(I’m trying to adjust my shopping habits for quality, long-lasting goods from reputable brands. This isn’t some hailcorporate thing)
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I will never always trust a brand, there are some brands that have good trust, but I’ve seen too many brands screw people over for money.
I will say currently, Darn Tough Socks, Keen Shoes, EVGA, Milwaukee Tools, if you are in the cinema / live production world Teradek, and Yamaha.
My only complaint about Darn Tough Socks is that they never seem to wear in. I bought a half dozen pairs several years ago, and all of them are like brand new still, which is great, but they are also stiff and tight like I’ve never worn them. I wear them predominately for work, and I’m on my feet all day, so that’s a testament to their staying power, but damn, I wish they would stretch a little.
I use them too, but I guess I never really thought about socks “breaking in,” like shoes would. After 1-2 years of use, they are holding up like new.
Do you have lightweights? I find those to be tighter than midweights, which also seem a bit more plush.
I have the light hikers, so maybe that’s the deal. I’ll look into some mid weight ones.
Alongside darn tough, I love me some bombas.
Darn
Why they gotta swear haha
Darning is a method of mending socks. It is a nerdy pun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darning
Delightful
Fuck off
You’re going down 😎
I went through two defective EVGA cards within the original card’s warranty period. On the second card, EVGA tried to deny my warranty.
They eventually made it right, after I shamed them on Reddit.
Nah you can’t trust Keen anymore as of like 7 years ago. They switched to much cheaper shoe materials on their presidio walking shoe that was super popular, but the price didn’t drop at all. At the same time, they started inserting huge globs of rubber in the heel of their hiking shoes so you are forced to use their brand of insert that has a hole to fit said bump.
I’ll be honest, just recently bought new shoes from them haven’t gotten a chance to wear them in yet, the previous pair was pre-covid. But they look and feel exactly like my old pair did when I bought them, so maybe their work line hasn’t suffered yet.
And this is why I’ll never be loyal to a brand, as long as they’re good I’ll keep buying their product, when it’s not good I’ll stop.
I forgot it’s already bee n 5 years since Covid fuck. Keen definitely got worse way before Covid so it was probably 7 years ago. Updated. You honestly might just not know what you’re missing if you’ve only had shoes from them after the change. As I recall, almost every component of the Presidio got cheaper and it went from a nice leather walking shoe with a well padded tongue to just another synthetic sneaker with a thin tongue basically for the same $110
I’ll start my own thread with OXO for their kitchen goods. After a decade of dealing with subpar containers and utensils, I’ve slowly started to rebuild my set with OXO stuff and habe yet to be disappointed by anything of theirs.
Seconded with Knipex hand tools. They’re far pricier than the competition you’ll find on the store shelves, but the quality and engineering is better than anything else you can reasonably find (barring boutique toolmakers).
Le Creuset… but there’s a secret… They’re SUPER expensive.
So you find your local outlet store and sign up for their mailing list. You’ll regularly get 30%, 40%, 50% off deals.
Also thrift stores. The only Le Creuset pan I own cost me $7.
2nd trick, they have an outstanding warranty. Bring it in, they swap it out.
I have an outstanding warrant …is that the same?
Not quite, but I encourage you to visit your warrant provider for more details to prevent loss of service.
Not everything Le Creuset. They seem to be very similar to other kitchen brands (kitchenaid, Cuisinart, etc) in that they make a few excellent products, but the rest of their line is overpriced stuff that isn’t as good as other brands you could buy. Their Dutch ovens are good, for example, but not their French press so much.
There’s plenty of knockoffs brands that seem to be as hardy; might but be worth the premium anymore.
Lodge is also quite good and a fraction of the price.
Cuisinart makes a dutch oven that’s just as good but lighter somehow.
OXO quality has tanked over the last 15 or 20 years since Helen of Troy bought them who source all of their products from Mexico and China using shady subcontractors. They had a lot of innovative designs when they started out, but don’t really invest in that anymore.
Knipex on the other hand is still pretty solid on quality. They’re still family managed and their manufacturing employees are primarily union workers, so they’re able to keep the skilled workers around.
The only OXO product I’ve had issues with is their rotating cheese grater, but it’s so nice to use that I just buy a new one every seven years or so.
