A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!
Guidelines:
Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!
Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.
Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.
A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:
For pens, I've found the cheap ones from Muji to be quite nice. They've a replaceable core and are also cheap if the body does break.
metal ruler
Is there such a thing as a non-BIFL ruler? Especially a metal one. They're basically a big stick. Not much that can go wrong there.
I've started buying bic pens, because they sell replacement ink inserts.
For a laptop you could look at a framework if youre looking to get a new laptop at like 800$ (its more expensive but is diy repairable)
Mechanical pencils are a lot more efficient that wooden ones plus there are many highend metal ones that could last a lifetime.
Uni kuru toga overall are all really good
I have had the kuru toga elite for several years now recommend it as it is also fairly cheap
Rotrings are appearently very nice too but they are a bit pricey for me
+1 for Rotring (or rOtring if you prefer). I have both a pencil and ballpoint pen, the latter has been my daily driver for over half a decade now. Refills are readily available, it's all metal construction so I can throw it in my bag and not worry about it getting banged up, and it feels really nice in my hand.
They are more expensive than my other go-to, which is just a Pilot G2, but truly BIFL in my book. Also worth buying a 4 pack of G2s in my mind if you let people borrow pens a lot, I've had countless of mine walk away...
Other than prefering twist erasers, this looks like a good option.
Laptop
Get a few years old Thinkpad aim for 16gb ram. 500gb ssd i5 or i7 models. and install bazzite or Ubuntu on it. Those also run win 10/11 without issues but will have more life if run on Linux avoiding all the windows bloat.
I’ve heard good things about Fjallraven bags, but not sure about the school applicability.
Scissors, I’m a fan of the Fiskars kids scissors. Small and still pretty good performance.
Avoid the laptop; they’re just no good for learning. But if it’s absolutely required the MacBook Neo has performance for most student applications. No computer is BIFL.
Indeed, laptops and even more so power banks, strike me as some of the least BIFL products in existence. Only Smartphones and wireless a earbuds might be worse.
If the child is amenable, a used thinkpad with Linux will keep running smoothly basically forever, take a beating, and be serviceable.
And get them in all kind of arguments over office formats.
Not happy about the Neo going up $100. $700 is a lot to spend on a young kid's school laptop.
Yes. Stuff is too expensive everywhere! Far too much for what amounts to a basic productivity laptop.
I’ve got a smaller Fjallraven backpack. It’s very well made but I find the straps uncomfortable if it’s pretty well packed. If OP is just carrying around a laptop and a couple small things, it’s a great bag, but if they’re bringing all their books and a large water bottle and all that, I think their shoulders will get tired quickly.
That’s what I’ve thought is the case based on my online shopping.
They should sell strap pads if they don’t already. I think that would be a good idea and I’d buy a pack for my bag. I’d love to be able to use mine more, but the thin straps with zero padding really isn’t the most comfortable design.
Do they still replace or repair Jansport packs if you send them yours?
Because this is how my kid got through middle and high school. I bought him two Jansport packs, and he would ruin one by the end of the year, so I'd send it in, and they'd either repair or replace it, while he used the other one. Well worth the effort. He always had a new pack ready to go, and it only cost me the initial outlay.
Yes, as far as I was tracking, Jansport still honors it. The warranty is on the bag itself, so you could get one from a thrift shop and exchange it for a new one.
Wallet: mightywallet.shop makes wallets out of Tyvek. Recommended.
I don’t have answers for all categories, but the ones I have experience with:
Any recs apart from nalgene as they are all ugly in my opinion
Contigo are pretty good plastic ones that look a bit nicer. If you want metal, I have a few from Stanley that are great at keeping stuff iced for literal days, but they’ll obviously be heavier. They’re also more expensive too.
I have a metal, contigo one, works as intended
Personally I think you can go on aliexpress and buy any one of dozens of designs. They’re all made in China just white labelled.
If you like brands, zojirushi is quality. I hate the brand but yeti does have nice features on their bottles. Kleen kanteen also good. But they’re all pretty similar.
Laken thermo bottle. Stainless steel. Keeps liquids cool/hot for ~4 hours. Built like a tank, it has gone flying from my backpack pocket multiple times - once it rolled on the ground for 50 meters when I had a bike accident. Still works after 10 years, using it daily.
I'll second osprey packs and nalgenes even if its just the hiker in me. I bought an osprey parsec in like 2012 mostly fir school use. The only reason I replaced it last year is because it didn't suit my needs for a backpack anymore. The only thing that ever broke was part of a buckle and even then the buckle still functioned. Beyond a little wear and tear, the bag is still 100% functional today. Easily one of the best things I've ever purchased.
And the only reason I've replaced a nalgene is because I dropped one in a river and wasn't able to retrieve it.
I love my Osprey. I visit 1-6 schools per day for work, so it spends a lot of time in my trunk or on classroom floors. I think I've had it about 18 months and it shows no signs of wear, despite carrying tools in one of the side pockets- that's what killed my previous backpacks. I also have a Kipling that still looks great after 10+ years, but i only use it for travel.
For pens, i really like the sharpie rollerballs.
I’m currently using their Daylite Sling as my EDC bag and it’s fantastic. I convinced my dad to get a 40L backpack from them and he’s been extremely happy with it. Everyone else I’ve known who’s had a bag from them has raved about how good it is.
