What's a specific brand of consumer product that's worth the money and then some?

[swampspruce]

+1 for Subaru, Victorinox, Henckels higher end kitchen knives, Dyson vacuums (Ours is 14 years old), New Balance and Merrill shoes.
I’ll add French’s ketchup,; I find it isn’t nearly as sweet as Heinz.
MEC branded stuff. Like REI but Canadian.
Heys hard sided luggage. I t just keeps taking the abuse the airport handlers throw at it.

[Jophiel]

@wolfpup

I tend to prefer medium rather than fine-point ballpoint pens, but these Pilots seem to be rated differently, at least by some sites that consider 0.7 mm to be “fine”. They are actually more like medium in other pens. There’s also a 0.5 mm in the same line that some call “extra fine”. I’ve seen the 1 mm referred to as “bold”.

I use the Pilot Precise V5’s (0.5mm) at work but agree that the pen line itself is great. When I started my new job, I brought a couple old pens from my last place and started using them. They got borrowed and, before long, we had the Pilot V5 pens stocked up in the supply closet since that was the type everyone wanted to use.

[swampspruce]

I forgot to add Napoleon Grills. Excellent features, great warranty and worth every penny. I’d add Vermont Castings to that as far as grills go as well. My buddy ran into his with his work van and it still cooks great!

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@ShadowFacts

I just tried Graeter’s regular Chocolate Chip ice cream this past week and it was the best I’ve ever had. And I say this as a CC aficionado/snob who eats CC ice cream all the time. It was even better than the straciatella gelato I’ve eaten in Italy. 100% perfect.

Welcome to the best ice cream in the world! Graeters is an interesting story too. It was established in the 19th century and as far as I am aware, they are currently the ONLY big producer of ice cream that still uses French pots (I think it’s 2 gallons at a time) method, which is labor intensive and why the ice cream costs more. They also hand-pack all their pints. Story of the company here: Graeter's - Wikipedia

@Max_Torque

There’s a lot of back and forth on that one; half the folks think Wusthof is the best, the other half say Henckels. I like Henckels myself, but really, at the top of the heap you’re splitting hairs (sometimes literally, with knives), and you should use what makes you happy.

Note on Henckels, though: look at the label on the knife itself. If there are two little people on it, it’s from their premium line, the best stuff; if there’s only one, it’s made by “J.A. Henckels International” and is from their value line, so know what you’re getting.

And while we’re talking about knives, let me toss this out there: I’ve recently become a fan of Morakniv for outdoor and camping fixed-blade knives. Really good usability and durability, and they’re quite cheap, too.

I agree with your take. Both knife companies produce high quality cutlery. It’s really a toss up. I’m partial to Wusthof because my brother gave me a Wusthof chef knife for Christmas one year and it’s the best balanced and sharpest chef knife I’ve ever owned. And I don’t even have a sharpening stone, I use the old school handle with the ridged rod thingie (don’t know the name of it) that I think really only keeps an edge on it but isn’t a true sharpener like an oiled sharpening stone like my bro has. People that cut tomatoes with serrated knives are either ignorant or don’t possess the proper tools!

@Bijou_Drains

My Dyson vac is really good. It’s worth the extra money vs. other brands.

I have a Kirby, so there. Yes, my ex-wife allowed a door to door Kirby salesman into our home whom showed her how disgusting our house was and how the Kirby would improve our lives with easy financing on a $1200 vacuum, why do you ask?

That said, the Kirby is built like a fucking tank. It’s heavy as shit but it’s suction power is second to none. But I doubt it was worth what we paid for it.

[thelurkinghorror]

@FoieGrasIsEvil

And I don’t even have a sharpening stone, I use the old school handle with the ridged rod thingie (don’t know the name of it) that I think really only keeps an edge on it but isn’t a true sharpener like an oiled sharpening stone like my bro has. People that cut tomatoes with serrated knives are either ignorant or don’t possess the proper tools!

Honing steel.

[Mama_Zappa]

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.

I’ve tried store brands and the flakes are like cardboard. Yeah, I know, bran flakes are just 2 steps removed from cardboard in the best of circumstances but the store brands are just 1 step removed (and even Post just doesn’t taste right). I’ve tried the store brand at Giant, Safeway and Shopper’s Food Warehouse and only Giant is tolerable. The others are too thick or not crisp enough or something.

SAS Shoes (San Antonio Shoes). I have 12-W feet and cheaper brands simply don’t make my size, or if they do they don’t feel good. The SAS shoes I have are expensive (well over 100 a pair) but last forever. My daily walking shoes are at least 6 years old (to be fair, I work from home, usually shoeless, and don’t wear them much in the summer) and still feel terrific. They tend to the fugly, style-wise, and last time I bought a pair I was the only person in the store who was neither employed there nor escorting an elderly customer. But I will drive 25 miles to the nearest retailer to get them.

@running coach

Hypafix

Hey - does this stuff still come with a plastic tube as the core? If it does, then it serves another purpose. i had some kind of tape, I think Hypafix, to help tape my knees when I was doing PT for them - 24 years ago - and I wound up keeping the plastic core to use as a spacer for my inhalers. The first one lasted something like 15 years; it finally cracked and I trotted out the spare I’d kept for all those years. So if it does come with a plastic core, let me know :).

[kayT]

My DH has size 12 1/2 AA shoes (what a joke! men’s shoes do not come in AA) so he only can wear New Balance or SAS. SAS is the best. And Mama Zappa, the newer ladies’ ones are **not **ugly; you should check them out on line, as they will ship to you. But yeah, pricey.

[Clothahump]

Blue Bell ice cream. Food of the ghods.

[running_coach]

@Mama_Zappa

Hey - does this stuff still come with a plastic tube as the core? If it does, then it serves another purpose. i had some kind of tape, I think Hypafix, to help tape my knees when I was doing PT for them - 24 years ago - and I wound up keeping the plastic core to use as a spacer for my inhalers. The first one lasted something like 15 years; it finally cracked and I trotted out the spare I’d kept for all those years. So if it does come with a plastic core, let me know :).

Nope. Just a uncored roll. It’s not a tape for athletic support, it’s a tape for wound dressing.
Cloth mesh with a 2 piece peel-off backing.

[Beckdawrek]

Oreo double stuff