Whenever I need stuff, I try and look for the really high-quality stuff that'll last me forever, even if it's expensive. But the good stuff is hard to find. What have you bought that has lasted you a long time? Or what's on your to-buy-one-day list?
My most recent purchase is the Peak Design Everyday Backpack. I needed a backpack that could hold and protect all my work tech while also having enough pouches for random small stuff like adaptors and cookies. I totally love this bag - every part of it is and feels well-designed. Top notch build quality as far as I can tell. The side-zippers have turned out to be extremely useful, too, and it manages to fit my laptop, iPad, keyboard and accessories so easily.
edit: I'm also the proud owner of a Herman Miller Aeron. Haven't had it for long but it's great and should last me forever.
I have given this question 23 hours of thought. My answer is leather. I have a Schott Perfecto purchased used at an army surplus store in 1991. It remains in perfect shape despite being in a crash. I have a Hein Gericke Dakar, branded Victory Motorcycle Corp, purchased used on eBay for $80 in 2003. It remains in perfect shape despite being in a crash. Shit, I have a J Crew leather jacket gifted me new in 1995 that, despite being faded, despite being a piece of shit J Crew leather jacket, has been relined twice and remains in excellent shape. For that matter I have a hand-me-down Brooks Brothers nubuck suede leather trenchcoat from the '80s that looks new. My first pair of Carolina 116s were purchased new for $120 in 1991, resoled twice, and finally discarded after my utter and total lack of care over 20 years caused a crack big enough to push my thumb through. I tried filling it with shoe goo and it made a bump that hurt my toe. My second pair is still on their first soles. My $7800 leather sectional, which I bought for $1100 one year old in 2002, needs some refinishing but I know I could get the leather filled, get it restuffed and have a brand new couch for about $600. Leather. Leather, treated well, lasts forever. And the older it gets, the more it's worth. Unless it's Doc Martens. Docs fall apart in like 4 years. Fuck Doc Martens.
The boots they market as work boots last forever. They just figured out that some number of customers don't really need boots that last forever, they need boots that look like the ones on that one Agnostic Front album cover.Unless it's Doc Martens. Docs fall apart in like 4 years. Fuck Doc Martens.
I had two pair of 1461s, one in black, one in brown. They were my "I've been told not to spook the normies" work shoes, suitable for meetings and site visits. Two years. Two years I got out of those things. Split between the two of them. Work boots should last forever, and if you're going to wear work boots you can do better than Docs.
I'm late to the party, and I think I've said this before, but if you need disposable work boots, you could do a lot worse than Thorogoods. I've had mine for two and a half years. The soles are shot. I could resole them, but I've worn the leather through on the toes from kicking boxes. They look like hell, but I can still probably get another year out of them. They are comfy. Union made. And way cheaper than buying $60 shoes every five months. If you're poor, watch the spring/fall Amazon fashion sales. For whatever reason, they tend to get included in those.
Let's hear it for the back of the room that loses all their shit all the time and finally learned to buy cheap shit that's easily replaceable!!! I've been rocking this $14 digital watch from Amazon for 2 years now and I'm on my third one! You can wear it to the field, to class, to the pool, and to bed, and nobody will ever care to steal it off your wrist (but probably you lost it) while you're at a party in high school like the $300 watch your mom gave you for your 18th birthday! One day, though, one day. When it's not cool anymore, I'll have a Tesla. Or a civic. Either way it'll last forever and if I lose it then I know it got stolen.
I'm like you regarding my purchases, but thinking about what will hold 'for life' is extremely hard. Before reading about your last purchase, 'My bag!' popped up in my head. Osprey Farpoint 40. It's been 4 years and it is still holding great through many travel adventures, be it accross the USA, Iceland, or South-East Asia. It's the perfect size (cabin size) for travelling, and can hold everything I need for 1 week, 1 month, or even 6 months (I pack that lightly, yes!) and it's incredibly robust. I don't think I will have any problem keeping it another 10 years. Besides that, I can't really think of anything. My phone usually last 4 years (currently Galaxy S7, still working perfectly fine after two years), my computer is starting to have a hard time (5 years, Sony Vaio, will probably buy a Dell XPS in the next year), but these are not buy-it-for-life item.
Not really my favorite, just a really impressive piece for longevity’s sake: I bought one of these some 15 years ago when I first started playing. I have never changed batteries on it. It still works perfectly fine. I would have though the batteries themselves would have exploded by now. It has gashes in the plastic from being used as a bottle opener. Doesn’t care.
Mine is an antique, I have no idea when it was built. It came with the case of one of the first violins I was given as a tot, still going strong to this day 20+ years later. I use it for my ukulele now that my guitar is fancy and has a tuner built in.
- The Parker 51 Aerometric. Mine is from the mid '50s. - The Raleigh Sports. Mine is mid '70s. I have my doubts that my Osprey will be around for a similar length of time, but it is pretty stout. Still looks pretty good even after enduring road rash on my behalf.
Really Like my Thermoworks Therma Pen https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4 expensive as heck but works better than anything cheaper. The thermopop is a good starter item but the pen is way nicer. Like the Dualit Toaster, BIFL but probably could buy a lifetime of toasters for what it costs And AKG701 Headphones, im the second owner of them and Ive owned them for over 5 years and they still work and look great.
Seconded on the Thermapen. Mine is now a "classic." My mother-in-law bought it for me with a hideous Guy Fieri flame job on it; fortunately I was able to get a free glow-in-the-dark silicone sleeve. It's also worth pointing out that decent pans and decent knives last forever. I have some good Costco pans and some basic Wusthof knives that are sixteen years old and nowhere near done.
My family has used the same Swing-a-way can opener since before I was born. I own my own now, and expect to use it for as long as food comes in cans. https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/6274414332316p?$478$ I'm also quite happy with my Sennheiser professional headphones. I've owned them for nearly a decade. Every part can be replaced or repaired, so they'll last forever.
A Tom Waits t-shirt I bought on St. Mark's Place in New York in 2000 (I know the year because it was high school senior spring break). Still wear it every laundry cycle. Still largely intact, even if a little snug on me at this point due to the fact that I weigh about 40lbs more than I did then.
The FUBAR, or - more correctly - a wrecking hammer. This is the hammer for the apocalypse. If you ever need to do any construction or demolition work, or, really, any hammer-work at all that isn't driving nails, this thing is the BOMB. The Fender P/Jazz Bass, despite being the original bass guitar, is still the best all-around bass guitar ever made. While other basses are more expensive, more specialized, or funny-shaped, the Fender P-Bass/Jazz Bass is simply the perfect balance to play absolutely anything. (The differences between the P and the Jazz bass are minor, and only of interest to bass players.) From Sid Vicious, to Dee Dee Ramone, to Jaco Pastorius, to Geddy Lee, to Billy Sheehan, to the March Fourth Marching Band, bass players rely on the flexible tone, incredible reliability, and pure simplicity of the Fender P and Jazz basses. Finally, a vasectomy. Best medical decision I ever made. (No... you can google the image yourself! I'm not gonna make you look at that.)
My Swisschamp I got it as a gift when I was in second grade and it has been an invaluable companion ever since. I have put together almost every piece of furniture and electronic device I have ever owned with this thing.
I’ve had the same Lamy pen for about ten years now. It hasn’t exactly lasted a life time yet, but it’s still going strong. I got one of the cheaper ones as well, so it wasn’t expensive either.