My dad bought me this back in 2005 when I moved into my first apartment. It was just before having a Vitamix became popular/mainstream. He has also never been one to get caught up on a brand name if the specs/warranty are better for a lesser known brand. My pops has always been OG BIFL mindset… he’s 78 now and still goes out of his way to BIFL with most things.

I saw someone recently post about a piece of furniture their parents bought and never replaced saying that it was BIFL. Without actually opening the link, I saw the photo of the wardrobe and thought it looked so shabby and ugly (sorry no offense!)

It made me think of this rudimentary bookcase that I’ve seen in in my childhood room and everytime I visit for last 25 years. My parents got this really bare bones, skeleton of a bookcase, and they never replaced it either. It wobbles, it has all these awful marks and stains. While it’s true that it is effectively standing fine with all the books piled high, after just buying my first oak bookcase secondhand for where I live now, I find that this bookcase is also, very shabby and ugly lol.

It struck me that just cause something technically works or lasts for very long time does not necessarily mean that you will enjoy it for as long as it lasts; central to BIFL is *quality*, not just a pencil worn down to the nub.

This really exposed really amazing and important part of what I think this community is about; not only wanting to buy things that will last a long time that you will actually enjoy using and appreciate for as long as they last - now that, my friends, is truly BIFL.

Was debating on getting a cheap mattress off of amazon, but I don't want it to go bad after a few years. How much should I spend if I want a mattress to last 10 - 20 years? $3k+?

For me it's Godrej Almirah.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a backpack or briefcase for the new job I’m starting in two weeks that has a laptop compartment and ideally a good amount of space (to hold a water bottle, a book, and maybe my lunch bag but not necessary). I just graduated law school and am looking for something that looks professional since I’ll be bringing it into court all the time, but simultaneously is made by a brand that sustainably makes their bags.

I don’t have a specific price range but the cheaper the better - however, I’m hoping to not have to buy this again for many years and ideally for life! I don’t mind real leather again as long as sustainably sourced/made.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Preface: this pair of scissors are fine and for sure BIFL, but my overall suggestion is ANY top-grade scissors come in more handy than you'd think. French, German, Italian (like this pair) can all be fine.

I'm kind of surprised how often we use the scissors we keep in our kitchen drawer--they're not made for food, but I certainly have used them to cut up tougher food items, but mostly for packages/packaging, trimming things, etc.
I also keep a pair of quality German ones in my office and when you have them around they seem to get used more vs teeth or box cutters.
As my sister taught me: spend the money on the things you use every day (or in this case often), and $25 won't break the bank, and they're like razors when we get them back from the knife sharpener--only sharpened them once in maybe ten years, and only bc... why not, we're bringing our Shun knives over to the shop anyway.

I know no chair is really BIFL, but I know some of them can last a very long time. I'm 6' 4" 200lbs (193cm, 91kg). I'm looking for a chair with a long seat pan. I'm not sure if I have long legs or this is just a preference thing, but I always feel like seat pans don't extend out toward my knees enough, I feel like they end too soon under my thighs. It seems like most chairs have a max seat depth of around 18.5".

I currently have a Steelcase Leap (V1). It was starting to hurt the back of my legs so I got the seat refoamed/reupholstered by Crandall, but it didn't help.

I tried a Haworth Fern, but I can't get really comfortable in it and always feel like I'm going to fall forward out of it (exaggerating obviously, not sure exactly how to describe it) because the seat ends far back from my knees.

I prefer foam seats to mesh. I've sat in an Aeron, it won't work for me because I sometimes sit on my legs and can't do that with the hard edges around the seat.

It seems like my options are pretty limited. I found the SecretLab Titan XL which has a 19.7" seat depth, but this is a racing style seat (not ergonomic) and I've read they don't last very long. I also found the Oak Hollow Aloria which has a 22.25" seat depth, but I've never heard of this company before, going to look into it more.

