Oddbean new post about login | logout How do you find things that are durable and repairable? Is it a big research project for every important purchase? Has everyone in the world given up on these qualities in the things they buy?
There are a couple of reddit communities. Mostly just a giant research project followed by a giant disappointment.
You design and build them yourself. 😜
Kinda depends on how much is composite or plastics and stuff like that, and is there a community of people who care for said products? I just repaired my bathtub over the weekend. Also repair my bikes. Had to chuck a knoll office chair a few days ago though, all composites and plastics that just disintegrated after 10 years
all plastics and aluminium decays after about 10 years. if it's load bearing it's garbage after a decade. the best things are made of steel or copper. you really can't fix aluminium bicycle frames, they are eventually going to fracture once they get to a certain age, the corrosion process eventually opens cracks all the way through. steel bicycle frames even when they do get bent or snapped can be repaired and be safe again. plastic bathtubs also eventually crack and get nasty. rubber rarely lasts even 10 years, silicone is not much better, and gets hard rather than sloppy. polyurethane lasts a lot longer but eventually it tears and crumbles. magnets eventually demagnetise. these materials will eventually be phased out again because they are toxic and inefficient in the long run.
“For those who are tired of plastic vanity, for those who feel sick of foam rubber life, for those who believe in heavy things that are difficult to move…” https://d16kd6gzalkogb.cloudfront.net/marketplace_artwork_images/4f6f4c8f4a7548e79aaa1d12599ffe33.jpg
I would imagine that things that are simple and uniform are harder to break and easier to repair, as you can find replacement parts or the time-honored recipe for success just... works. As to durability, the real test is: can your kid break it? Murphy's law: more fragile pieces/opportunity for failure = more likely to fail.
Typically I spend years thinking about buying something. Then I finally do and I'm like, wow I shoulda had this long ago. And then I use it forever until it's completely un-usable. When I mistakenly once in a while purchase something that breaks too soon or is not well made, I make a note never to buy that brand/store/thing again.