I’ve used my Knipex 5” cobra pliers more than anything else in the toolbox, except maybe a torx set. Solid tools.
They’re great. As a line cook, I used to EDC a pair of the 4" minis in my pocket for taking off burner nozzles for cleaning. By the end of my year there, everyone else I worked with had bought a pair because they were so much better than dealing with the garbage Hart brand pliers the restaurant supplied.
Have you tried their cantilever grips? Thought they’d be a gimmick but I’ve stopped carrying spanners because they’re so good
I have a mini pair of those as well and they’re also great!
A lot of OXO stuff is cheap made in China junk these days.
Why would you trust a brand? The brand that you like wasn’t the same people 20 years ago, and that will change again.
there still are brands that make a good quality product and haven’t tried to scam customers. Leatherman comes to mind.
Regarding online services, Proton.
I love Proton’s mission just like all Lemmy users but I wouldn’t say you can trust them in terms of quality. Apart from Proton Mail and Proton VPN, most of their other products unfortunately have a deep lack of features.
I use Mail, Pass and VPN with no issues.
What lack of quality and features do you refer to?
I’m mainly talking about Drive and Pass. I don’t really remember as it’s been a while since I’ve tested them, but the situation doesn’t seem to have changed. Here’s a good thread for Drive. I remember Pass having problems with auto-fill which made it unusable for me.
I have Proton Unlimited but only use two of their services because of this, it’s pretty frustrating.
I was looking in this thread for Brother printers. They are consistently OK, as all other printer brands have gone to shit.
Hopefully they haven’t gone downhill lately but I’ve always gotten good quality products from Anker and one time they even sent me an “upgraded” set of headphones for free because I complained about the pair I bought having poor sound.
My history with anchor is varied. At one point they produced the finest of everything at the cheapest possible price.
Then for a couple of years they produced a bunch of garbage that would barely get the job done.
I was buying a lot of anchor products for work. About half the power delivery chargers I purchased over a three or four month period burned out at least one of the ports. I have a bunch of battery banks where the USBC port stopped working.
Now they seem to be back on top again, but I don’t just blindly trust them and buy from them anymore I’ll get one or two and test things out before I buy a bunch.
anchor
is tupperware
Yeah, i can second the power strip thing. I have three right now, one is completely dead, the usba/c ports don’t work on another, third one has been flawless so far.
I might look into the newer options, but I’m a bit skeptical now…
anker has a smart home division called Eufy that has some TERRIBLE software that ruins nice hardware like their doorbells
Indeed. I no longer buy Anker as a result.
We had a Eufy baby monitor that was so bad (replaced three times when trying to update firmware, the fourth time it died it was due to a drop) that it has actually made me think less of Anker as a company. If they stick to that being their low quality bargain brand, maybe I’ll consider Anker again, but for now I’m out.
They’ve been my go to for headphones & speakers for a while, but my last few purchases of different models all ended up getting returned due to the same connectivity issues. Sitting at home, the headphones are fine, but when I’m out for a walk, they experience some sort of interference that causes the music to skip/stutter. I still have an old, long discontinued, pair of Anker earbuds, and when I go for the same walk with those, there’s zero connectivity issues.
Breville (Sage in the UK).
They’re expensive, but they’re good, and they last.
I’ve owned: espresso machine, coffee grinder, automatic loose leaf tea maker, coffee maker, toaster oven, bigger toaster oven, waffle maker… I think that’s everything?
I’ve never regretted any of these purchases and never had one shit the bed. I did sell the tea maker and the smaller toaster oven, but I still have everything else. The coffee grinder I’ve had for over 10 years.
Dualit used to be the dog’s bollocks of toasters but they sold out, and Breville is the new king.
If you can find a 20 year old steel Dualit on eBay however, it’ll last the rest of your life
How exactly did Dualit shit the bed? Aren’t they still repairable and made in the UK? Sorry, I’ve been doing a lot of toaster research and have one in my cart literally right now, so it would be awesome to know if I missed something before paying $350 lol
I bought that dumb expensive new Dualit toaster (one with bagel modes) 4 years ago. Its solid with no signs of regression.
I expect it to go for another 20 years
Can confirm. They’re not commercial grade kind of quality, but they are some of the best consumer grade right now, mostly because they use fewer plastic parts than most and good quality steel. Though they still use too much plastic in things that would be better served by lower grade metals or glass.
