Equipment with good life expectancy

[Jackal8]

Not intending it to be a rant about how stuff made in Victorian times (austro hungarian for us continentals) was better- it’s true that technology goes forward, and more complex things tend to break easier than simple stuff, still allowing you to do more and be more efficient. My more recent tractors need more care, but allow me to do more, with more comfort.

I don’t have a problem in paying more for something that’s going to work, but I’m finding it more and more difficult to get equipment that will last, even for good money. Laces disintegrating, buttons falling off equipment, batteries that can’t be replaced, seams undoing themselves, blueing disappearing …

As a farmer/hunter I do put stuff under heavy use, but don’t skip the maintenance bit. I have found that Leatherman tools are good value for money (closer to unbreakable really), as are Hiluxes.

If anyone has something worth adding and thinks it can be recommended, maybe it would be helpful to others. Maybe we skip the stuff to be avoided, that would be a long list!

 

[udderlyoffroad]

I never considered what the Croatian reference would be instead of referring to periods in history by the name of the serving monarch, but I suppose Ostro-Hungarian makes sense. “The roads haven’t been this bad since Trianon” etc.

Anyway back on topic, I find the German branded hand tools, whether made there or not, usually are worth the money & last. Just do your wallet a favour & buy them on sale.

Can’t help with agricultural equipment, the kit I’ve helped my farmer friends repair always seems to be suffering from a lack of any preventative maintenance.

As for hunting gear, I got a nearly new Harkila jacket from a member on here, seems to be holding up well so far.

 

[Mungo]

Really good wool socks. I have a pair that I bought in July 1998 that are still going strong.

Harris bipods. Still on the first one I bought. It’s the only bit of stalking equipment I haven’t changed.

Any of the higher end binoculars (Leica, Swaro etc). Still using the pair of Leicas I got for field work in the Kalahari in 2006.

 

[Klenchblaize]

A very good assessment of where we are in the 1st Quarter of the 21st Century:

K

 

[dunwater]

A very good assessment of where we are in the 1st Quarter of the 21st Century:

K

Hmmm, I’m not sure he’s right. Have a look at the values of classic wood and steel rifles, they’re hard to shift, no one wants them nowadays. Same thing with your lovely old SBS shotguns, values have crashed and we haven’t even got the lead ban in force yet.
It’s all our own fault, we have raised a generation of oiks who just don’t appreciate fine things.
All they want is a soulless plastic stocked piece of one size fits all crap, they have no appreciation for craftsmanship or the finer things in life.
I’ve seen one of them pour coke into a Midleton very rare, theres just no hope for someone capable of that level of depravity.

 

[Pedro]

It's the B&Q and pound shop mentality of today. Buy kit that looks good and does a job but falls to bits after 5 minutes.

Reminds me what I say to my grandchildren, some approaching their teenage years now when they get a bit uppity "calm down boy, I've got underpants older than you are." Although to be truthful, I'm not sure I have. Doesn't stop me saying it though.

 

[JTO]

If only we could buy things that didn't rely on electrics.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Hmmm, I’m not sure he’s right. Have a look at the values of classic wood and steel rifles, they’re hard to shift, no one wants them nowadays. Same thing with your lovely old SBS shotguns, values have crashed and we haven’t even got the lead ban in force yet.
It’s all our own fault, we have raised a generation of oiks who just don’t appreciate fine things.
All they want is a soulless plastic stocked piece of one size fits all crap, they have no appreciation for craftsmanship or the finer things in life.
I’ve seen one of them pour coke into a Midleton very rare, theres just no hope for someone capable of that level of depravity.

Yes, I had that reality in mind when listening to him but realised the UK Market is someway from being representative of true gun values. Whereas the US ..................

K

 

[dunwater]

Yes, I had that reality in mind when listening to him but realised the UK Market is someway from being representative of true gun values. Whereas the US ..................

K

The problem here is we have to justify each firearm, therefor theres no collectors. I have a couple of nice guns, but they have to work for a living, I can’t afford cabinet queens.

 

[webley701]

The problem here is we have to justify each firearm, therefor theres no collectors. I have a couple of nice guns, but they have to work for a living, I can’t afford cabinet queens.

There are collectors - a valid collection (i.e. one with a recognisable theme etc) is classed as ‘good reason’.

What there aren’t in the U.K. compared to (say) the US is ‘amassers’ of firearms.

 

[Rory]

Badger Ordnance rings, mounts and other accessories.
Darn Tough wool socks.
Casio G-Shock solar watches.
Toyota Hilux.
Cold Steel knives (in particular their folders with the TriAd lock).