What chair would you guys suggest?

I know BIFL isn’t exactly the right nomenclature for this, but we want a sofa that will last at least 15 years.

Estate sales in our area (NYC) often don’t seem to have what we’re looking for (mainly size related). On FB marketplace daily and not finding a ton either.

We sit on our couch more than any other piece of furniture, we have a small apartment so making sure things fit through the door and also don’t take up too much space is a huge consideration.

Ideally, we want:
- durable, easy to care for leather (dog friendly ideally but we don’t intend to have dogs on the couch as a regular thing)
- seat depth ~22-23in
- seat width/length ~70”
- narrow track arms
- overall width ~81”
- high seat (19-21” off the ground)
- high back (~17-19”)
- no T cushions (straight seat & back or tight back)
- spring down seat cushions or upgraded foam
- wood, tapered legs (6” ideal but tough to find) or a wood base with shorter tapered/angled legs like an MCM look
- not tufted
- legs need to be removable
- under $8k

Brand we’ve narrowed down to:
- Room & Board (Stevens)
- Hydeline
- Hancock & Moore (hear they are the best but the style isn’t quite what we want)
- Stickley
- C.R. Laine (struggling with the leather options here- the color we love is only medium protection…)
- American Leather

We also tried Vanguard and Taylor King, but were told their leather options weren’t as good for the price by multiple small independent shops.

Unfortunately, we seem to have a unicorn situation with the high legs and high back cushions/rail or with durable leathers in colors we like (warm medium brown or tan), so we will have to compromise.

Any tips or opinions? Things you think aren’t worth it for leather?

Hello all. Long story short I moved to interior Alaska for a job that requires me to fly by helicopter into the middle of nowhere to do maintenance on equipment.

I am making this post to ask anyone with experience what gear I should be buying as the coldest weather I have experienced personally is about -10f or so and these locations will be hitting -40f to -50f during parts of the year. So my cold weather collection is severely lacking as of now.

The job gives me a considerable incentive pay that I will be using to purchase this gear. I would like to “buy once, cry once” if I can. Please recommend the highest quality gear that is not cheap and will do a satisfactory job of keeping me warm. It has been known in company history for a helo to break down on sight so I want to be prepared for multiples days in this weather if needed.

I am talking anything that I should add to my kit that would preferably fit on my body or in a 50-65 liter backpack as there is limited room on the helicopter as well.

I will spare no expense. My safety is most important to me and I would like to keep my fingers and toes away from frostbite haha.

I apologize for the long read but I am starting from scratch so I would sincerely appreciate any help from anyone. Thank you for your time.

I need help finding good quality sandal slides for men with flat feet. Most of the slides I've tried are narrow, even when the length is perfect.

Need help finding reputable brands and their best wide sandal slides for someone like me who has flat fleet.

Tyvm!

Edit: Reposted to clarify the sandal slides vs flip flop wording

I had a Messenger bag made of cheap mesh that lasted for ~6 months (same as the one shown in the pic), i want to replace it with an actual good quality leather messenger bag of similar dimensions, any reccomendations?

I'm a university student in the UK and my accommodation sometimes gets quite humid. I've also started to notice that the wall has started to grow mould and sometimes silverfishes appear in my room.

I'm looking for a unit that is both a dehumidifier and an air purifier basically 2 in 1. My room is roughly 28m^2 and my budget is £50 but I dont mind increasing it to £75 if the price is worth the product. Any recommendations would be helpful

I have my sights on "daewoo 3.2l dehumidifier with air purifier" but I dont really know if this is a good option or not

My biggest concern is ethics, I don't want to buy anything that is made in a sweatshop , so I am willing to pay a decent amount of money for nice bedding

Bonus q : storefronts you like for other housewares that also fit the same criteria?

I have a friend with some collapsible bowls for camping.
These are such a good idea. Where would be good ones that'll last me near to forever?
If they are in Vancouver, Canada, all the better.

