# Brand names that have a reputation for long lasting goods
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 14, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047 "2022-03-14T18:46:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/61 "2022-03-15T21:11:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> I am finding multiple listings on Amazon for “No. 10 mini staples”, which I _think_ are the right kind
This appears to be correct. The open box of staples that I am working through is not so marked. But the extra box I have, that I’ve never opened yet, does say “#10 mini staples. Use with Tot® 50 Classic Stapler”. On the back of the box it says ACCO Brands, [www.swingline.com](http://www.swingline.com), a phone number, and part number #79125. Its UPC code is 0-74711-79125-0. So I hope that’s the right stuff.
ETA: Just skimmed through the swingline site linked here, looking at their staplers and related accessories. Note of the staples I saw were marked as being #10 for classic Tot staplers.
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/62 "2022-03-15T23:00:31Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> anyone else remember the Soma cube
Yep. It was my brother’s game, though, and I wasn’t very good at it.
> **[Soma cube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma_cube)**
>
> The Soma cube is a solid dissection puzzle invented by Danish polymath Piet Hein in 1933 during a lecture on quantum mechanics conducted by Werner Heisenberg.
> Seven different pieces made out of unit cubes must be assembled into a 3×3×3 cube. The pieces can also be used to make a variety of other 3D shapes.
> The pieces of the Soma cube consist of all possible combinations of at most four unit cubes, joined at their faces, such that at least one inside corner is formed. There are no combinations o...
I didn’t know it was related to _Brave New World._
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/63 "2022-03-15T23:20:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> Even here in Canada, original quality Weber charcoal grills start at just CAD $159 MSRP.
Sure, and they still have those here in the US. The “Original Premium” is on the Walmart site for $194, but now there’s a budget model called “Jumbo Joe Premium” for about $80 and it is noticeably less nice in multiple ways.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/64 "2022-03-16T00:58:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> > [@Senegoid](#):
> >
> > I had an early introduction to “Polish (not reverse) Notation”, a.k.a. Prefix Notation. When I was quite young, I got a [WFF-n-Proof](https://www.si.edu/object/nmah_694594) game, which is supposed to teach children symbolic logic. The game is to arrange some lettered dice into patterns according to seemingly arbitrary rules, but are in fact the rules of sentential logic as expressed in Prefix form. I grokked that immediately.
>
> I had some geeky toys when I was a kid (anyone else remember the Soma cube), and I still do, but I’ve never heard of WFF-n-Proof. Now I kinda want one, and I did find a site still selling it.
IME it may not be so long-lasting, because while the dice are OK, the blue plastic cover seems to degrade and the foam that holds the dice tends to crumble over time. You should still be able to play, though, or maybe you can find one in good condition.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/65 "2022-03-16T01:03:10Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> IME it may not be so long-lasting, because while the dice are OK, the blue plastic cover seems to degrade and the foam that holds the dice tends to crumble over time. You should still be able to play, though, or maybe you can find one in good condition.
Never mind that. You can always find some kind of box to keep the pieces in. The bigger problem is that the set I had was apparently some kind of “beginner” set with a small number of dice (about 10 IIRC) and there just aren’t that many WFFs you can make with that. I and my friend played with this for a while – even as children, we grokked the recursive syntax of WFFs immediately, but quickly got bored with the limited possibilities for the WFFs we could build.
I never got much farther into the game than that, and I suspect that is why.
Moral of the story: Be sure to buy one of the larger sets as your first WFF-n-Proof set with plenty of dice to play with!
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/66 "2022-03-16T01:17:56Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> IME it may not be so long-lasting, because while the dice are OK, the blue plastic cover seems to degrade and the foam that holds the dice tends to crumble over time. You should still be able to play, though, or maybe you can find one in good condition.
I think this site is selling new ones.
[https://gamesforthinkers.org/all/logic/wff-n-proof-the-game-of-modern-logic/](https://gamesforthinkers.org/all/logic/wff-n-proof-the-game-of-modern-logic/)
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### Author:  [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/67 "2022-03-16T05:03:46Z")
Yeah, Sears sold the brand, but I’d heard it had gone downhill before that, along with the rest of Sears
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/68 "2022-03-21T21:24:42Z")
LL Bean, at least from years ago. My husband has a pair of LL Bean snow boots that are older than our son (who is 27).
Lands End clothing used to be that way - though I think they’ve gone downhill since Sears bought them. I have several turtleneck sweaters that are well over 20 years old and in excellent condition, ditto a short-sleeved knit sweater. I wanted more of the turtlenecks a couple years ago - and what I got was some ultra-thin lycra blend thing that I do not expect will last me 20 years. Plus they’re clingy as hell, which was not what I was looking for.
Honda cars are up there in reliability. We had our Civic for 22 years before it wanted a repair that was just too much $$. Our CRV is 15+ years old. Having grown up in an era where it was fairly rare for a car to go over 100K miles, we’ve now owned 3 of them (our Mazda 626 bought in 1985), that Civic, and the CRV which has 180,000 miles on it.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/69 "2022-03-21T21:35:24Z")
Yes to Honda. We’re heading toward 200k miles on our Fit.
I buy most of my new clothes from L.L.Bean (their quality is still excellent, unlike their competitors), and Duluth Trading and Carharrt. You can find great deals on used L.L.Bean clothes, like gorgeous wool sweaters they don’t make any more for example, on ebay and etsy. Vermont Country Store is worth a look. They have excellent flannel sleepware and lots of simple basic clothes (along with a ton of old-fashioned candy).
A good place for simple tools for the homestead is the Amish supply house Lehman’s Hardware.
Vacuum cleaners – Miele.
