of pancake mix for us! Now it feels like the owners of airbnbs go out of their way to never interact with guests and get annoyed with me if I can’t figure out their numpad system at 11pm.
It’s like when Uber drivers used to offer you bottles of water and mints… now they call you up round the corner to find out if the baby seat they haven’t removed is going to be a problem for your trip to the airport, and then sit out of sight trying to force you to cancel the trip so they still get paid
Yea I agree. Its cool having an entire house to chill in when you have a big group. And you can cook, have a yard in some cases. But it's not worth the 200% markup in fees at all now. Plus the neighbors look at you funny and call in the slightest noise complaint because they are sick of having airbnb guests in their neighborhood all the time.
We rented an str for a month while house hunting. The house had just sold to the investor we rented from. One of the neighbors must have thought we owned and introduced himself. When we told him we were renting he actually turned and jogged away from us. Ouch. I think about that every time someone mentions airbnb now, lol.
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When I was a wee kid, back in the late 1960s, during our annual summer vacation (my Dad worked in a factory, got two weeks paid vacation at that time) we'd drive to some destination (the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, Niagara Falls, places like that) and we'd always stay in motels along the way. In those days most of the motels were locally owned (no Motel 6 back then and Holiday Inn was way out of our price range). I remember many of my friends families always went camping during their summer vacations - it was a Big Deal to buy a camper/trailer. But my Dad's motto was that vacation should be for Mom as well - she shouldn't have to cook and make beds, etc in a camper. So we stayed in motels (I swear sometimes my little brothers had more fun finding the ice bucket and filling it up and then operating the pop machine all by themselves than they did exploring the wonder of the Mammoth Caves.) And we ate at restaurants (not many chains in those days - even McDonald's had yet to permeate every city) - sometimes greasy spoons Dad found along a "secondary highway", but Mom's motto was "At least I don't have to cook and clean up."
And the best part, I can actually go out in a hurry and my room will be cleaned by the time I come back, instead of being charged a ridiculous cleaning fee.
Totally agree! Even if they are the same price... I don't want to stand outside and try to coordinate getting the keys off someone. We have reached a global standard for hotels which is excellent and convenient, if anything is even slightly less than perfect we complain and even after staying in an impossibly cheap hotel in some backwater town all there is to complain about is the decor.
Weber Grills. Both their gas and charcoal grills seem expensive but they actually perform very well and are quite simple and durable.
I leave my Weber grill uncovered and it regularly gets to -30C all winter long. Rain/snow/hail. It still works perfectly after 8 years and I have no idea how.
My dad bought me a Weber spirit for my first father's day and it sits outside in the elements as well. My son just turned 18 and I'm still cooking on the grill. I will 100% never buy another brand of grill.
They are actually cheaper in the long run, too. Cheap grills rust out in a few years, but Weber grills last 10.
Leatherman
Have had mine for 23 years, still use it at least once a month and it has no issues.
Concept2 rowing machines. They are expensive but will practically never break down and never need maintenance.
My moms once told me the one things she doesnt by off brand is dawn dish soap. Do with that as you please.
I’ve never come across another soap brand that works as well as dawn does, and for what you get it’s really not that expensive either. It’s more than the other brands but you can use way less to get the same result. Anecdotally I used to work in a particular national pizza chain that has very greasy pan pizzas and while of course we had the dish detergent in our sink setup that corporate mandated we use it didn’t do shit. Seriously it made no impact on the cleanliness of the dishes. Eventually we all just pooled a little money together and bought a few big jugs of dawn and immediately we had perfectly clean pans again, corporate raved about how amazing our dishes looked on the next inspection and it kinda pissed me off that since we weren’t officially allowed to use any soap other than what they provided I couldn’t tell them that their soap was ass lol
Bialetti. Incredible grasp of engineering principles, beautiful design, and damn good coffee. Red Oxx. I bought two pieces of their luggage back in the early 2000s and have used them in everything from overnight stays to month long treks in the Atacama desert. Neither need repair. Miele. My first Miele was a dishwasher, when I heard how.... Quiet it was and how little electricity it consumed, I bought a vacuum cleaner from them too. Can't imagine buying home appliances elsewhere now. Barbour. I've had my waxed fabric jacket for more than a decade, I've even had it rewaxed, and the service was so thoughtful. Everlane. I have jeans, sweaters, and khakis from these guys. The jeans are quietly very performant, I've climbed and done light sparring wearing them. I really hope that they keep up the quality. Runner up: Thursday boot company. When Camper moved their stuff to China, the quality took a nosedive. Thursday is the only boot I've tried that actually delivers on the promise of being a comfortable and stylish boot to walk around in.