 

[Mountain Bug]

I still use a hunting pant/jacket combo bought from a local farm store in 1995. Paid $40 all in and they get used every season before the cold sets in. My Shop-Vac brand vacuum was purchased around the same time also. I've wired past the switch and just use a power strip as the new switch now. I'll bet there is three inches worn off the crevice tool. Here's to Shop-Vac.....still sucking hard after thirty years haha.

I should give an honorable mention to a few of my trucks also. Two '84 GMC 1 tons, a '90 Chevy suburban, and a 94 Chevy half ton going strong after all these years. Talk about amortizing their carbon footprint!


Scott

 

[dunwater]

There are collectors - a valid collection (i.e. one with a recognisable theme etc) is classed as ‘good reason’.

What there aren’t in the U.K. compared to (say) the US is ‘amassers’ of firearms.

Not here there aren’t.
We do have a few firearms dealers with lots of stock that never moves though.

 

[Jura]

There are collectors - a valid collection (i.e. one with a recognisable theme etc) is classed as ‘good reason’.

Absolutely, in my case British Sporting Firearms from 1900 to the present.

 

[Acm]

I’d class myself as a farmer and hunter, mainly livestock but some arable too.

Farming wise:
Honda quads
Most Irish made cattle handling systems & forage gear
American made John Deere, way nicer made than the German stuff.
Kaiwaka workwear
Skellerup boots
JCB Telehandlers

Hunting wise
Sako / tikka rifles
Leupold optics
Hik & pulsar
Sitka Swazi and kuiu gear
Fjallraven gear
Altberg boots
Meindl island pro boots
Stuart Mitchell knives

And darn tough socks & a yeti mug, every single day.

 

[Apthorpe]

The problem here is we have to justify each firearm, therefor theres no collectors. I have a couple of nice guns, but they have to work for a living, I can’t afford cabinet queens.

In the old days, there was no such things as a cabinet queen. They are all tools. All proper guns are entirely capable of being used in any weather or conditions without harm coming to them. People have perhaps got too idle to do maintenance, and too accustomed to throwing away stuff long before the end of the road.

Now we don't buy things of the same quality we used to, and unsurprisingly they aren't as good, but they are much cheaper. Normal clothes are a conspicuous example. Shoes too.

Things that are good and perhaps better than old days:
Knives
Cars
Power tools
Surplus clothing and kit
Actually quite a lot of bottom end of the market tools and stuff are quite good.

There's some "survivorship bias". The old stuff we have is good because the bad, old stuff broke ages ago. You used to get a lot of atrociously low-quality crap.
Quite a lot of this comes down to the massive deflationary effect of globalisation and China. We don't realise just how expensive things should be because of the distortion of stuff being made very cheaply abroad, and now we've destroyed those makers by selecting cheaper Asian goods.

 

[paulst]

Without going down the route of firearms and custom knives I would say the Swarovski Habicht 6 power scope that has adorned my 308 for darn near 40 years, and to reiterate other peoples comments, Leatherman wave and Casio G shock solar power watch. They just work.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

My pal in Detroit RIP had a Kenwood mixer he bought around 1955 he told me it needed some tiny part non essential replaced so he contacted a local Kenwood dealer this would have been in the 1990s. There was a knock at his door one evening it was the Michigan rep of Kenwood offering to replace the old mixer for a new one. "Why" says my pal "oh we need to strip down the old one to see what we did that made it live so long".

 

[Rutland lad]

I will take your example to footwear.
I always bought good class shoes as an adult which cost money, but became very comfortable to wear and lasted well. They were invariably British made, usually in Northampton/shire.
There’s not many of those manufacturers still in business now, because when one pair of shoes lasts you 15/20 years, they’re not going to sell you many are they !
The world of business has woken up to the fact that if they sell you something so well made it’ll last a lifetime, they’ll never sell you anything else, so built in obsolescence in the name of the game.
Look at Apple products. They’re great, but after a while they can’t be updated and they become worthless. Then you buy another.
Mercedes built cars in the 70’s and 80’s which would run forever. Then the accountants stepped and bang - build quality takes a dive, and you get the vehicle wearing out - so you buy another.
Such is the modern world.

 

[Radstorm]

I like this thread - buy once, cry once but it also needs to be value - ie lasting, consistent, dependable.

Bits I think are great

Swiss Army knife,
Petzl head torch (they do affordable to expensive models)

Tikka rifles - they work.
Leupold scope and rings
Schmidt &Bender scopes
Sphur Rings
Ase Utra moderators (had mine for near 20yrs )

5:11 trousers - worn every day, yard, field, DIY everything they have knee pads and reinforced backside and stretchy waist - silicone and white paint is the thing that gets them retired.

Fortis - jacket

Kuiu - expensive so get in the sale but some nice everyday wear.