There are tons of great quality brands. Until capitalism kills them and they become the same as the rest.
I remember when Logitech was the stamp of quality in computer accessories.
Now? It's trash!
This is so true and it hurts.
Have a mouse, keyboard and speaker set from 2004-2005. They all still work. I've bought several new Logitech products since 2015 and all have failed or have some defect. I've reached the point where I don't buy anything Logitech.
When the MBA’s take over, the company is sucked dry.
Take me over next, MBAs
Same happens every time I really take a liking to a restaurant.
Deliver a really good product with quality ingredients and become wildly popular, The shareholders will sell you down the road for a nickel and deliver a piece of crap product under the same name to cash out.
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.
Darn
Why they gotta swear haha
Darning is a method of mending socks. It is a nerdy pun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darning
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.
IIRC OXO measuring cups have raised lettering 1/2c. That’s so clutch, the painted letters seem to come out in the wash.
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.
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.
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.
anker has a smart home division called Eufy that has some TERRIBLE software that ruins nice hardware like their doorbells
I was looking in this thread for Brother printers. They are consistently OK, as all other printer brands have gone to shit.
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.
None. All brands will sell you out of they thought they could while continuing to be profitable after you realized
YKK zips. On anything I've ever owned, they don't break. And I find that more durable clothing brands will use YKK zips.
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.
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.
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.
Brother printers. I have 78k pages printed on my 15 year old color laser printer from them, and it's still going strong. They still sell OEM toner and even replacement parts for it, although the only part that ever needed to be replaced so far was the drum.
"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.
Chrome Industries backpacks. They’re marketed to bicyclists, of which I’m not one – but damn they’re perfect.
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.
So far, Gorilla brand stuff has been good.
Have yet to wear out a Honda.
Madewell jeans are actually made well.
Smartwool socks. I replaced mine this year because they were getting holes, the ones I was replacing were purchased in 2014 and I wore them daily, had enough pairs to last a week, washed them weekly, they lasted ten years.
Not a brand but cast iron skillets. Some of mine are over 30, they will last essentially forever. And get a big knife you can sharpen, mine wasn't even a good brand and lasted almost 30 years.
OceanGate, depending on your goals.
"I want to go to the bottom of the ocean"
"Say no more..."
At this point none. Trademark law has been rendered null and void when a holding company can own 3/4 of the brands on the market. Go pick up a power tool off the rack at Lowe's or Home Depot and tell me where it was made. When Stanley Black & Decker source different tools for the same brand from different anonymous manufacturers...
I'm at the point where I'm going to suggest to you learn how to work wood and metal with hand tools.
Stanley. I have my grandads original Stanley thermos from around the 40's and its in amazing condition. The new Stanley products are still top notch.
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion
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