If you’ve ever bought something new, only to have it fall apart way sooner than you expected, just know that you’re not alone. And it’s not your imagination. A lot of stuff just isn’t made like it was a few decades ago. There was a time when your blender could survive a dropkick and your jeans outlived your car, but not anymore. Here are ten products that used to last longer and why. Which of these do you still have hanging around?
Featured Image Credit: AllaSerebrina/Depositphotos.com.
Refillable Metal Lighters
People used to carry lighters with them everywhere in the past, and that meant they needed to be durable. The good ones were solid metal & refillable, meaning they weren’t disposable either—they were just part of your stuff. But the newer ones use thinner metal, and they leak or wear out way faster than the older kind, as they’re designed for you to throw them away after a few uses.
Glass Baking Dishes
Old-school glass bakeware could go straight from the freezer into the oven relatively easily, without cracking or complaining. But with the newer ones, one wrong move and you have glass everywhere. The change came when the formula switched to a cheaper type of glass, which is fine, until it’s not. The older glass could handle quick temperature changes, and you didn’t have to worry about preheating the dish or carefully letting it warm up on the counter.
Denim Jeans
There was a time when breaking in jeans showed that you were committed to them, as they were stiff and didn’t stretch out after two wears. However, these days, jeans feel more like stretchy leggings, and you’re guaranteed to see holes in them before you’ve even washed them. Older jeans were made from thick cotton with a tight weave, so they actually held up after years of regular wear, and the fabric we have today just isn’t what it used to be.
Incandescent Light Bulbs
Light bulbs didn’t use to burn out after two weeks, and that’s mostly because older bulbs had thicker filaments, so they ran longer without blinking out. Changes came when energy-saving rules kicked in, and while newer ones use less power, you end up replacing them more often anyway. The older style could easily last over 1,000 hours, sometimes even longer. People used to keep extras in the garage and forget about them for years because they barely needed to touch them.
Metal Stand Mixers
If your grandma had a stand mixer, there’s a good chance it still works because those things were solid metal machines. Today, the majority of these mixers are made from plastic, which is great for cutting weight & cost, but not so great when a gear snaps halfway through baking. The old ones had enough weight to stay put on the counter, even on high speed. Nowadays, it’s normal to hear about burned-out motors or stripped gears after just a few batches.
Stainless Steel Pots With Copper Bottoms
Speaking of cooking, you could probably use one of those old heavy-bottomed pots as a weapon in an emergency. The copper layer on the bottom helped to heat your food evenly, and it didn’t warp, although these days, a lot of the “copper” is far thinner. It might even just be painted on. The modern versions don’t have the same durability as the old ones did.
Plastic Toys
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, a kid could throw a toy down the stairs or step on it, and it’d still work because these toys had thicker plastic. They may even have had some real wood mixed in. But now, one bad drop and you’ll have to deal with tiny pieces everywhere and a crying toddler. While the older toys may not have been flashy, they could take a lot of rough play without you needing to repair or replace them. You don’t see many toys built like that anymore.
Tube-Style Televisions
Sure, tube TVs weren’t exactly nice to look at, and moving one was basically a workout, but they just kept going. Those old models had thick glass screens & heavy-duty parts that anyone could repair with some basic tools and a little technical know-how. A little dust didn’t bother them, and some even had built-in repair guides tucked inside, which is quite a change from the newer ones. A single blown capacitor is enough to make you look for a replacement TV.
Vacuum-Sealed Thermos Bottles
Any thermoses you use today tend to dent easily or lose heat after a couple of hours, but it wasn’t always this way. In the past, you could pour hot coffee into one of these and leave it in your truck overnight, then it’d still burn your mouth in the morning. They were vacuum-sealed and made to take a beating. They also had steel inside & out, with strong insulation that didn’t break down, so you could throw them into your backpack without worrying. Now, most of the new ones rattle or lose their cap seal after a few months.
Top-Load Washing Machines
Old washers definitely weren’t fancy, but they could take a load of muddy clothes like it was nothing, without any touchscreens or flashing error codes. They just had a good ol’ knob and a loud chug. These days, digital parts are more common, and to nobody’s surprise, they’re not exactly built to last 20 years, unlike the older ones, with their thick metal drums & simple motors. Modern machines are quieter and use less water, but they also come with more things that can and do go wrong.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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