Brands that are worth buying...

kyeev

I've just spent the past 18 months wearing the same pair of Nike Airs pretty much every day and I have to say, they are not falling apart in the slightest.
Still very comfortable, if a little grubby.
I previously bought "no name" trainers and found they fell apart within 6 months. Or at least the sole/padding went through to the ground.

Apart from that I buy everything in Aldi/Lidl/primark and have zero interest in any other branded products apart from maybe TVs.

I'm just wondering what other brands people think are worth buying?

L1011

Have stopped buying low end white goods and basically stick with the mid-high range continental European brands now; Bosch primarily. Every TV in the house is a Samsung, the Vestel/UMC stuff with every brand name under the sun are consistently useless.

jonon9

Miele, bosch, Siemens, list could go on a bit

C3PO

Apple .... Obviously!!!!

rubadub

C3PO wrote: »

Apple .... Obviously!!!!

I know several guys who piss through their ludicrously overpriced power cables -which are legally questionable too.

theteal

I don't trust any of them. I do dis-trust some more than others. Either way I put a fair bit of research into any substantial purchase.

Yourmama

C3PO wrote:

Apple .... Obviously!!!!

The worst value for money under the sun.

Slattsy

Mercedes Benz

KingBrian2

Knorr soup.

Samuel T. Cogley

Durex

flange888

Always been a believer that you get what you pay for, I'm not a brand snob but I do believe in quality. Brands I use are Samsung, VAG, Bose, Apple (Do think they are overpriced), Sony, Motorola.
Even from a work point of view I always find Snap-on, Facom and Knipex to be of much better quality and last longer.

theteal

flange888 wrote: »

Always been a believer that you get what you pay for, I'm not a brand snob but I do believe in quality. Brands I use are Samsung, VAG, Bose, Apple (Do think they are overpriced), Sony, Motorola.
Even from a work point of view I always find Snap-on, Facom and Knipex to be of much better quality and last longer.

I think that "you get what you pay for" can be a serious con if followed blindly. So much so that I would never actually use the phrase. There are endless examples of high priced branded goods that have had issues. It's all just marketing.

amtc

My aunt calls it the three ts....tissues, toilet paper and trash bags. I tend to agree

weisses

A pair of Meindls

Diziet

Apple laptops (expensive but go on for a long time before needing an upgrade), Bosch appliances, Honda cars, good quality paint (Colortrend for example)

Littlehorny

As just said, good call on branded paints, cheaper versions are just not worth it. Same with tools, you don't have to go mental but decent make hand tools are worth every penny when doing a job.
I have tried all the Aldi and Lidl ketchups but always end up back at Heinz ketchup.

Naos

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”


― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms: The Play

AndrewJRenko

Diziet wrote: »

Apple laptops (expensive but go on for a long time before needing an upgrade),

The best explanation of this I heard was that most people spend a grand on an Apple laptop and €500 on a Windows laptop, and wonder why the Windows one is inferior. Try spending a grand on a Windows laptop.

LeinsterDub

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

The best explanation of this I heard was that most people spend a grand on an Apple laptop and €500 on a Windows laptop, and wonder why the Windows one is inferior. Try spending a grand on a Windows laptop.

Most laptops last years now . Hardware outpaced software about 10 years ago. I've a 10 year old laptop with with Windows 10 on it and it's grand.

deadybai

Agree with Nike airs . I had a pair that I wore for literally everything . Lasted about 2 and a half years until a small hole appeared on the toe. My new pair I have had for six months and they look like they are out of the box .

my3cents

I get a lot of outdoor gear in charity shops. Pointless buying stuff that came originally from Dunnes Penny's etc when good quality brands are priced exactly the same. I've had HH, The North Face and Lowe Alpine stuff that was second hand and I've gone on to use it for many more years. I'm wearing an HH fleece waste coat atm that I've had 4 years wear out of and it just in a different realm when it comes to quality compared to the cheap brands like Trespass and Regatta.

evolving_doors

Josef Seibel shoes. Had a pair that lasted 10 years ... got a bit dated but still using them around the garden for the last 8 years!

rubadub

Victorinox swiss army knives. Have a victorinox household scissors too which is really good. Don't have any of their kitchen knives but believe they are good.

my3cents

rubadub wrote: »

Victorinox swiss army knives. Have a victorinox household scissors too which is really good. Don't have any of their kitchen knives but believe they are good.

