Sorry if this is overstepping, but I usually take this into account when recommending shops; What country or part of the world are you from?
this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
42 points (97.7% liked)
Buy it for Life
4915 readers
522 users here now
A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!
Guidelines:
Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!
Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.
Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.
A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:
- The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
- If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
- The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
- You cannot be a large corporation.
- The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
For items that are not truely bifl like underwear, my own philosophy is to at least then get something that will 100% compost or disintegrate back into nature should it ever end up in a land field. Sadly underware often contains Spandex or other synthetic materials so this has actually been a difficult one for me. I have found some 100% cotton but trey are really expensive and I needed to pay a lot of shipping too so I didn't do it. I ended up just buying more of my current brand that at least lasts really long. I have underwear that is around 8 years old now and used a lot. The brand is JBS and they have both Bamboo and cotton versions. But still contains Spandex
Seconding Darn Though socks. Best investment for your feet, not cheap but lifetime warratied!
Reminder to please not abuse Darn Tough's warranty everyone!
i.e. if you find a pair of darn tough socks at a thrift store for $1, cool great find! Enjoy your almost free, very long lasting pair of high quality socks. But that does not entitle you to turn around and return those socks for a warranty on a brand new pair forever.
People abusing warranties is how every lifetime warranty eventually gets gutted. So if you like the socks, support the brand so they stay around awhile.
P.S. they are Made in Vermont
How are they for high temperatures?
Fantastic. Merino Wool is excellent at moisture and temperature regulation. Also highly anti bacterial. Obviously they make them in all sorts of weights.
Second this. Get a few pairs of different weights and you are set for life in all weather conditions.
I have some concerns with wool and the ability to be washed often. I do like to change my underwear rather often.. How is your experience?
I don't rewear my socks. So yeah I wash them a lot. They've held up for years.
Good to know, thanks. Maybe I need to try those fancy merino underpants...
I wear a pair of darn tough boot socks for about 3 days before they start having any smell at all. Just hang em up when you get home from work and the wool will air out by the next day. If especially bad you can hang them in the bathroom before you shower so they get a light steam too.
Jeebus, don't buy underwear for life, that's like buying toilet paper for life. Some things in life are inherently consumables and you have to get used to that. Buy whatever underwear fits you and is comfortable and not overpriced, and replace it when you have to. Material preferences will depend on you, your habits, climate, etc.
That's true, although some brands will still be better than others for quality at a certain price point, or cost/wear
sorry, I poorly communicated. I noted this probably isn't the right comm, but I'm hoping for advice on what things to look out for to ensure something that will last. Although on the toilet paper note, I hear some zerowaste people have something similar. No point to that, just felt like mentioning it haha
also undershirts and shapewear are underwear, but i didn't have a better all encompassing title, and to americans underwear = underpants alternate words are welcome, so I can edit :)
Heyo, just wanted to clarify your post is absolutely appropriate for this community, as despite the name, it is not exclusive to only things that literally last forever, we also welcome things that just last longer than average :)
thank you for the clarification :)
OK, well, anyway I don't think you should ask gender neutrally since the women's underthings universe is completely different from the one for dudes. Brassieres in particular are a nontrivial feat of structural engineering that have to make various technological and cost trade-offs to provide the best mix of comfort and support. I don't wear them myself, but my lady friends tell me that you really have to shop around til you find a model that you like, then buy multiple units, and that they will probably be expensive.
My gender has an easier time of it. I just get the 9-packs of cheap white cotton ones at Target most of the time. The sizes run small so take that into consideration. The usual failure mode is that the elastic band around the top gradually detaches from the fabric underneath. If you're frugal you can repair that with some stitches.[1] Later the fabric starts falling apart or getting holes. In principle you could patch it, but really, just throw the damn things away (compost bin should be fine as they are mostly cotton) and buy new ones. I probably somehow lose them more frequently than I wear them out.
[1] If you want to go full on toxic(?) masculinity about this, the reamer in your Swiss army knife has a little hole, whose purpose is to let you use the reamer as a sewing needle. Here is a video about how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m92P6f8miBw
I kept the post pretty gender neutral because I wanted to contribute to making a kind of 'psuedo masterpost' on the topic, and am hoping to invite a large swathe of experiences (goodness knows lemmy needs some haha)
A problem for me is I've always been too stingy to experiment, as your friends have, though I'm hoping to change and develop from there, but am hoping for advice to help narrow things down
kinda wish i had a swiss army knife now. will a woodcutting axe suffice?