Boots – Redwing
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/70 "2022-03-21T23:56:07Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> Boots – Redwing
Redwing was bought out quite a few years ago.
I have no idea how well their boots last any longer, because they no longer make any that fit me.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/71 "2022-03-21T23:58:48Z")
Damn. I still have my redwings I bought in the 1980’s. Been re-soled and re-stitched a few times. Guess I should keep doing that.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/72 "2022-03-22T00:17:50Z")
Might depend on the shape of your feet. They don’t make combination lasts any longer.
Of course, they may not be making boots that last any longer, either. That I don’t know about. If you can find somebody to re-sole and re-stitch your old ones, yeah, I’d keep doing that.
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### Author:  [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/73 "2022-03-22T13:47:48Z")
When I bought Miele washer and dryer in Norway almost 10 years ago I was told they were the last European manufacturer to still do their testing and assembly in Germany and the last one likely to actually last a decade. I had no trouble selling the pair for 30% of new value after over 5 years of use. (I could probably have gotten more, but I wanted ease of sale more than a few hundred bucks extra.)
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/74 "2022-03-22T14:12:50Z")
I use a Sunbeam T20-B toaster every day. They were made from 1952-1957. I did replace the cloth covered cord on it.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/75 "2022-03-22T14:30:31Z")
Black & Decker had a good reputation for producing quality power tools for a long time (I had an inexpensive B&D drill that lasted nearly 40 years before conking out). Then they got into various kinds of consumer products, merged with Stanley and apparently drifted away from producing good power tools.
"After countless customer interviews and brand audits, (brand consultant Marc) Hohmann found that many Black + Decker customers were embarrassed by not having a more powerful tool. Instead of amping up the brand, the designers decided to approach the market in a new way. Construction workers would no longer be the target and the goal was to appeal to all kinds of makers. “Black + Decker is not about power and strength,” says Hohmann. “It’s about being clever and innovative.”
Well alrighty then. 🤦♂️
> **[Can Black + Decker's New Brand Mend Its Tarnished Reputation?](https://www.wired.com/2014/01/black-decker-logo-redesign/)**
>
> Black + Decker customers were embarrassed by not having a more powerful tool. Instead of amping up the brand, they approached the market in a new way.
There are exceptions, but companies known for long-lasting quality don’t seem to thrive as much as companies producing cheap crap that breaks after relatively brief use (looking at _you_, Libman).
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/76 "2022-03-22T14:50:35Z")
Is the kindle consider a long lasting product? I was an early adopter and am on my third kindle. None of my kindles had to be replaced, I just upgraded and gave my current, working kindle away to someone who needed one.
My current (#3) kindle was slow/wonky. I was considering buying a new one since I use mine daily. Luckily I did a search for “speeding up a slow kindle” and found a way to do a full reboot. It’s lightning fast again!
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/77 "2022-03-22T15:03:44Z")
I’d say that if the batteries were easy to change, then absolutely. I’m on my 2nd kindle, and the first one I got rid of because the battery was shot- it wouldn’t hold a charge, and a new battery required dismantling the entire thing, and then a new battery that cost 1/2 the price of a brand new Kindle.
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/78 "2022-03-22T15:09:01Z")
> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> Fisher-Price makes some pretty solid toys too.
We bought one of their free-standing plastic basketball hoops for my grandson when he was a toddler. As he grew older and taller we just raised it up another notch. I think he finally outgrew it around age 10. Other than having to replace the net a couple times, it was still in good shape when we put it out on the curb and someone in the neighborhood scavenged it.
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### Author:  [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/79 "2022-03-22T19:09:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> > [@dtilque](#):
> >
> > Hmm… No one’s mentioned Zippo lighters. Not that I’ve ever owned one, but they had (have?) a very good reputation.
>
> Yes, Zippo! My gf has done ad work for the company. A great group of people, who honestly love their product.
Zippos are great and quite sturdy, but they can break. I had the lid break on one of my custom-engraved Zippos. But Zippo has a life-long warranty and great customer service. All I had to do is to go to their website to get instructions how to have it repaired, shipped it to the US (I’m in Germany) and got it back a few weeks later in pristine condition, without any charge or shipping fees. They really repair your lighter and don’t only replace it, because many (most?) Zippos are very individual.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-names-that-have-a-reputation-for-long-lasting-goods/961047/80 "2022-03-22T19:36:20Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> At one time Maytag washers did live up to their old marketing campaign with the bored repairman. But I am pretty sure that stopped being true when they merged with one of the other big appliance makers.
My Maytag washer is still running along after 26 years without a single repair (and it has always and still cleans - that sounds like the sour grapes type of “fake news”, usually peddled by the competition). My dryer is still working along, but to be fair it needed some new parts.
I’m afraid to replace them with newer ones, because I think “Maytag” might just be a name these days, and not have the same quality. And the machines are too expensive to experiment. Mine better just keep on keepin’ on.
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> Fortunately I inherited my Snap-On stuff from my dad, who sold them to mechanics for a living.
[ ](https://imageproxy.ifunny.co/crop:x-20,resize:640x,quality:90x75/images/4fd79e753fe1c0c20eb012f56d96a9f1eeb5083edfbb4ca695355ef509f2b6fe_1.jpg)
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I’ve always hear good things about KitchenAid stand mixers lasting forever, at least until recently.
My main mixer is a Sunbeam model 10, circa 1955. Older than I am. Never been apart. (to be fair, I’ve never been apart, either.)
> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> I don’t think I’m the only one with that opinion.
Nearly ever pair of original Levi’s I buy these days have had the belt loops rip out. That used to never happen. I actually had one split right in the main part, not at a seam.
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