[1LR-GUE]

Got this idea from reddit - r/BuyItForLife

BHPians kindly share your experience on long-lasting, durable and quality products you have owned in Indian conditons/environment. It can be about clothing, shoes and accessories, kitchen appliances, electronics, bags, tools and so on.

Mods kindly delete my post if it is not relevant.

[headbanger]

Since it's TBHP, let me start with Toyota Innova.

[saikishor]

Honda Activa- one cannot go wrong with this scooter. Another product that comes to my mind is the Hero Splendor but since I have no ownership experience with it, I will reserve my opinions to the Activa.

We bought ours brand new in 2011. It has run 43k kms till date. Never broke down, cheap and easy maintenance, unmatched refinement, low fuel economy( yes our Activa returns a measly 30-35kmpl max), unparalleled service network, extremely durable and what not. No wonder why this is Honda's bread and butter model. Simple yet durable, functional engineering.

[GForceEnjoyer]

• A wooden dining set that's over 50 years old at home and still in perfect condition.
• A coffee table that is once again over 50 years old.
• A terrific sound system (Woodstock vintage speakers), well over twice my age.

[GTO]

Great thread idea!

1. 1997 Mahindra Classic = still running, still with the family. 26 years up.

2. An LG window AC we bought 20 years ago. It's fitted in the guest room / gym room. To my surprise, while all the other split ACs of the house require maintenance & repairs from time to time, this one keeps running like a champ.

3. Old wood & timber from the 70s. Our house has some of it. Our family business is wood & I can tell you, the kind of quality plywood & timber we got in the 60s & 70s was simply terrific. Today's wood is junk in comparison, made for the Ikea mentality of replacing in 5 - 6 years.

[Bibendum90949]

My contribution to this thread would be about a humble screw driver. I don't quite know if this is a well known brand or so, but this thing has been with me since 30 years, from my bicycle days to fixing two wheelers to cars and all other trivial and tough work it was subjected to. It was gifted by a friend back in '91-92. It's clearly another epitome of Japanese finesse and durability.

The other day it's turned a full circle when my li'l 8 year old son came specifically asking for "the black and yellow" screw driver to fix his bicycle bell . Talk about passing the baton to next gen.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The other day it's turned a full circle when my li'l 8 year old son came specifically asking for "the black and yellow" screw driver to fix his bicycle bell . Talk about passing the baton to next gen.

Off topic.

This pic really made me go down memory lane. I remember seeing this screwdriver when I was a child. Heck, this black and yellow screw driver was a staple tool of most men in Riyadh. So used to the yellow/black screwdrivers, that I stared at the all black Black&Decker/Dewalt screwdrivers like it was some kind of fancy new item.

[SmartCat]

- Jockey undergarments/sleepwear/loungewear
- Apple iPad (battery still strong after 7 or 8 years)
- Simple toys made out of metal or wood, with no electricals
- 5 speaker + subwoofer by Creative (15 yrs+, everyday use, sounds great)
- Old school wood furniture (not MDF/plywood junk we get these days)

[subraiyr]

What a lovely thread !!

My bedroom is full of old stuff.

The cot we use is 2 single cots made of solid rose wood and is now crossed the 100 year old mark. I have a chest of draws which is gravitating towards its 76th year.


A plethora of brass vessels and lamps which are at least 80 years old. We still use this, albeit not for what it is intended


Books - Have truck loads of them and some of them are at least 70 years old if not more. We are voracious readers and some of these are still being read on a periodic basis.

Some others like a cash box (old timer one called Galla Petti) is now being used as a tool box. I have my trusted SBD drill resting comfortably in it, a waist band box turned into a fountain pen cache and some big brass vessels turned into planters.

Nostalgia creeping in

[am1m]

A couple of people have already mentioned it, but I think Rosewood furniture and metal ware are possibly the only things in the home that I can think of that will really last a lifetime (70-80 years at least) with no/minimal maintenance/parts replacement.

Have a rosewood table that had already crossed the 50-year mark when my parents bought it before I was born, I remember playing under it as a child. So it's over 95 years old now and will probably last another 95! That and the cockroaches will probably be the only things in the house that will survive a nuclear war.

Was speaking with an archaeologist one day and she said something very interesting for us to think about. What artifacts from the 2020s would be likely to survive buried for 100-200 years and give future archaeologists something to figure out what our lives were like? Metal bottle caps? Plastic parts? (Of course everything about our lives is recorded online in minute detail, and will probably survive and get transferred to newer storage devices, but still, as a thought experiment.)

[hrman]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

What a lovely thread !!

My bedroom is full of old stuff.

Nostalgia creeping in

If I may say so, compliment you on the bedroom and the stuff within. Looks classy, well appointed and maintained. Kudos to carry on a legacy of vintage classics which are literally one of a kind.

[IndieGooner]

Years back when I used to ride a bike to office, my leather shoes would get damaged due to rainy weather - either the in-sole comes off or the stitching/adhesive comes off. After loosing a few pairs, I bought a pair of Woods shoes based on a friend's recommendation. Cost me around Rs. 3000 at that time. But they to used squeak on tiled floors and were pretty ugly to look at to be frank. However, these shoes were practically indestructible. I wore them through several monsoons day after day and they kept going strong. Getting soaked in the rain, being left out in the sun, getting scuffed by my bike's gear shift - nothing could damage them.

By nature i don't replace things until they are well and truly gone. Like I said before, I disliked i how they looked (thought they looked like the boots NCC cadets would wear rather than office wear ). After several years by which I was living in a pretty dry climate and had stopped riding bikes, I wanted some good looking shoes. But my trusted Woods shoes were still not showing any signs of giving up. Finally, i ended up replacing as I really wanted a new pair. It has to be one of the very few things I discarded while it was still in good shape.

[paras211]

My denon amp is at 20years going strong.

[bobbyblr]

We are still using BPL ABS 45 washing machine.
Purchased some where between 1996-1997 and does not have any memory feature.

We used it initially for 3-4 years and shifted to a new home in 2001.
After using bore-well water for few months the water actuator got bad because of the mud in the water & this was replaced.

Later few years we used for just drying the clothes washed by the maid. And weekly once I used to put my new / outside clothes.

From the past 4-5 years we are still regularly using the this washing machine. Only one LED for the RINSE is not working and if the SPIN DRY button is pressed the PAUSE button feature gets invoked. Apart from this there is no issues till now.

[KPR]

Few things that come to my mind are TVS XL Super, Pakad or kidki (in tamil) at my home, Decathlon sandals which lasts for eternity despite several km of walking, running and travels and abuse and my 12 year young Yonex Carbonex 8000 plus badminton racquet.