Better value for money than you thought ?

[postman]

Dr Martens shoes,they were so comfortable from day one.Mrs Postman told me to buy them.She was right AGAIN.

 

[Rezillo]

Dualit toaster - just the bees knees in the toasting department. Ours is now ten years old.

 

[r04DiE]

Linux, Inkscape, GIMP, MuseScore. I could probably go on.

 

[captain nemo1701]

I bought a cheapo backpack in Primark for £10 two years ago for a jaunt abroad. Expected it to break quickly etc. Nope, still going strong and I am impressed with it's capacity - it's like a Tardis

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Emerson knife. A lovely bit of kit.

Kirby vacuum cleaner. Expensive? Yes it was. Accompanied by an array of desperate salesmen? Yes it was. It is still going very well indeed after 20 odd years.

 

[screenman]

My first windscreen repair franchise back in 1988 £4,000 which I earned back in a very short while.

 

[MarkF]

Proper Ray Bans.

I have some genuine aviators and they hurt my nose after an hour, then I put on some £2 ones I got in Benidorn.

 

[MarkF]

A Khaki Field Action Auto Chronograph:

View attachment 342452

Originally sold with the leather strap but I got them to change it to the metal strap, as I tend not to take watches off.

I think I'm going to get it cleaned and then flog it, as I don't really use it now, as I wear my Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire HR all the time.

I'd definitely flog it, it looks like £5 down the market.

 

[MarkF]

I bought a watch from a watch maker in Bridlington, he had a NOS 1960's oddball Ollech & Wajs divers case, into which he put a an ETA 2824 movement and stuck it up on his site for £240 (I think). It was gone before I could react. In a round-a-bout way that took 3 years of persistence I became it's owner..... for £240, I've been offered £2k for it. I only bought it because I loved it's looks.

 

[Cubist]

I used to flog binoculars to birdwatchers, mariners and peeping toms so I got to test and compare various brands. The Leica ones were totally outstanding and well worth the exhorbitant price.

My GF is slowly trying to upgrade my wardrobe from Go Outdoors to something with more cache. I do like the Paul Smith bicycle print shirt she bought me.

Did you ever look at or through any Meopta optics? I needed a new riflescope, and wanted top end or "Alpha" quality. I was prepared to spend Leica/Zeiss/Swaro/Schmidt&Bender sort of money, but stumbled on a review for a top end Meopta scope that compared very favourably with those players. I tracked down a stockist that had all of those brands in stock and ended up with the Meopta. It cost about £1k less than the equivalent Zeiss. While I was there I also looked through a pair of Meopta 10x42 HD binos. A bit heavy, but the optics were absolutely superb. A bit of googling shows they are made in Czech Republic using Schott glass, in other words the same as all the big European guys. They also come with a lifetime guarantee, and again, cost 60% of the Swaro prices. I therefore spent the money I'd saved on the scope on the binos. I can't fault them. If the big boys' binos are better, I can't tell. Neither can my mate who'd just treated himself to some Swaros and is spitting feathers!

 

[MichaelW2]

In top end optics you pay a huge premium for marginal gains over the very good ones. The best ones were the 7x50 marine binos with a wide field of view whilst maintaining optical performance right up to the edge. Edge performance is where you see the difference, esp in low light and low contrast. You also pay a bit for the red dot.

 

[jonny jeez]

You wouldn't catch me driving a BMW






Oh hang on....

True, they're wicked fast

 

[User6179]

I have 3 Goretex jackets, Meindl boots, all the expensive walking gear but these cheap Regatta fleeces are the best value, usually 2 for £15 but you can get them of ebay now from Regatta for £4 each , various colours.

 

[Profpointy]

Emerson knife. A lovely bit of kit.

Kirby vacuum cleaner. Expensive? Yes it was. Accompanied by an array of desperate salesmen? Yes it was. It is still going very well indeed after 20 odd years.

My ex-mrs had a kirby hoover. Expensive yes; beautiful art-deco look, yes; solidly made, yes. Good at hoovering - mm, not so much.

 

[Nigeyy]

I think just about any high quality tool that I had to pay more for than the same tool costing considerably less and usually made in China.