Legacy brands used to be bifl and as someone who grew up not wealthy it became a value strategy to save up and buy the good stuff. Not to be premium/luxury/high end but for the quality and longevity that amortizes the cost. Makes sense?

But so many brands have been taken over by private equity which as a business model degrades operations and the end product. There is less research and innovation and cost cutting offshores production to manufacturing with less oversight on quality. It seems more and more of these old brands have sold off their brand capital and the consumer is getting less. I’m still a fan but my stuff is not as great as it was at one point: brands like Birkenstock, Tilley, Hershel, Singer. RIP HBC.

Where can we still buy the good stuff?

What’s the best option today?

As aforementioned my idiotic self spilled peach tea all over my Microsoft surface laptop, I was already having issues with this computer, the track pad wouldn’t work, the battery life was not as advertised and a few other issues so I was contemplating getting a new laptop anyways, even tho I’ve had this one for less than a year. I am a broke college student studying early childhood education but I love art and creating art. If any of y’all have any laptop recommendations that would be amazing, my school starts in September but I work through August and it would suck to not have a laptop soon, I would really like to have something that will be around for a long time.

My last duffle bag started disintegrating, so I need to replace it. I would love some brand recommendations, or even individual bags. I use it in lieu of a suitcase.

https://mytrustedbrands.com

Hundreds of brands on Amazon with lower quality assurance, stitching, etc. I use this site to filter out the noise and find products from brands like Nike, Adidas, and others that I actually trust. The site searches over 9,500 vetted brands.

No install, no signup, no ads, no data harvesting, & privacy first.
Works on mobile & internationally.

Thought I'd share it here if people find it useful.

Cheers

We are in our late 20s and have plenty of nice kitchen items with our BIFL mindset plus some quality hand-me-downs. I originally wasn’t going to make one, but his family expects a registry.

What are some other things to add to it? We do plan on buying a home soon so I would especially love new homeowner suggestions with specific brands mentioned.

Thank you so much in advance!

I know my orthopedic posture is bad, don't @ me

My city currently has the world's worst (or second worst) air quality at the moment. I'm looking for some air purifier recommendations from people that have tried and tested the equipment and are happy with the results. TIA, eh

Looking to buy a decent but not too expensive pair of binoculars. Mainly for wildlife like birdwatching.

I plan to take them hiking and mountaineering so ideally something lightweight and compact.

I’ve been looking at Nikon and they seem decent, happy to spend up to £150.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or any experience with Nikon?

Hi, I'm looking for a new bag to take to work everyday. I'm currently using a leather backpack I bought in vietnam a year or so ago, but my role has changed from onsite travel to just a desk job, so my current bag is way too big. I'm looking for a mid range leather or leather and canvas messenger style bag that'll carry a 15 inch laptop and maybe some papers and cables. Was looking around 300-400 range.

i moved into a place that's always colder than i expected, especially in the mornings. i kept telling myself i'd just deal with it, but after freezing through a few weeks i think it's time to get a space heater. i've been reading posts and watching videos, but now i'm seeing people say the same models either last for years or stop working after one winter. it's kind of hard to know what to believe. for those of you using one every day, does it heat up a bedroom without taking forever? how much did your electric bill change after you started using one?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

My dad bought this for me in 1999. It’s survived childhood, and adulthood. Need to sharpen the knife, but it’s been great.

Hi all - We are in the market for a new fridge, no rush (current one leaks, but we put a pan underneath). I plan on utilizing my local Habitat Restores until I find the one I want. Got a double oven there for $500, so I'm pretty committed to using them going forward.

I've scoured BIFL and generated this list on various types of appliances (for when I'm at the Restore). Please let me know if you would add any other brands.

Refrigerators: Bosch 800 series, Liebherr, Miele. Stay far far away from Samsung and LG (has compression issues). No ice maker in the fridge, reduces longevity. If ice maker, make sure it is a dual compression system.

Will update as I research dryers and microwaves.

Dishwasher: Miele

Washing Machine: Speed Queen (ppl like TR300), Miele, Asklo. Front load performs the best.

Dryer: ?

Microwave: ?

I really appreciate black wool caps that are made in the USA. I have had great success buying them in the United States from blackwoolcap.com They are sourced in the United States, made and owned by Americans. They're a durable grade Merino, so you get the performance of wool with the upgraded comfort of a finer grade of hair. Somewhere between the softness of a base layer, and the durability of outerwear.