The axe is better for making your own furniture. The word "hacker" supposedly originally referred to people who made furniture that way.
Here I was thinking it came from typing fast.
Anyway, whenever someone says "hacker-proof", now imagine Thorbjörn the Cruel with his trusty battle axe.
truly? huh, TIL. Guess it isn't quite so versatile a tool tho :P
Bombas makes really high quality stuff that tends to last. Darn Tough socks have lifetime warranties, so they'll replace old pairs for free.
Ex officio, darn tough.
I wear them now, and wore them my whole time as a firefighter. They worked in hot and cold climates and I promise they wick moisture well lol
Might not be the most environmentally friendly, but I can say from personal experience that these silver impregnated hiking shorts are both smell free and last about a decade.
Sorry is there a link here I'm not seeing on my app... Which brand shorts are they?
I didn't post a link. There are many brands that produce these kind of shorts. I have no idea what brand it was, but they hold up fine. Something Italian I think 🤷♂️
Ah okay thanks I'll do some searching
I have recently started buying bamboo based socks and boxer shorts, and it's pretty great and seems to stay elastic and soft a really long time. A bit too soon for clear conclusions, but talking to others who have used it longer it seems promising.
Shouldn't be too bad for the climate either, as bamboo is a pretty easy going and fast growing plant.
Unfortunately the environmental impact depends on the processing used. The cheapest and easiest version is unfortunately chemically intensive and basically the same way they make rayon. There are other options, but then the price goes up. So extra due diligence is required if you are concerned about the impact of your bamboo clothes.
Thanks! That's something I will have to read up on for sure.
I've heard bamboo can be good. How is your experience with them in extreme temperatures?
I pretty much only wear darn tough socks at this point, and have used them down to -60F windchill and up to 110F. Obviously different pairs, but they have a lot on offer for pretty much any situation.
I've used them in the desert before, hiking into the 100-110F range and nothing is super comfortable for me at that temp range but they did good. My shoes were more the limiting factor on my feet breathing there. They held up well with sand getting thru my shoe's mesh and I didn't get blisters or anything. I am very blister resistant normally tho.
Bicycling in -60F they also did super well in, though that was even moreso because my other layers were pretty dialed in. I didn't stay dry per se between sweat and snow, but I stayed warm enough between my other layers and physical activity to be relatively comfortable.
Edit: realized after posting that I replied to the wrong comment.
Oh I can help! Got me some bamboo boxer briefs, they're at least comparable to "normal" ones if not better in ~100°f or so heat, but of course it's still fucking hot.
I haven't tried in very warm climates yet, but I think they should do well. Seem to breathe well - yesterday I had a full day of traveling in heavy hiking boots from the snowy Alps through hours on a bus then plane and finally relatively warmer climates, and the socks performed great the entire way. No need to change them when I finally got home, which is certainly not to my feet's credit.
I think they will perform well in pretty much any setting where you would traditionally use cotton socks. When I went on hikes in the Alps I wore woolen socks, so I don't know how the bamboo ones would have held up.
So, given other comments, rather than BIFL, are you looking for good quality, long lasting undergarments? Based on the bras part, mainly women's undergarments?
The subreddit (sorry for directing to that site) ABraThatFits improved my life considerably. In addition to guides on measurements and sizes and shapes, there are tons of recommendations to suit the different measurements. The people responsible did an excellent job of data collection, and I hope the info remains available so others can benefit.
we need to work on moving communities over so people don't have to use reddit anymore
pretty much. I knew this wasn't exactly the right community (give reccs if u can), but I'm hoping theres enough overlap for good reccomendations :)
also feel free to talk about any genders garments irregardless of my own criteria, it could help others in the future!
(Psst, heads up, it's one of my favorite fake words because of the G. W. Bush fiasco, but "irregardles" isn't a word, you're looking for "regardless." Not trying to be a dick just trying to help!)
Can't help on the suggestions, I'm here for some myself! Wish I could though!
Not entirely sure if this is BIFL material, but I didn't know of any other comms, suggestions are reccomended, I can crosspost :)