Built to Last

I am starting to favor things that are built to last.

Electronic gadgets frustrate me. They are meant to be obsolete in less than a year. They are designed to be replaced in less than a year. People pay hundreds of dollars for something they are going to throw away by next Christmas. (And they “have trouble making ends meet.” You have too many ends.) Batteries are rechargeable, which is nice, but after a while they don’t keep their charge anymore. And you can’t replace the battery. Well, you can, but most of the time it’s actually cheaper to just buy a new one. Which is the point. (And then you buy fancy cases and whatever other junk for your gadget, too.)

These things are not meant to last. In many cases, clothes go out of fashion. Sneakers are “made by little slave children” and come apart. Plastic flatware (and this is a rant for another time) is created to be used once and then thrown away. They wear out and we happily go buy a new one. Or worse, we replace them when something newer and shinier comes along. Which is almost all the time.

I am interested in things that are built to last. I am willing to pay more for something that is rugged and serviceable. I can pay $1000 for a bicycle that will still be on the road 20 or 30 years from now. If anything on the bike breaks, it can be fixed. It’s not like my iPod which, when something breaks, renders the entire thing trash. I could go to Mall*Wart and buy a low quality knife, with a blade that will dull in its sleep and a cheap plastic handle that will fracture the first time I need to put it through some abuse, or I can shell out a little more for something from Benchmade that will continue to cut off parts of my fingers when a lot more of my hair is gray.

I think people who are okay with tossing and/or replacing their stuff are not really attached to it. They don’t rely on it. They probably don’t really need it in the first place. I need equipment that I can count on. I need bags that are not going to leak like a blue light special, because I take my stuff out in the rain. I need a helmet that isn’t going to shatter into bits when I drop it, because I will drop it. I need a first aid kit put together by/for people who are actually going to get hurt in the middle of nowhere.

I guess I have higher expectations of things.