I’m a big fan of shimano but I wouldn’t say they were synonymous with quality - they’re a large cooperation that provide the full range of bicycle components from high to low end. A shimano drive train could be exceptional or it could be a bag of shite, depends entirely on the spec. They are, however, responsible for more innovation than the rest of the bicycle industry put together, so I agree they’re ‘high quality’ from this POV.
Chris King or Phil Wood would be good example of bicycle parts that are exclusively high quality. You can question whether it’s worth paying 100 quid for a CK headset, but you can’t question it’s quality. Phil Wood bottom bracket likewise - rare example of components that are built to last 10 years of riding, not 10 months. Brooks saddles would be another unimpeachable source of quality.
Any musical instruments by Yamaha. I bought a cheap Yahama classical guitar fifteen years ago and it still sounds pretty darned good—it sits at my office at work.
You can buy a Yahama instrument sight unseen and trust that it will be good.
For TVs, I use and recommend both LG and Samsung. One client of mine is a sports bar, and they have 24 LG sets at each of their locations. Before this, they had Sony, but as far as I’m concerned, that brand has gone into the toilet. Their very high end and broadcast products are still excellent, but their consumer stuff is suffering from being outsourced to China. Sony’s cordless phones, for instance, are made by V-Tek, one of the cheapest brands around. If I want V-Tek, I’ll buy V-Tek and save $100.
Korea is the electronics innovator that Japan used to be.
Though I’m apalled that anyone would pay that much for a trash can, I have to admit that the Simple Human trash can my mother purchased is the nicest trash can I’ve ever seen. Though the brand sells trash bags to fit the plastic liner, any brand of bag will work. The steel really looks good, and it’s quite sturdy too.
I would like to add votes for L.L. Bean (awesome return policy), Michelin, Craftsman tools, Keen, and Ecco.
Well, I’m kinda appalled by the prices, too. But any company that stands behind their products like that, I want to support if I can. I’m fortunate enough to be able to pay $80.00 for a trash can.
I am going to shop around on the 'net some, and see if I can find a sale or something somewhere. But within the next couple of months, I will have a Simple Human kitchen trash can, and not the cheap-O plastic one from the bargain store!
After 48 replies (a personal record! ),
I assembled a list of brands that at least one person thinks are good. When a brand was mentioned by more than one person, it is listed multiple times. I tried to catch all brands mentioned, but I may have missed a few.
L.L. Bean, Leatherman, and Maui Jim were mentioned 3 times. All others 1 or 2.
Apple
Arcteryx jacket
Asics running shoes
Behr paint.
Birkenstocks
Boar’s Head.
Bose for audio
Briggs and Reilly luggage
Buck knives, but those made in the US
Carhartt for work clothes
Carolina boots and shoes
Chris King bicycle parts
Citizen Eco-drive watches.
Coach
Coach leather wallet
Columbia jacket.
Craftsman tools
Craftsman tools
DeWalt for tools
Dexter shoes
Duluth Trading Co.
DuPont laminate flooring.
Ecco
Ecco - Shoes.
Ekornes furniture
Estwing hammers
Fenix flashlights
Formula boats
Goodyear tires
Hamilton Bay lighting fixtures.
Hart Schafner Marx suits
Henckel kitchen knives
Hencke Zwilling knives, with the twin logo on it
Honda
Honda marine engines
Joseph Abboud suits
Keen
Keen shoes
Kelty camping products.
KitchenAid mixers (not so much their other products)
L. L.Bean.
L.L. Bean
L.L. Bean
Leatherman
Leatherman
Leatherman Wave
LG
Mag-Lite flashlights
Makita cordless tools
Makita tool
Marmot sleeping bags
Martin and Osa clothing
Martin guitars.
Matshusta consumer electronic products.
Maui Jim
Maui Jim
Maui Jim Sunglasses
Michelin
Michelin tires
Microplane graters
Mountain Hardware jacket
Nite Ize cell phone cases
Onkyo receivers
Optoma
Panasonic
Panasonic consumer electronic products.
Paradise On A Hanger shirts
Patagonia clothing and accessories
PC Power and Cooling computer power supplies
Phil Wood bicycle parts
Pottery Barn
Propet shoes.
Rapala fishing knives
Red Wing boots and shoes
RedWing boots
Redwing for shoes
Ryobi cordless tools
Salumi meats
Samsung
Shimano and SRAM bicycle parts
Simple Human kitchen appliances
Snap-on tools.
Sony
Sorel winter boots
Sorrel winter boots
St. Croix makes a damn good men’s sweater.
Stihl chainsaws (and other gas-powered tools).
Taiyo Yuden blank CD-ROM and DVD-ROM discs
Technics consumer electronic products.
Thermador appliances
Tilley hats
Toyota
Under Armour
Victorinox Swiss Army Knives
Yamaha ATV’s and Motorcycles
Zenith
Zippo lighters
I don’t know if they’ve gone downhill, but Eagle Creek made some damn good backpacks.
I got my big (but not too huge-very intelligently designed) traveling backpack more than ten years ago for my high school graduation. That damn thing has been EVERYWHERE, from the mountains of Tibet to the jungles of Guatemala. It’s been strapped to every conceivable pack animal, dragged through every kind of mud, and bounced atop every kind of third world transport. I’ve lived out of that thing for years at a time. And when it’s not adventuring, it hauls laundry and groceries.
Frankly it’s good as new. I did lose a buckle once (my fault) and they sent me a new one within a couple of days. But other than that, it’s practically pristine. It could very well serve another decade.
I bought a variety of different fancy-pants warm technosocks at the same time a few years ago, and the Wigwams have outlasted all the others. The Columbias were the worst, as I recall.
Honda lawnmowers. 15 years and still going strong. I bought a new one this past spring, not because the old one was worn out but because it didn’t have all of the latest gadgets. (I’m a gadget guy.)
The old one is relegated to leaf and brush duty now while the shiny new one gets the lawn.
They are pricey but worth the extra cost especially when in mulching mode.
US Mintcoins: give someone a gift of a coin subscription such as for the Silver Eagle series. Nobody does silver and gold strikes any better than the mint.
Actually, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus are making some excellent DSLRs and are cutting into Canikon’s market share, especially at the lower end. This isn’t a two player game any more. Granted, Nikon and Canon aren’t standing still either, so it’s all good for the consumer.
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