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Built To Last, Works as Advertised - Reducing consumption, while purchasing quality
Have you noticed that very few things these days are “built to last”? That they perform their basic function relatively poorly?
Or, that many consumers seem to no longer care?
When I do find something that is sturdy, reliable, and well-built I become euphoric. At last!
There is nothing better than “something” with triple-stitched seams, extra thick leather, titanium metal, stainless
steel, lexan, acrylic, redundant innards, waterproof electronics, shockproof, scratch resistant coatings, kevlar fabric, or an electromagnetic cage.
It gets even better when “it” is made to be easily repaired, has redundant features, fail-safe technologies, or self-diagnostics.
The icing on the cake comes when it actually does, and does well, what it was made to do.
Do you feel the same way?
Did you know that you can buy, but more likely build, a computer that has redundancy in the form of 2 CPUs, 2 hard-drives, 2 BIOS chips, not to mention the common practice of multiple RAM chips? An identical copy of your data is on each hard-drive, just in case one fails. Your entire life is on that machine. Homework, office reports, emails from friends and family, photos, your music, and more. Wouldn’t it be nice if you weren’t so afraid that it would have a catastrophic hardware failure, or catch cold from a virus? (if you don’t want to build your own, buy a Mac. They are great)
How about watches, belts, winter coats, shoes, tires for your car, televisions, furniture?
The words I have placed on my home-page, and my page dedicated to Titanium products, demonstrate my personal desire to have useful things in my life that are also reliable and built to last.
If you work at a company that makes consumer goods, please take this article seriously, and to the heart.
I no longer want next year’s new model.
I no longer want fancy features.
I want reliability, water resistance, quality, and the ability to repair whatever it is.
No more built-in batteries that cannot be replaced.
No more things that are so “cheap” it is more cost effective to just throw it away and buy a new one.
I want to be able to refill it, reload it, restore it, repair it, rebuild it, refine it, and if I so desire, return it.
I want a watch with all 12 numbers on it, not little tic-marks, or a blank face. I want it to be waterproof (because, it does rain sometimes you know. I also tend to wash my hands each day, wash the dishes, and pour myself drinks) and have a scratch resistant face (think of how many times do you brush against things with your arms). It should be reliable, well built, and keep good time. That's all! It doesn’t need to control my TV, have a flash drive, calculate flight patterns, tell me the hour in New Zealand, or take my pulse.
I want a coat that lasts for years, and shoes that have rubber soles that grip well and can be replaced.
I want drinking glasses that have a mouth wide enough to fit my hand, because that is what I use to wash them. I want my
blender to have one button: on and off. I don't know what "Liquify", "Blend", "Puree", mean or how they are different from each other.
A blender is a blade, attached to a variable speed motor. Why cannot you just say "Fast", or "Slow" speeds instead?
I want the numbers on my alarm clock to be big enough and bright enough to see at night, without glasses on. I don't care
if it has a CD player, or lets me listen to the ocean.
I want my toaster to have big enough slots for bagels, an adjustable dial, and a button to start it. No talking with
my computer, or other fancy things. Also, why are they so expensive these days? $60 dollars?!? It is just a toaster!
I want most pens to use waterproof ink. We can put a man on the moon, make pens write upside down or in freezing
weather, but pen with waterproof ink come along only half the time. It should be the norm, not the exception. Water
is part of our lives. We swim in it, drink it, bath in it, and it falls down in the form of rain. Glasses of water next to our
homework? Rain falling down onto our briefcase or backpack? Coffee spills on my meeting notes? Common stuff people...
please make more of them waterproof.
That leads me to electronics. If I am going to spend hundreds of dollars on a smart phone, digital camera, GPS device,
or laptop, I want it to be at least "water resistant". Again... water is everywhere. We spit it out, excrete it,
the Earth surrounds us by it. Why can't Technology companies put gaskets and seals on their products? Why isn't the next
great leap in technology some kind of water resistance instead of the newest megapixel leap, processor speed bump,
or memory capacity increase? Olympus makes a digital camera that is shockproof, and waterproof; The Stylus 720 SW.
How hard is it for everyone else to follow suit with *at least* one model of the dozens of products they make?!?!
I want a cellular phone that has good range, and good telephone capabilities. I don't really care if it
has a photo of the person calling me, or a digital camera. Oh, and, I also want it to flip open to cover
my mouth. I hate talking into the air in front of me, it is awkward and sometimes people around me
think I am talking to them and not to the person on the other end of the phone.
For the regular consumers who are reading this, and cannot wait for companies to come around, at the bottom of this article is a list of places I have found that do offer quality goods. If you have a store or company to add, please let me know and I will try to add it to this list (no matter what country it is in). For those who still shop quite often, or more often than they should, I hope you will buy less often but with an eye for longevity. I urge you to start demanding higher quality, even though it may mean higher prices, and fewer choices (i.e. variety). In the long term, you will end up spending less money.
Some things can, and used to, last for decades. Look it up, ask your grandparents, or survey the items in their house.
