Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

buyforlifeproducts.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 413 posts

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#221

Post by tylershuster »

dymax78 wrote: post #206
driverdan wrote: post #112

I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're good boots for the price they do not deserve an A- score. They are not BIFL. The soles are glued making them not resoleable. The sole on one of mine has started coming unglued too. The same can be said for the Victorinox Fibrox knife that ha…

"BIFL" footwear; genuinely curious, does such a product even exist?

https://nicksboots.com/ or something similar — if you get footwear that's handmade and custom, it can last you for 20-30 years which is enough to warrant the BIFL tag in my book.

But pretty much anything off-the-shelf I would have to see some extraordinary evidence.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#222

Post by citrusybread »

redshirtrob wrote: post #105
aidos wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The batteries absolutely fail before the tools do. As long as you stick to a range (for me, Makita Lxt) you’ll just need a few working batteries between all your tools as a diyer. At least that’s what I’ve found. They slowly fall apart, but you still get fairly good value from them. I started “collecting” tools a year ago and my first batteries are starting to go now. They’re actually still plenty good enough good en…

I mostly stick with corded tools. Over the past 17 years I've managed to collect: - A Milwaukee right angle drill. I don't use it much, but when I need it, it's invaluable - A Porter Cable circular saw. I get a bit more use out of this. Circular saws are so versatile. - A hand-held power planer. I used this a lot fitting doors to irregular door jams. I've loaned it out quite a bit too. Like the right angle drill, I d…

porter-cable quality has declined significantly now. it's not the same company it used to be. just in case anyone else is curious.

power tools have changed dramatically in the last 20 years. what was good then is no good now due to greed. Makita has stayed someone consistent as they only have the same brand, same for Bosch, Hitachi and Metabo (although not going forward), but their individual product lines have drifted. eg Bosch jigsaws are still excellent, their circular saws are whatever, some makita impacts have a design flaw, etc.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#223

Post by TheRealDunkirk »

dymax78 wrote: post #206
driverdan wrote: post #112

I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're good boots for the price they do not deserve an A- score. They are not BIFL. The soles are glued making them not resoleable. The sole on one of mine has started coming unglued too. The same can be said for the Victorinox Fibrox knife that ha…

"BIFL" footwear; genuinely curious, does such a product even exist?

You raise a good point, which makes this even harder to do right. What is the "life" of a particular product? Sure I could buy a pair of hiking boots that would last me for my literal lifetime, except that I'm already 50, and I "hike" a short public trail about once a year.

My dad, however, always carries a pocket knife (for fishing purposes), and I've seen them get so much wear, the inside of the blade starts getting worn away from being sharpened so often. What's a "lifetime" for someone who sharpens a knife every other week? That's going to wear out even a "BIFL" pocket knife much sooner than "life" would lead you to believe.

There needs to be a way to incorporate the duty cycle of the thing being reviewed, and length of time owned, but then you're just back to the problem of people gaming a review system, and the commercial internet has ruined everything.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#224

Post by citrusybread »

acd wrote: post #125
hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

Great idea! List of more durable items: Stainless steel frying pan instead of nonstick frying pans where the non stick coating wears off. Cast iron even better. Plain bicycle without electric parts easier to recycle metal. Durable quality Screens drivers. Non electric espresso maker. Bailetto. Corded headphones no batteries that wear out. Changable parts. No wireless protocol that go obsolete. LifePo4 lithium iron ba…

>Stainless steel frying pan instead of nonstick frying pans where the non stick coating wears off. Cast iron even better.

that's misleading if not outright wrong.

the counterpart to nonstick is not cast iron or stainless steel -- it's carbon steel. carbon steel pans compare well to nonstick when seasoned (good woks are still carbon steel, and you can still find good carbon steel skillet pans, just not by lodge).

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#225

Post by wccrawford »

godot wrote: post #207
newsclues wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a poor person this is so valuable. Cheap boots are more expensive....

Are they really though? On the topic of boots, let's say we're talking about high-cut hiking boots. I'm not an avid hiker. I do casual hiking sometimes so I just wear regular shoes to those. When I do slightly more strenuous hiking, I wear a specific pair of high-cut hiking boots that I own. I get a chance to do this maybe once a year, or less. I bought a pair of Denali ones from Big5 for $40 for this purpose. It has…

I think part of the problem is that price doesn't dictate quality. It can be an indicator, but it's no guarantee.

And for occasional-use things, higher quality doesn't help as much, as you've seen.

Finally, having an item that fits you well can be better than an item that'll last longer. 10x so for occasional-use items.

For instance, I had a spatula that I loved. I have never found an better one, and every spatula that I've owned since then has been quite inferior. I bought that spatula at Walmart on impulse for just a few dollars. Someone broke it, and I've been searching for a replacement for it for years.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#226

Post by milofeynman »

hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

Consumer reports tries to grapple with this problem by capturing brand reliability by long term surveying their users.

I really appreciate your attempt and wish you the best because I want this.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#228

Post by JoeAltmaier »

tsm wrote: post #150
acd wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great idea! List of more durable items: Stainless steel frying pan instead of nonstick frying pans where the non stick coating wears off. Cast iron even better. Plain bicycle without electric parts easier to recycle metal. Durable quality Screens drivers. Non electric espresso maker. Bailetto. Corded headphones no batteries that wear out. Changable parts. No wireless protocol that go obsolete. LifePo4 lithium iron ba…

> Stainless steel frying pan instead of nonstick frying pans where the non stick coating wears off. Cast iron even better. They're called nonstick for a reason; stainless steel does not compare. You'll have more sticking problems cooking eggs on a steel pan drowning in butter than on a (new) nonstick pan with minimal grease. I do own an 18th-century cast iron pan and it has pretty good seasoning. I use it for many th…

Not sure about nonstick skillets. Put a little grease in one - it doesn't stick, just floats around. Put in the egg- sinks under the grease, adheres instantly to the skillet surface like paint. Never had a 'nonstick' skillet work. Just me?

I stay with cast iron, for decades now. No problems.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#229

Post by monksy »

dumbfounder wrote: post #50
hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

I don't think the comparison to Rotten Tomatoes makes sense because you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products. To me it is just another product review site tackling a niche. But the idea of tracking cost per month is very intriguing (a measure of TCO, which you may want to tackle as well, because for some products that may include electricity usage, upkeep, etc). I think it is something that can t…

If you could talk about TCO as in service costs associated, that would be amazing. I.e. A PS4 costs $300.. but after PS+ service costs (to use the features they give you).. that's something like $5/month extra.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#230

Post by [deleted] »

loceng wrote: post #209
julius wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good idea. Thanks for making that site. I am an asshole. I copy&pasted a fake 5 star review from Amazon, using a fake account. Do you have a plan to stop brands from doing this to you?

"I am a competing asshole. I copy&pasted a fake 1 star review from Amazon to make your good product sound bad."

[deleted]
Post reply on HN