Buy it for Life

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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.

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Don't buy normal trousers belts, instead buy elastic belts which can last literally for life (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by beep@piefed.world to c/buyitforlife@slrpnk.net

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Elastic belts are free size and normally don't tear at all. meaning they can last for life.

I am kind of surprised that they are not commonly recommended in the anti-consumption/ buy it for life communities. Despite the fact that replacing normal belts with them at scale would save the world shitload of resources that are spent on normal belts annually.

Side note: I don't recommend wearing jeans or suit trousers on daily basis, as there is more durable options that can last for longer time.

Photo is for example, as this is a generic item.

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[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

So what's more durable than jeans?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

Work pants with aramid stitching.

[–] Mandarbmax@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

You probably want something a little more baggy, jeans can be snug around the thighs and that wears out the material fast. If you have the crotch fail then that is your problem.

There is also the material used, elastane and tencel/rayon have low tensile strength and wear out fast while polyester and especially nylon are very strong. Recycled materials are also weaker than they otherwise would be because the recycling process cuts them up. In general 100% cotton is good and I would give blends a close look. Wool and linen and ramie are all pretty uncommon in jeans and jeans adjacent things but despite their many other positive qualities they aren't super strong; wool has a low tensile strength and linen and ramie tend to fail when bent a lot.

Also consider the weight and the weave, thinner material is going to wear through faster while thicker stuff is going to be tougher. Also a reverse sateen weave should last a little longer, it is like the twill leave in denim but oriented sideways so everything is smooth while going forward (and not smooth up/down but what can you do) so it catches and snags and stuff less.

So you will probably have a better time with some baggy or at least roomy reverse sateen cotton-poly or 100% cotton military fatigues. Or other pants with those qualities, just fatigues are common to see like that

Good luck

[–] beep@piefed.world -4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Cargo pants and pants made from polyester.

[–] zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev 7 points 1 week ago

There's quite a range of quality and durability in denim, but it can be extremely durable. It was associated with physical labor in the US for a long time and especially in its old West (cowboys, railway workers, etc). You can still find a pair of jeans that will last you the rest of your life and then be sold in a vintage store, but they're not cheap. Cargo pants have a similar range but I think they're typically made of duck canvas.