I also have an espresso machine, coffee grinder, and toaster oven that I’ve had for ages and never needed new parts. I also have an all stainless french press that is really sturdy, but because the shape isn’t perfect, the rod for the press needed to be replaced once since it requires a lot more pressure than it should to use it. But even with that defect, it has lasted nearly 15 years, and I only replaced the rod and filter once.
Kirkland anything (nearly anyway)
If that’s all it takes for you to boycott, you should avoid everything. A few suffering pigs at one of Costcos suppliers is basically nothing compared to their size. It’s good it’s brought to light. But just like the article says, it’s legal to do what they did, and all they need to do is kill them faster.
It’s only a few pigs but they’re a huge company? This sounds like a rationalization.
Yes.
That is horrifying, what the fuck is wrong with these people? How hard would it be to get nitrogen?
People won’t stop eating dead animals so they don’t give a fuck.
it would be pretty tricky to eat animals alive, though.
Similarly, nearly everything made by H-E-B / Central Market. Save for maybe one or two things where I’ve been disappointed, I like and even prefer their store brand for many things.
Arm and Hammer, solid products that aren’t overpriced. I use their laundry soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and previously, the cat litter. Seems they’re focused on doing a few things very well.
Church & Dwight is the conglomerate that owns Arm & Hammer, and they own some other cleaning product brands like OxiClean and OrangeGlo. They also own Trojan condoms and First Response pregnancy tests.
Are you promoting throwing those used condoms in the wash with a little oxy clean?
I know you’re joking, but no don’t do that.
has 21 babies from the same condom
NOW you tell me!
Man, oxiclean really is a life saver for me. No store brand has really been as good.
I use oxiclean to help clean gunky beer kegs. It actually works really well to put a scoop in, fill with hot water and let it sit overnight. By morning it’s like a new keg. I then finish sanitizing with StarSan
I really like Arm and Hammer’s scentless laundry soap and their baking soda/peroxide toothpaste.
I’ve been using both for years and feel no need to change.
Victorinox has never disappointed me. I own a few kitchen knives, their cutlery and an extensive collection of pocket knives. Everything is solid, dependable, arrives sharp and stays sharp. Plus they have good company ethics, as far as those things go. I like their products so much, I frequently give them as gifts.
I second this recommendation. They’re certainly not the best at anything, but they’re a good value for the money and good quality.
Opinel is amazing too for knives. Their pocket knives are cheap, sharp and easy to sharpen and durable.
Darn Tough Socks, made in Vermont USA and guaranteed for life. If you get a hole in one, send it back and they give you a credit to pick any pair you want on their website.
That’s amazing. I’m going to look into this. I suppose they make this work because most customers actually find it inconvenient to send their destroyed socks back or the terms to do so make it difficult.
The socks are $20-27 pair, but they’re the most comfortable sock I’ve worn. I’m switching my whole wardrobe or socks over as I can afford.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m definitely going to take a look.
YKK zips. On anything I’ve ever owned, they don’t break. And I find that more durable clothing brands will use YKK zips.
My anecdotal experience, don’t get them on tall boots
I have a couple pieces of clothing with riri zippers, they’re fantastic
“Always”? None.
Any time I have found a brand like this, they start enshitifying right after I decide to be loyal to them. If you stop shopping around, they have less incentive to make a good product to create loyal customers.
The problem is capitalism, not the individual companies. Enshitification comes for them all eventually.
The only brands I trust are owned and operated by individuals. I do woodworking and I use Japanese tools (their quality is incredible) and good blades are individually forged by masters.
Unfortunately the greatest smiths are always poor, or at least never rich. They all have an extreme devotion to integrity and quality that I highly admire. I wish to make a storefront to support these dedicated craftsmen.
None. All brands will sell you out of they thought they could while continuing to be profitable after you realized
If there’s one thing the last couple of decades have taught me, is there is no such thing as a brand you can trust forever: even the privately owned family brands sometimes get bought out by some conglomerate or made public, followed by enshittification as the new management tries to squeeze all the value they can of the brand.
You’re better off not going by brand and researching every large ticket item purchase you want to make: if you’re going to spend $1000, it’s probably worth a couple of hours of your time looking into it beforehand unless your hourly rate is pretty high.
