this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
52 points (94.8% liked)
Buy it for Life
4293 readers
79 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 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I don't know if Merino wool is the best use case for BIFL.
My take on wool: Wear it as long as possible, patch it and recycle or upcycle it when the time comes, and buy something that's 100% wool instead of having synthetics mixed in, so it can be composted after use.
Unfortunately, in my experience, 100% wool doesn't last nearly as long as wool blends when it comes to durability. No matter how hard I try, I get small holes and tears within a few months. I've had the best experiences with 80% wool blends.
For merino performance fabrics at least. Look at a microscope picture of merino next to another wool, and you will understand why it's so soft but why it doesn't last as long. It doesn't help that merino t-shirts are really thin usually.
It exists but it's niche and expensive.
For general use 80/20 is a good bet if you don't mind the downsides and if you're not fanatic about natural fibres like me 😄
The only socks that come with a lifetime warranty are “Darn Tough” and (AFAIK) just one other competing brand. IIRC, both are made of Merino wool.
EDIT: Darn Tough socks are a blend of Merino wool, nylon, and lycra spandex.
In any case, Marino wool must be durable if socks makers are offering a lifetime warranty on it. The only material that I would expect to do better would be aramid (Kevlar™), though that’d be quite pricey since that fabric must be laser cut.