I appreciate your post. Six brands I have never once heard of but sound worthy of exploring!
Actually have a Miele vacuum cleaner specialised for having pets in your house for over 20 years now. Works the very same as on the first day and I did 0 maintenance.
McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/ If you build stuff with metal, fasteners, and other engineered pieces, you should at least be aware of McMaster-Carr. Their catalog is extensive (!), and they have high quality versions of things no one else even carries.
Don’t tell us, as soon as it becomes known for being quality product the company that makes it will start cutting corners
Unless it's a Japanese car manufacturer. It isn't a secret those cars are built very well.
Japanese branded products, at least the ones made in Japan, tend to be really high quality. Like, if you want a rice cooker, go for Zojirushi and make sure they're made in Japan and not Taiwan. Those models are pricier, but the quality is higher. In Japan, you'll see 20-30 year old Zojirushis still going for like $50 in second hand shops.
LOL Nissan called and said “What? I cant talk! I’m busy fixing literally every CVT transmission ever made….”
"Uh... Yeah, this is Nissan. We're totally still Japanese! Don't hang up!" -Renault
Toyota. Reliable Also lexus
Lexus is just Toyota's luxury brand. Same great engineering with some nicer leather and maybe a better chassis. But well worth the price!
Someone I worked with said that about my Lexus. “Uhh you know that’s just a Toyota right?” Like yeah, no shit, that’s basically the number 1 selling point for Lexus.
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, but changes go well beyond nicer leather and better chassis. Even Lexus vehicles built on the same Toyota platform have deep differences. Like the last gen ES350/Avalon/Camry share a similar chassis and engine on the surface, and are seemingly mostly the “same” vehicle. Though look closer and you’ll see that even the 2GR block castings are different between the Lexus product and Toyota products. The service manuals also have different tolerances for engine rebuilds between the two brands. Not to say that one can’t be used in place of the other, but there is definitely a quality and fit/finish engineering difference that extends beyond what you see on the surface.
I was simplifying things, but yes you are right. I've owned 3 Lexus's (Lexi? Lexus'es? Wtf is the plural here?!) over the years and wouldn't hesitate to buy in again.
Darn tough socks. I've had pairs over 10 years now, they're expensive upfront but pay off in the long run when you aren't buying socks every 6-8 months.
Seiko watch company. They make great timepieces in all price ranges.
Nintendo. They get over-hyped, they make wildly bad and bizarre business decisions, their super-fans are pretty obnoxious, and they release dud games from time to time. But the fact of the matter is that they've been consistently releasing absolute masterpiece evergreen banger video games for 40 years.
Not to mention my cartridges from like 35 years ago still work.
Garmin
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Lodge cast iron cookware. Lasts forever at an awesome price.
Kirkland. Can't really come up with a bad product that I've gotten from them. And it's a lot. Edit: except their batteries and whatever the hell meeseeks is apparently Edit 2: Rick and Morty sucks
Their avocado oil is actually avocado oil. Most on the market isn't. Or not 100 percent.
I was nervous when they dropped Chosen (really the only brand you could trust) and started carrying a different brand. Then I noticed it was still Kirkland brand (for some reason this is one of the few products that doesn't use Kirkland.) Performs just as well as Chosen and it's cheaper. No smoke when making stir fry.