I'd add Leatherman in there as well. Just broke a 4 year old pocket tool of theirs and they replaced it with a new better one (no spares for old one) under their 25 year guarantee (didn't need to provide a receipt or proof of purchase).

In the kitchen we have Creuset pots and pans some are over 40 years old. The cost is mad now a days but I wouldn't use anything else. Avoid any of Creuset's modern stuff as much of the stuff that isn't cast iron is rubbish the kettle is one example.

Diziet

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

The best explanation of this I heard was that most people spend a grand on an Apple laptop and €500 on a Windows laptop, and wonder why the Windows one is inferior. Try spending a grand on a Windows laptop.

I have bought expensive Windows machines in the past and I would agree with the statement - personally I have found the overall cost of ownership is about the same over time. And I really like the MacOS, which makes daily use of my computer a pleasure. I can appreciate not everyone feels the same way - usability is a big deal for me.
I guess the more general statement is that it is worth spending more money on higher quality/usability/enjoyment on something that you use every day.

TimeToShine

Yourmama wrote: »

The worst value for money under the sun.

Love it when people with an 80 euro phone trot this line out. People who buy Apple phones are looking for flagships, compare like for like (S7/M10/Pixel etc.) and you'll see that the iPhone is superior in nearly every way. The iPhone/Mac ecosystem is a privilege to use - unfortunately the barrier to entry in this country is huge (a MBP will run you a full pay cheque) whereas in the US companies will pay for them. Also they'll hold their value very well, I sold my 6s Plus when I came back for around 650 euro having bought a 7 Plus for ~1000 dollars over in the US. My S7 Edge sits gathering dust in a drawer.

On topic, I paid about 200 for a Patagonia down jacket a few years ago and it's still as good as new. Bought another M&S one recently in a different colour and there were feathers everywhere.

Harry Palmr

I bought a pair of lightweight walking boots from lidl for 20 euro 18 months ago, they are used most days and I walk to do my shopping etc so they go further than the back garden or the local pub. Not a hint of splitting on them yet. Hugely impressed by them actually, on the other hand a pair of medium range 80 quid brogues with a decent brand name fell apart in no time.

deadybai

TimeToShine wrote:

Love it when people with an 80 euro phone trot this line out. People who buy Apple phones are looking for flagships, compare like for like (S7/M10/Pixel etc.) and you'll see that the iPhone is superior in nearly every way. The iPhone/Mac ecosystem is a privilege to use - unfortunately the barrier to entry in this country is huge (a MBP will run you a full pay cheque) whereas in the US companies will pay for them. Also they'll hold their value very well, I sold my 6s Plus when I came back for around 650 euro having bought a 7 Plus for ~1000 dollars over in the US. My S7 Edge sits gathering dust in a drawer.

Seriously? A thousand quid for a Phone? Honestly asking . What's the difference between that and one that is 150 quid. I literally don't see the difference

TimeToShine

deadybai wrote: »

Seriously? A thousand quid for a Phone? Honestly asking . What's the difference between that and one that is 150 quid. I literally don't see the difference

For me anyway it'd be the same as the difference to a car nut between buying a new 18k Kia and 120k M5. Now whether or not Apple make a superior product to other flagships is up for debate but I do maintain that it's only fair to compare like with like in such matters.

davo2001

TimeToShine wrote: »

, compare like for like (S7/M10/Pixel etc.) and you'll see that the iPhone is superior in nearly every way. .

It really REALLY is not, taking money out of the equation, put a pixel and an iPhone side by side and I'd pick the pixel every time.

iOS is old, boring and fair too restrictive.

TimeToShine

davo2001 wrote: »

It really REALLY is not, taking money out of the equation, put a pixel and an iPhone side by side and I'd pick the pixel every time.

iOS is old, boring and fair too restrictive.

Had a pixel for a month, was a huge let down imo. Feels cheap and plastic. Maybe I'm biased because I'm invested in the ecosystem though, each to their own.