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My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer h

My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer heavier undershirts, kind of like t-shirts. My everyday shoes are suede military boots. I don’t think they last a decade but they last a long time and can take quite a beating. They are certainly worth the expensive retail price though I typically get mine for free. I will ultimately end up replacing the laces 2 to 3 times before replacing the boots. Many of my shirts last well over a decade. I prefer business casual long sleeve button up shirts. They wear less quickly because I only wear them over undershirts. I have one shirt I still wear that was from my first year in college more than 20 years ago. The thing that kills my shirts are stains. Stripes and plaids show less stains than flat colors and thus last much longer. What doesn’t last: running shoes, jeans, and watches. The battery on my Timex watch is only good for 3 to 5 years and that is about how long I hold onto my running shoes. My jeans are good for about 4 years and then they see to completely fall apart. I don’t even care if they get minor stains.

pletsch 7y ago
It's actually incredibly easy to replace a watch battery on most watches (certainly Timex), you just need a tool to pull the back off ($10ish on Amazon right now) and a battery that fits, which you can pick up at any Wal-Mart for $4-$5.
- ghaff 7y ago
  By the time I need to replace a battery on my $30 Timex, the band is usually going and the watch face is all scratched up.
  - LeifCarrotson 7y ago
    I wore Timex Ironman watches for about 10 years and had the same problems. I discovered that (1) the bands are easily replaced, and a band that isn't deteriorating makes the watch much more comfortable, and (2) all but the absolute deepest scratches in the acrylic watch face are easy to buff out to a like-new shine with a cotton buffing wheel on a Dremel and some graduated polishing media. This would have been more valuable to know when I was a high schooler being rather rough on my gear and going through a watch every year or two, but I figure it's worth sharing. This was valuable to learn because I since replaced the Timex with a Garmin Forerunner 220 (now 5 years old) that's much more expensive. The rechargeable battery now only lasts for about 2 hours of GPS activity or 5 days of non-GPS use, about half what it did when I bought it originally, so I'm considering an upgrade again.
    - robocat 7y ago
      https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=garmin+forerunner+220+battery+replacement https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=garmin+forerunn... Worth trying to fix perhaps? Likely not a “good” use of your time, but fixing stuff is strangely satisfying. You seem skilled, but if you are just learning, then try to fix stuff that you would otherwise throw out and that doesn’t need expensive parts. It does “waste” time, but many people get a lot out of it.
      - LeifCarrotson 7y ago
        I suppose I should be honest with myself and admit it's as much about the excuse of getting the Fenix as it is lack of utility in the Forerunner. I am confident I could replace the battery, less so that I could do so non-destructively and make it waterproof when I reinstall everything - it's not designed to be particularly repairable, you can see they had to cut the plastic to get into the strap in that video. It would be fun to try to write new firmware for the watch and add some of the Fenix features to the Forerunner.
jotm 7y ago
That's some good underwear :D I buy new clothes only when my old ones are visibly faded or start getting ripped (or when I spill something that can't be washed). May be the influence of video games, but I've got standard outfits for different situations and travel distance, so I buy 2-3 of the same clothes (wear one set - wash the others). I see other people try to wear something different/new every other day...
jniedrauer 7y ago
> and that is about how long I hold onto my running shoes I'm lucky if road running shoes last me 4 months. I wonder if you might be running on worn out running shoes..
- austincheney 7y ago
  Yes, I bet my shoes are well past their healthy limit. A concern there is increased potential for joint stress and I compensate for that with compression socks.
- Marsymars 7y ago
  Different poster, but I run with minimalist shoes, so there's really no concept of "worn out" - there's no cushioning to wear out, so the shoes are essentially good until there's an actual hole through the sole.
  - jniedrauer 7y ago
    I've heard that the Vibram shoes wear out really fast, as in, they get actual holes in them. The minimalist thing never really made sense to me though, so I can't speak from experience. At least with maximalist shoes, you can still use them with worn out midsoles.
    - Marsymars 7y ago
      I tried the Vibram FiveFingers once and didn't like them, so can't speak to them, but my understanding is that they tend to be of lowish durability because there's so much more stitching to go wrong and potential rubbing with individual toes. I wear minimalist shoes from Vivobarefoot and Merrell. I had one casual pair with a thinner/softer sole that wore through in a couple years, but my active pairs' soles have all lasted 5+ years.
leetcrew 7y ago
do you mean random stains like coffee/juice or armpit stains? if the latter, you might consider switching to an aluminum-free deodorant. I switched a few years ago and I get much more use out of a tshirt now. as for jeans, these can also last a long time if cared for properly. in my experience, jeans are pretty resilient to day-to-day life but take a real beating in the washing machine. I wear my regular pants one or two times before washing and jeans two to four times. I still have a pair from ten years ago that's a little too worn for going out, but is perfectly fine for yard work.
- austincheney 7y ago
  Primarily food and drink stains. My undershirts would catch all the armpit related stains but that is helpful information.
- rubidium 7y ago
  I heard once the ceo of Levi doesn’t wash his jeans. I decided not to as well (unless they get stained from kids) and they’ve been great. Just hang them up to air outside.
  - leetcrew 7y ago
    maybe he only wears them for public appearances? I like my levis, but tbh I would probably buy more expensive jeans if I were worth millions of dollars.
germinalphrase 7y ago
My issue with my Timex Ironman is that the pushers go mushy after a year or two. I would pay 4x for a quartz watch that was built with the pusher quality of a higher end mechanical. All the functionality I need is in the Timex, but modern tech button feel has ruined me.