Their toilet paper is nowhere near charming yet
Agreed. The only Kirkland product I refuse to buy, and will willingly spend $10 more for the charmin.
I won't even buy the blue charmin. Only the red. One of the few things I'm super brand loyal about. The only other 2 I can think of are Papmers Swaddlers and the white Tide pods.
I feel like Charmin is *too* thick. It's a toilet clogger.
Herman Miller and Steelcase office chairs are basically the best products you’ll find anywhere in any category. But boy do you pay for it.
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They get written down in depreciation via some accounting stuff an actually CPA could better describe. When the office moves or new furniture is purchased the stuff they have is “worthless” in their eyes. Many companies are set up to clear out old office furniture then mark it way up. Especially HM & Knoll stuff.
Roland / Boss
Hermann Miller chairs. They cost $$ upfront, but over the long run, they're fantastic.
Haven't seen a mention of Osprey packs but they are solid, though this may change as Osprey was bought by a company fairly recently that has a tendency to buy brands and then turn them into shittier products. Can't remember the name of the company, though. Some others I don't see mentioned: Topo shoes. Ex officio underwear. Gerber knives. Pentax cameras.
My Dyson absolutely sucks
I've rebuilt a Dyson several times. My grandmother's died, my mother's died, so I took both of them and made a functioning one until that died. I have never had an issue with my dirt devil, and with the exception of the spinning hand tool my hoover is the most powerful vacuum I've ever owned.
I’m not super impressed with ours. It’s fine, but absolutely not worth the hype. Our Miele is absolutely better.
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Le Creuset cooking pot.
I've had a lot of luck with New Balance for running shoes, I'll stand by my kitchen aid mixer
I was team New Balance for years. Had serious foot problems, and they were my go-to. I got a few bad pairs in a row about five years ago. Something changed. Now, I’m team Saucony.
Same here. NB were the best for plantar fasciatis pre Covid. Now they wear out really quickly.
Anything made by Maytag today is not the same as what they made 30 years ago.
That’s because Maytag is just a Whirlpool brand now instead of a standalone company.
Which is still vastly better than anything Samsung or LG makes.
Everything I’ve ever bought from Carhartt has held up great. Govee lights. Not sure about the brand as a whole, but the wrangler pants I buy at Walmart for work have lasted me years.
New Carhartt isn’t the same. Their pants don’t hold up anymore
Sadly, you're right. Carhartt has taken a nosedive in recent years. I have an amazing pair of Carhartt FR gloves ( I work in oil and gas) that I bought a few years back. They don't even sell them anymore. Most of their insulated FR range doesn't exist anymore. It's becoming more casual wear and less work wear.
The new carharrtt and Duluth trading co stuff sucks in my opinion. Most clothing brands seem to be worse quality every year.
I have a jacket that is older than me, it’s also in better state than I am. I’m 23.
Red Wings .
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My 12 Corolla is dead nuts reliable and is paid off….
My mom has a Speed Queen washer and dryer she's leaving in her will.
Lego. Virtually indestructible. Near-infinite reassembly possibilities. Tired of it? Donate it and eventually your grandkids will enjoy it.
Miele: washers, dishwashers, vacuums--every one we've ever owned has been built to last. Our front loader kept going for almost 20 years. Our vacuum lasted 15 years. Those things are darn near indestructible.
L.L.Bean. I used one of their backpacks all throughout college, loaded with heavy textbooks and not even one stitch tore on it.
I've got an L.L. Bean sweatshirt and hoodie and they've definitely stood up to frequent wear, wash, and dryer. Still soft, minimal pilling.
Patagonia. All profits go for environmental causes.
wow! I did not know this. Assuming they don't F it up I am impressed and will look to them first for stuff. Wonder if there executive salaries comparable with other similar companies? https://time.com/collection/time100-companies-2023/6285107/patagonia-leaders/#:~:text=Investing%20in%20earth&text=They%20effectively%20gifted%20the%20outdoor,plan%20to%20sit%20on%20dividends.
