So in this post, I really wanted to talk about buying the right item the first time, specifically the stuff you want to last. I’m not talking about sponges or anything you use around the kitchen, where buying the highest quality version makes no sense. I’m talking about backpacks, gear, peripherals, things that are actually worth spending more on if you do your research first.
Back in the day, I always wanted American-made gear. I’m from the United States, and I figured the quality was usually better than the Chinese-made stuff. But American quality has dipped lately too, so these days I tend to gravitate toward German, Japanese, and Swiss-made items instead. I’ve just found them to be higher quality and to last longer than their American and Chinese counterparts.
When I’m first looking for something, I start by googling “buy it for life” and the item name. Most of the time I get a wall of tech blogs listing their top five favorites with Amazon affiliate links, but the most helpful source by far is Reddit. I’m not really a fan of the site, but it’s given me a lot of honest product reviews. And since most of what we buy these days comes from Amazon anyway, it’s worth checking there too, because Amazon’s own reviews don’t tend to be very honest.
Some people don’t get the appeal of buying things for life because they’re harder on their stuff than I am. But I take good care of my things, so I don’t mind paying more for something I know is going to last and genuinely make my life better, whether that’s a suitcase, a backpack, or a duffel bag.
The one exception is shoes. I will not buy shoes for life. In my opinion there’s no shoe worth more than $300, even the finest loafers or dress shoes you’d wear in the office. Every time I’ve spent big on shoes they either don’t last or get scuffed, and there’s no real way to keep them from getting ruined.
Anyways, that’s my take on buying things for life. Over the next few months I’d like to write a few more posts walking through some of my favorite purchases, how I go about choosing them, and the research that goes into it.