pletsch 7y ago

It's actually incredibly easy to replace a watch battery on most watches (certainly Timex), you just need a tool to pull the back off ($10ish on Amazon right now) and a battery that fits, which you can pick up at any Wal-Mart for $4-$5.

ghaff 7y ago
By the time I need to replace a battery on my $30 Timex, the band is usually going and the watch face is all scratched up.
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  I wore Timex Ironman watches for about 10 years and had the same problems. I discovered that (1) the bands are easily replaced, and a band that isn't deteriorating makes the watch much more comfortable, and (2) all but the absolute deepest scratches in the acrylic watch face are easy to buff out to a like-new shine with a cotton buffing wheel on a Dremel and some graduated polishing media. This would have been more valuable to know when I was a high schooler being rather rough on my gear and going through a watch every year or two, but I figure it's worth sharing. This was valuable to learn because I since replaced the Timex with a Garmin Forerunner 220 (now 5 years old) that's much more expensive. The rechargeable battery now only lasts for about 2 hours of GPS activity or 5 days of non-GPS use, about half what it did when I bought it originally, so I'm considering an upgrade again.
  - robocat 7y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=garmin+forerunner+220+battery+replacement https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=garmin+forerunn... Worth trying to fix perhaps? Likely not a “good” use of your time, but fixing stuff is strangely satisfying. You seem skilled, but if you are just learning, then try to fix stuff that you would otherwise throw out and that doesn’t need expensive parts. It does “waste” time, but many people get a lot out of it.
    - LeifCarrotson 7y ago
      I suppose I should be honest with myself and admit it's as much about the excuse of getting the Fenix as it is lack of utility in the Forerunner. I am confident I could replace the battery, less so that I could do so non-destructively and make it waterproof when I reinstall everything - it's not designed to be particularly repairable, you can see they had to cut the plastic to get into the strap in that video. It would be fun to try to write new firmware for the watch and add some of the Fenix features to the Forerunner.

jotm 7y ago

That's some good underwear :D I buy new clothes only when my old ones are visibly faded or start getting ripped (or when I spill something that can't be washed). May be the influence of video games, but I've got standard outfits for different situations and travel distance, so I buy 2-3 of the same clothes (wear one set - wash the others). I see other people try to wear something different/new every other day...

jniedrauer 7y ago

> and that is about how long I hold onto my running shoes I'm lucky if road running shoes last me 4 months. I wonder if you might be running on worn out running shoes..

austincheney 7y ago
Yes, I bet my shoes are well past their healthy limit. A concern there is increased potential for joint stress and I compensate for that with compression socks.
Marsymars 7y ago
Different poster, but I run with minimalist shoes, so there's really no concept of "worn out" - there's no cushioning to wear out, so the shoes are essentially good until there's an actual hole through the sole.
- jniedrauer 7y ago
  I've heard that the Vibram shoes wear out really fast, as in, they get actual holes in them. The minimalist thing never really made sense to me though, so I can't speak from experience. At least with maximalist shoes, you can still use them with worn out midsoles.
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    I tried the Vibram FiveFingers once and didn't like them, so can't speak to them, but my understanding is that they tend to be of lowish durability because there's so much more stitching to go wrong and potential rubbing with individual toes. I wear minimalist shoes from Vivobarefoot and Merrell. I had one casual pair with a thinner/softer sole that wore through in a couple years, but my active pairs' soles have all lasted 5+ years.

leetcrew 7y ago

do you mean random stains like coffee/juice or armpit stains? if the latter, you might consider switching to an aluminum-free deodorant. I switched a few years ago and I get much more use out of a tshirt now. as for jeans, these can also last a long time if cared for properly. in my experience, jeans are pretty resilient to day-to-day life but take a real beating in the washing machine. I wear my regular pants one or two times before washing and jeans two to four times. I still have a pair from ten years ago that's a little too worn for going out, but is perfectly fine for yard work.

austincheney 7y ago
Primarily food and drink stains. My undershirts would catch all the armpit related stains but that is helpful information.
rubidium 7y ago
I heard once the ceo of Levi doesn’t wash his jeans. I decided not to as well (unless they get stained from kids) and they’ve been great. Just hang them up to air outside.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  maybe he only wears them for public appearances? I like my levis, but tbh I would probably buy more expensive jeans if I were worth millions of dollars.

germinalphrase 7y ago

My issue with my Timex Ironman is that the pushers go mushy after a year or two. I would pay 4x for a quartz watch that was built with the pusher quality of a higher end mechanical. All the functionality I need is in the Timex, but modern tech button feel has ruined me.