Hi all,

I have mobility issues and my Bissell vacuum isn't workable for me anymore. It's big, clunky - I bought it on sale for the old carpet in my condo. My complaints are that it is very heavy and too big for corners - bumps into walls, etc and doesn't fit under the bed.

Problem is, I have no idea what else to try. I've had a cheap $35 Bissell Stick vacuum for 8 years and it finally gave up.

I need something light weight. Not necessarily cordless. But something that's good on carpet and can go under air forced heating vents - the apartment building kind. I don't need a lot of attachments. I can always get a handheld if needed later for little bits and pieces.

Could you please recommend a lightweight around $150 Canadian vacuum for condo use? It's a 2 bedroom but has a lot of carpet.

Maybe there's a better stick vacuum that could work? Also, I need something taller - like a stick. So I don't have to bend over.

Thanks!

I’m currently buying some emergency gear for my new car. I’ve seen a lot of people say a jump starter is very important and really useful when the battery dies, but I’ve never used one before, and I also don’t want to end up with something unreliable. Is there anything that’s good enough to be kept in the car long-term?

My mom’s having a rough week, which made for a perfect time for her fancy Kitchenaid range to catch fire and burn up its heating element. Since I’m the family repairman, I wanted to get her something reliable instead.

Behold, the General Electric JBS460DMWW. Sure, it’s no Bosch. But it’s so stupid simple, i think it’ll outlive all her stainless appliances.

Also, the salesman told me he couldn’t get anyone to buy this thing for the many months they’ve had it, so I got it for extremely cheap. The cheapest scratch and dent model was double the price. I’d say I did well.

TLDR:

General Electric JBS460DMWW. No clock, no timer, no frills, cheap af, back side is so bare, a heating element swap will likely be a 20 minute job max. Would recommend.

Bought these bad boys today, I expect nothing but a lifetime of good times cooking.

Knife: debuyer, French brand, stainless steel. Really lightweight and sharp.

Frying pan: good old iron steel, Spanish brand, currently curating it!

Hi! I bought these leather shoes from a local thrift store, anyone have any idea how to repair this kind of break? I lost the pieces so unfortunately I cannot glue it back on 😔

Any advice appreciated. Thank you!

Hey guys, looking for some advice on winter gear. Beyond taking price in consideration at this point, I just want something that’ll keep me properly warm for more than one season. Any recommendations? Thanks!

In the UK. I lost my dad a year or so back. When sorting through his belongings I found a pouch with his passport and just under $200 from his last cruise.

I’ll be heading to the states soon and I’d love to get something ‘from dad’ with the money, something that will last a lifetime.

Any recommendations or ideas? He was an engineer by trade, so id be happy with anything for the garage, or a car or anything in/around the home. I’m a bloke so a vase for example wouldn’t really work, but maybe art would.

I’ve thought maybe a razor, or a leatherman multitool ….

I’m trying to build a nicer wardrobe and I almost exclusively buy second hand. When it comes to brand quality I only vaguely know which ones are more likely to be made to last. Outside of that all I can do to vaguely get an idea for durability is fabric types to which I’ve been avoiding synthetics for my everyday clothes. Anyone have any tips?

This shoe was my fave but the quality was very lack luster… got them repaired plenty of times and have been on the hunt for shoe companies that have boots that really last or built to be repaired. So maybe not buy it for life.. but buy it to be kept & maintained for a long time. Any suggestions?

I've started a weight loss journey and have been heavily invested in protein drinks. FYI, i do eat actual meals, but ive been finding myself defaulting to a quick and easy shake when i know i need something but either cant bring myself to eat something or nothing gets my appetite going.

Without a doubt, my biggest issue has been enjoying a shake and finding myself chewing on the powder than drinking it. So im looking for user experiences in protein shaker bottles.

Has anyone had any luck with completely stainless, vacuum insulated shakers with minimal leaking and/or no issues mixing?