Shoes used to last longer, furniture used to get passed down to the next generation. Coats and suits lasted until you were buried in them. Clothes were patched, shoes were re-soled, socks were darned, cars were fixed, engines were replaced, houses were repaired instead of torn down, pens were used until the ink ran out and were then refilled! Cooking pots were cast-iron, rocking chairs were made of mahogany.
If anyone tells you otherwise, argue with them, or find a way to make it come true.
Remind yourself of those old sayings that describe how anything that comes cheap usually ends up being expensive.
A List of Companies or Stores Where You Can Buy High Quality Goods
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Apple Computers - http://www.apple.com/
They are easy to use, reliable, very free of viruses, and a technician is waiting at each of their stores to help you with any problem or question.
I have been using computers since the 8086 chip, and was a software engineer up until very recently. I have used Windows PCs,
Solaris, SGI, and other Unix flavors. I have never been more happy with a computer system than I am with my Mac (Apple).
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Allen Edmonds Shoes for Men - http://www.allenedmonds.com/
They are expensive, but sturdy, high quality, and made by a company with a great tradition. They even advertise their ability, and desire, to “recraft” your shoes which means they restore the uppers to a new look, resole them, re-welt them, re-heel them, and apply a fresh bit of wax. If you have an odd shoe size they will bend over backwards to accommodate you. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could get you a 9.5 EEE in a short amount of time. A great company, based in Wisconsin (USA).
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Computer Printers
Don’t buy an inkjet. They are cheap, but the ink cartridges are expensive. It is a sham.
Spend just a little bit more money on a LaserJet. Why pay $35 USD for an inkjet cartridge that prints 180 pages, when you can pay $70 USD for a LaserJet cartridge that prints 3,000 pages. (twice the cost, but 15 times as many pages. Easy math, right?). Plus, ink from a LaserJet is waterproof. Inkjets are not.
Waterproof First Aid Kits - http://www.cases4less.com/toolkits.html
Why not buy something that protects all of those gauze, bandages, creams, and aspirin pills from getting wet, yet costs little more then a regular first-aid kit? And floats too?
Duluth Pack Luggage, Bags, and Backpacks - http://www.duluthpack.com/
Since 1882, in Minnesota, they have been making sturdy canvas and leather luggage, bags, packs, totes, and more. They are built to last a lifetime and are made to be waterproof.
Look into their waxed canvas items.
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Orvis Barbour Rain Jackets for Men - http://www.orvis.com/
100% waxed cotton canvas, internal lining, lined hand-warmer pockets, with an optional hood. They last for decades, and can be passed on to your kids.
The "Barbour Sporting Beaufort Jacket", made by Barbour of England, is quite pricey but very sturdy
and waterproof.
Olympus 720, 770, & 790 SW Shockproof and Waterproof Digital Cameras - http://www.olympusamerica.com/
I love Canon cameras, and I wish they had done this first, but Olympus beat them to the punch. I am tired of that mild heart attack
when I accidentally drop my camera. I am tired of that fear when I go out to hike, or travel, and the thought of rain
enters my mind. Should I put the camera in a ziplock bag? How can I protect the camera? Ugh. We are humans, living on Earth.
We commit mistakes, we drop things. The Earth likes drop rain and make lakes, form puddles. Water is part of our existence.
A shockproof, waterproof digital camera is a great idea, especially when it has 7.1 megapixels.
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American Innovative Alarm Clocks & Timers - http://www.americaninnovative.com/
American Innovative makes some great alarm clocks, with up to 7 different alarms and an easy to use
system of dials and buttons. Though, I wish their original one had a better display. The "Executive"
edition looks great, but may be a bit pricey. Their Roadshow Travel Alarm is amazingly useful.
It is not just for your hotel room, but for your presentation to remind you when to go on to the next
topic.
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Watch - Citizen Eco-Drive Model AT0200-05E - http://www.citizenwatch.com/
My "ultimate" watch. It fit all of the criteria I was looking for:
- Has ALL numbers 1 through 12 on the face. Not one is missing
- The face is black, the numbers are white, making it easier to read
- It tells me the day of the month
- It is waterproof to 100 meters (330 feet)
- The strap eyelets are reinforced with metal, the back of it is coated in rubber
- It is powered by sunlight and will supposedly run for 20 years without a battery
- Has a scratch resistant mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating
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Cellular Phone - Casio G'zOne - http://www.casiogzone.com/
I don't own one, but it is the best example I could find of a cellular phone that is
water-resistant, shockproof, and overall very durable. Reviewers of this phone have
swum with it, taking photos underwater, and have played cell-phone bowling with it.
Finally, a cell-phone that I can use and not worry about it in the rain, or when
I accidentally drop it in the toilet!
Last, but not least, it is a flip phone, so it doesn't look weird when I talk to someone.
This phone meets my demands: water-resistant, drop-proof, and flips open to cover my mouth
with something.
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This article first published on: August 14, 2007
© Copyright 2007 - Jeff Skrysak - All rights reserved.
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