So, while trying to figure out whether a pair of Red Wings work boots (#606) are worth the almost $250 they're asking, I ran across a subreddit called /r/BuyItForLife. My first thought was, "Hoo boy! Hold on to your wallets, boys!" I figure that mentality probably resonates here on GRM, so I figured I'd ask what are some stuff worth calling BIFL.
What would you consider BIFL?
Wife?
I'll just withhold my opinion on the fact that Bobzilla apparently bought his wife 
I'd only consider something a "buy it for life" option if the technology in that field has completely stopped advancing- otherwise you'll probably want a newer one at some point. I don't think anything really falls into that category for me since I never buy anything with that mindset. Plus, according to our life insurance people, most Harbor Freight stuff ought to outlast me anyway 
We do have an "own it for life" thing happening with our vacuum though- it's an ancient self propelled thing, extremely sturdily built, extremely powerful, and we got it for free. Something goes wrong with it every 6 months or so but I take it apart and fix it every time since a modern equivalent would be $$$
^ A Kirby? I just donated one of those to Goodwill. Its almost 30 years old and works great. It was just taking up space in my house.
There is very little that I buy for life. I like to maximize my return on things though. And things that are disposable, I like to make sure they are recycled and turned back into more disposable things. This is much more difficult than I thought.
One thing that came to mind for me was the planer/jointer that my dad has in his garage. My grandpa must have gotten it in the 50s and it's still going strong. He had a similar vintage table saw from my grandpa that he only replaced because of the SawStop's safety factor. The shop vac in there is at least 25 years old too.
I think the nomenclature is sometimes a bit of an exaggeration, but it's showcasing a desire for long-lasting, well-built, repairable products.
Instead of BIFL we use 'forever'. We bought our 'forever couch' and our 'forever home'. The day the forever couch was delivered the cat puked on it and my only response was to wipe it off and say "it doesn't matter, it's a forever couch". We paid too much for it, we are keeping forever anyways. That and it's an awesome leather couch. The forever house will be forever until we are too old to maintain the house/property.
My Miata? :) Bought it new in 1998, still got it, no plans to sell.
Tools.....
scardeal said:One thing that came to mind for me was the planer/jointer that my dad has in his garage. My grandpa must have gotten it in the 50s and it's still going strong.
I have discovered the joys of buying old / antiques power tools and bringing them back to life. They were so well built and designed with the ability to rebuild in mind, so they potentially could be forever tools. Just like old cars, they may be lacking in features, but they make up for it with character.
FYI, I bought a pair of Red Wing boots 2 years ago. They were fantastic boots, sturdy and very comfortable. Unfortunately, after 2 years they're nearing end of life. So, I don't think you can expect to buy boots for life. At least not with Red Wings. Still, I might buy another pair- considering that $150 per year for decent steel toed work boots may just be the going rate for comfortable footwear.
I have my granddad's sockets
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:I'll just withhold my opinion on the fact that Bobzilla apparently bought his wife
$
Are you married yet? Trust me when you hear it from someone who is...yeah, you buy them.
It works both ways, though- she also bought me. 
English Wheel
Sheet Metal brake or shear.
Milling machine or lathe
The MGB HAS been around for 40 years, so kinda might qualify, but it IS starting to piss me off so....
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I am, but it seems less like we bought eachother and more like we collectively lit all of our cash on fire when we bought a house
Given the choice, I'll always go with the high quality, high life, repairable option. Most of my purchases aren't technology-dependent, but even then I'll do things like buy a well-built laptop with upgrade potential instead of the cheapest machine I can find*. Solid wood over particleboard for furniture, solid core doors instead of hollow core, rebuildable shocks instead of throwaways. I go into almost everything assuming it is for forever, which makes you take a very different viewpoint than the usual attempt to get the cheapest possible option. And yes, we have a Kirby
Some of this comes from an implicit lesson I learned from my grandfather. I noticed that he had a lot of stuff that was older but in good shape. Not because it was inherently better than new stuff, but because he cared for it. Tools got wiped. Instead of slamming a door, he'd close it gently. If you care for your possessions, they will reward you.
We turn to Terry Pratchett for an explanation.
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
* just counted out all the computers I've purchased for myself over the years. Looks like 7 over the last 34 years. My current one is five years old but can still run the latest OS and is 100% functional. Meanwhile, I have a cheap Lenovo laptop for work that never did work correctly out of the box, and I'm sure one day I'll try to turn it on and discover that it has obsoleted itself with a required update.
Vasectomy.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I am, but it seems less like we bought eachother and more like we collectively lit all of our cash on fire when we bought a house
Well, either way, the important thing is, you've got each other.
I thought about a hammer, my Eastwing is over 25 years old and going strong. But I suppose it could get broken or the rubberized handle could melt or get damaged.
If I built a new addition on the house, the cinderblocks of the base might be for life. Can't imagine them not lasting until I die.
AHA! If you bought a noose to kill yourself with, it is pretty much guaranteed to last the rest of your life.
pinchvalve said:
AHA! If you bought a noose to kill yourself with, it is pretty much guaranteed to last the rest of your life.
You know the saying. Build a fire for a man, you'll keep him warm for a day. Set a man on fire, you'll keep him warm the rest of his life.
pinchvalve said:
I thought about a hammer, my Eastwing is over 25 years old and going strong. But I suppose it could get broken or the rubberized handle could melt or get damaged.
I have one of these that's almost as old as I am. My dad bought it when I was a kid and called it "the good hammer" whenever I was fetching him tools when we would work on carpentry projects. He gave it to me when I moved into my house 7 years ago and bought another identical one to replace it. It looks like hell, but the grip is still intact and it's my favorite hammer ever. Definitely a "forever/BIFL" tool.
Keith Tanner said:even then I'll do things like buy a well-built laptop with upgrade potential instead of the cheapest machine I can find
This is another reason I prefer desktops. I've been through a number of work laptops in the past 10 years (not by choice).
My desktop still has the same case, 2 of the same monitors (I've added a 3rd), the same power supply, and most of the same fans as it did 10 years ago. The hard drive I have only replaced twice - run until death both times, the heatsink is on its second generation of processor/mobo. Etc. This is a relatively capable gaming machine.
I wish all of my stuff was that serviceable. I don't wish all of my stuff was as difficult to dispose of in an environmentally friendly way.
I was going to say firearms. I have a handful of rifles that have been in the family for 70 years. My friends always get pissed when we go out to the 200-500 yd range and I'm nailing it with a 70 Y/O rifle and they can barely hit the target with their fancy all attachments brand new one.
Above and beyond that tools. I still have some of the measuring tools from my great grandfather used as a machinist.
volvoclearinghouse said:FYI, I bought a pair of Red Wing boots 2 years ago. They were fantastic boots, sturdy and very comfortable. Unfortunately, after 2 years they're nearing end of life. So, I don't think you can expect to buy boots for life. At least not with Red Wings. Still, I might buy another pair- considering that $150 per year for decent steel toed work boots may just be the going rate for comfortable footwear.
If they just need new soles or something like that they should be repairable.
Red Wing does have a warrantee on their boots, but unfortunately in your case it's for 12 months and not 24.
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