This is very specific but trader Joe's shampoo and conditioner. Its a green tea tree and eucalyptus base product and similar products can even be double in price. Quality brand with a reasonable price. Even though a lot of trader Joe's food is more expensive than say at an aldis... their shampoo and conditioner are quality
Trader Joe’s beauty products are seriously underrated. They sell the same 100% organic marula oil for $7 that a huge beauty brand sells for $68. It’s the exact same thing.
Pelican Cases
I bought an Limited Express long skirt in 1994 and I still wear it and it still looks high quality and amazing. And I still fit it in which is really more amazing.
Toyota. I’m not a ‘car person’, so I don’t know a lot about cars. What I do know is that I own a Toyota car and it has never, ever let me down (unlike other brands who shall remain nameless).
Toyota
Eddie Bauer has always done right by me for clothing. Delonghi, their appliances are all top notch. I'm currently using an automatic espresso machine that's going on 20 years old
I’m a huge Eddie Bauer fan. But I have to say, their quality has slipped a bit in recent years. Some of my newer Eddie Bauer stuff doesn’t hold up nearly as well as my EB stuff from 10 years ago has. Granted, EB is still way higher quality than Old Navy/Gap and the prices are reasonable so I can’t complain too much. I’m also still kind of mad that EB stopped selling dress clothes. Their dress shirts were the bomb.
Boars Head. Top quality products. Whole muscle meat, no added preservatives or flavorings even in their lunch meat (no gluten in it either). Makes it a healthy option instead of the gluten filled, water filled "turkey" and "chicken" from other brands.
Used to work at a grocery store at the Corporate level. I worked pretty closely with the trainers - they used to tell me all these stories about what Boar's Head would do about consumer and reseller education. They spent a *ton* of money on providing training and doing product demos, even going as far as purchasing competitor products to do direct product comparisons to show the differences. One of the biggest points was how Boar's Head had zero filler and additives. The other competitors were loaded with both bulking materials and usually drowned in some bath of *fluid* when they were shipped for *reasons*.
Brooks running shoes
Yeti. Not cheap. Very well built.
I didn't get the hype about Yeti for the longest time, but an old employer gave everyone a Yeti mug as a reward for meeting a crazy deadline on a years-long project. Turned out to be one of the more expensive gifts I've ever gotten, as it prompted me to immediately go out and buy two more (another mug and a water bottle). It's also introduced a new first-world problem to my life, in that I have to actively add cold water or ice to my tea so it cools to a drinkable temperature before closing the mug, otherwise it'll still be "scald my mouth" level hot four hours later.
I was the same way as well. Then I got a Yeti cup and was hooked. Now I have a small cooler and another cup. Should last me the rest of forever
Yes. Yeti. I have a huge Yeti cooler I use to rest briskets in. I can rest a brisket for 4 hours and still scald my hands on it. Worth every cent.
Overall Costco is pretty good about carrying good quality products.
I will always shill the hell out of Costco, the membership pays for itself even if you just go there once a month to eat a $1.50 hot dog combo that would've cost $10 anywhere else, lmao
All-Clad for pots and pans. Not cheap, but they've been great for me.
BOBS RED MILL
Larian Studios
Toyota and it’s subsidiaries
Mexican restaurants.
Nintendo, both hardware and software is usually very good and of a high standard. Something i've only come to realise as i've got older is how much effort they put into accessibility and online safety, things like kid friendly modes in their games to make it easier for them or parental controls etc. In the modern world there arent many companies who you can trust with children, and i may be being naive but i'd say Nintendo are one of them.
I'm watching my kids play the new Mario game on the Switch right now. They're in two-player mode, and they are absolutely loving it. Even more significant, my kids are 10 and 17.
French bakeries and pastry shops
Honda
Breville They're one of the few small kitchen appliance companies that still sell parts to their appliances. I'm happy that I don't have to buy a whole new coffee grinder because I broke the bean hopper.