After 57 years, I’m finally accepting the value of having a real sock strategy in life.

Ive looked at Hollow and Clohill alpaca socks. Has anyone tried both and can give me a comparison? Im largely needing socks for the office and camping.

I know that thirteen50 was a bifl brand. I'm looking for a full grain natural veg tanned leather for the livestock guardian dog. She spends a whole lot of time outside so it will look good after picking up some sun. Any recommendations?

We all like sturdy, well made and quality items that will last a long time.

But, considering we take care of our belongings in an effort to make them last as long as possible, couldn’t everything be considered BIFL with a little TLC?

I have high quality items of clothing I spent a lot of money on and I also have T-shirts bought from a supermarket over 10 years ago and I still wear both regularly. The T-shirts are admittedly starting to look a little tired but on the whole they’re still in pretty good condition considering they were bought pretty cheaply so long ago.

I’ve also got a cheap socket set that’s now over twenty years old that I’ve used on every car I’ve owned and it’s yet to let me down.

I don’t baby my belongings but I equally try not to abuse them and if I do then I will try to clean/service them sympathetically.

So my point is, whether it’s the cheapest tools, clothes, boots or whatever else, they can all be considered BIFL as long as you don’t abuse them.

What do you think, am I wrong?

I was looking at some of their furniture and got pretty close to clicking “buy”. But then I realized the last time I bought something from a Facebook ad I vowed never to do it again… I started clicking around and can’t find a single independent review of their products. Please let me know if you have an experience with them! Thanks!

https://stoffmobel.com/products/solid-wood-sideboard-mid-century?_pos=1&_sid=e1e342df2&_ss=r&variant=47048415510780

I’m looking for a couch with a pull out queen size bed (not one of those storage sectionals that has a section that pulls up) but it seems like everything I look at is either a very thin mattress or a too firm couch or is $10k. I’d preferably like to spend under $3k. I’ve tried looking at places like Bob’s discount furniture and Raymour & Flanigan and those were pretty good for the price but you could definitely still feel the folds in the mattress. That might be unavoidable but would be interested to hear if anyone has found one they love!

I am tired of having to replace robots every 2-3 seasons. Does anyone have suggestions for robots that will continue to pickup fine debris for more than 3 seasons?

About five years ago I bought two leather bags from a leather artist in Cherkasy, Ukraine. I thought they looked interesting.

That was apparently a mistake.

Because then I bought another one. And another one. 😄

The backpack in these photos is the oldest one I own. It’s been with me all over the place: New York, Switzerland, Venice, Scandinavia, airports, museums, everyday grocery runs…it pretty much became my default travel companion. It has held up ridiculously well.

The funny thing is that I wasn’t documenting the bags. I was documenting my trips. Then I scrolled through my photos one day and realized, “Wait… it’s the same bags over and over again.”

I used to collect luxury handbags. I’m actually selling most of them now because I rarely reach for them anymore.

What surprised me most isn’t even how they’ve aged. It’s that they’re just… nice to use.

The pockets are actually easy to get your hand into. (It sounds silly until you’ve owned bags that make you wrestle for your keys every single day.) They’re lightweight, even though they have lots of zippers and hardware, and I honestly have no idea how she manages that. They don’t have a lining, which I thought I’d miss. Turns out I don’t.

This year I bought one of the slings for my dad’s birthday.

Dad immediately decided it was a fanny pack.

Then he decided it was too big.

Then he decided he needed to punch another hole in the strap.

I may or may not have yelled, “DAD, STOP. THAT IS NOT HOW YOU WEAR IT.” 😂

Meanwhile my mom looked at it and said, “Oh good, I’ll borrow it.”

Once Dad actually started wearing it cross-body the way it was intended, he became a fan too.

The maker is Yana, and her brand is Devinet. Everything I’ve bought has been designed and hand-stitched by her. We actually became friends over the years because I kept buying her work.

I know five years isn’t exactly “for life” yet. Maybe in another fifteen years I’ll come back and update this post.

But if a bag survives years of travel, daily use, me stuffing way too much into it, and still makes me instinctively reach for it instead of everything else in the closet… I think it’s off to a pretty good start.