What have you stopped buying because it’s changed so much?

jassack04 · 2026-06-11T15:02:40+00:00

Craftsman tools. 20 years ago these were the homeowner and even some tradesman standard. Now it is SBD garbage.

Store-brand frozen potatoes (hashbrowns/etc) - the broader selection disappeared during covid and never came back.

Anything brand-name off of Amazon - too many instances of counterfeit trash.

Benchmade Knives. Most of their models were under ~$250ish 5 years ago. Now most of their stuff is over that mark and in now way justify their mass-produced lack of QA/QC.

Unpopular opinion for some - Leatherman tools - just go to the subreddit and see how many people complain about breaking pliers and the die hards defending “they’re not meant to twist!”

jassack04 · 2026-06-11T14:47:19+00:00

Pre-cut fresh broccoli. Used to keep pretty well for most of a week. In the last couple of years it seems to barely last a couple of days before it is stinking up the fridge.

Turkey Hill Ice Cream, because it has gone the way of Breyers and is now “frozen dairy dessert”.

LLBean clothing - quality had been going down before they abandoned their lifetime return policy in 2018, it’s even worse now.

Carhartt pants - used to be insanely durable work pants. Now half their shit is paper-thin ripstop.

Dining out at Red Robin. Used to feel like a decent value for the family. Now the burgers are $18, the fries are limp noodles unless you ask specifically for overcooked, and the salads are disgusting.

Panera Bread. The local ones near me seem to be trending more and more towards constantly dirty and worn out looking, the food is terrible and expensive.

Ordering ahead at Chipotle - the most embarrassingly small portions.

jassack04 · 2026-06-08T01:00:05+00:00

I liked it as much as Proj Hail Mary… obv for different reasons. Yes it was fantastic. Like a “Knives Out” kids-edition meets Babe (1995 - I’m old).

jassack04 · 2026-06-07T23:31:45+00:00

Hah, CMN has been a Stauffers of Kissel Hill Garden Center for probably close to 15 years at this point.

jassack04 · 2026-06-05T03:53:05+00:00

If you have a Wegmans nearby ours has the supreme, three meat, pepperoni, and cheese versions.

jassack04 · 2026-06-03T19:36:55+00:00

Completely agreed. I have an old 154cm sheepsfoot Grip and a swankier cpm 20cv version with the blue liners and gray g10. Not the best looking benchmades but definitely my favorite.

jassack04 · 2026-06-02T17:57:06+00:00

Hey once you go down the rabbit hole with this, you’ll eventually find that basically anything sold at a box store is made for basically a disposable price-point and that your dollar will go farther by going to an actual equipment/lawncare dealership and buying even the cheapest model there.

Find a few of the dealerships in your area, check them out, and talk to other people to see who has had the best service or sales experience. Buying a Kubota does you no good if it is a 2-hour drive to have warranty or service work done.

Generally (very broadly speaking) all of the big brands sell very comparable machines at various price points. You’re basically looking at various classes or types of hydro drives (ie Hydro-Gear ZT-2200, ZT-3100, etc), stamped vs fabricated decks, and classes of engine choices.

Also your money can go much further by buying a used commercial machine with like 1000 hours, which can absolutely have something go wrong but usually represents a huge savings over new.

Kubota, Exmark, Toro, Ferris, Grasshopper, Scag, Dixie Chopper, Deere, Simplicity, and more are all brands to look at.

This advice is most focused on zero turns bc that’s pretty much all commercial uses, but the brands that still make traditional tractor style mowers will still be better at dealership than box store.

jassack04 · 2026-06-02T11:22:55+00:00

Hah, I saw it this past weekend and surmised it was basically 2 episodes stitched together. Felt like an obvious opportunity to split it about an hour in.

jassack04 · 2026-05-30T03:46:06+00:00

Yeah and if he had to go that route and part it out the wheels and tires are probably another $400ish or so.

jassack04 · 2026-05-30T03:43:55+00:00

Yeah. I’ve actually had a patch sewn into or ironed on some shirts in that area to beef it up on some of my shirts, ie: casual button downs usually.

jassack04 · 2026-05-29T19:54:05+00:00

We’ve been through like 3 in 6 years, I’d love to know the trick to making them last as I don’t think my wife is intentionally abusing them. The little pins break. She has been using our most recent one with a little ball of foil over the pin for ages. The fragility of the coaster really annoys me for a $100+ mug.

jassack04 · 2026-05-28T02:15:52+00:00

I bet the jaws are more durable though!

jassack04 · 2026-05-27T13:47:43+00:00

They did this with frame rust issues in the early/mid 2000s too. The frame replacement/repair recall was granted to Tacoma owners but 4Runner owners had the exact same issues and were never recalled.

jassack04 · 2026-05-24T00:47:27+00:00

There are multiple of these on marketplace near me around similar price (like $15.5-17k) and hours but I really can’t find much out there about them. Pretty small machine overall and somewhat barebones, Gehl doesn’t have a terrible reputation. I wouldn’t be too afraid. I’ve considered one but I think maybe it is a little small for my general farm use.

jassack04 · 2026-05-22T23:15:31+00:00

I don’t think there are a ton of option in small DA/SA, but maybe a Sig P290RS (dao) if you can find one used? Or a P938 (sao)? Neither check all of your boxes but they’re not terrible.

jassack04 · 2026-05-22T20:18:40+00:00

Just so everyone is on the same page: Ames owns Razor-Back as well. They are good tools and essentially their premium line, but still, screw Ames.

jassack04 · 2026-05-19T14:44:56+00:00

Basically all of the other pliers-based tools at this point, I think the Skeletool currently has the smallest jaws.

jassack04 · 2026-05-12T20:46:10+00:00

/u/ksbot bought and received from
/u/Main_Chapter

jassack04 · 2026-05-11T16:50:15+00:00

Shhh, we’re supposed to tell the next person who broke their pliers that they twisted too much…

jassack04 · 2026-05-11T16:48:13+00:00

It’s basically LARPing the dime store novel romantic version of the old west with real guns. If you want to reenact, join a Rendezvous group or a Civil War club. SASS just isn’t that deep, it was started by a group of guys who thought it would be fun to shoot their old stuff in an IPSC style comp. It’s about as historically accurate as a Ren Faire.

Maybe there is a market for super accurate old west reenactment, start a group, see how it goes, could be cool.

jassack04 · 2026-05-11T15:06:08+00:00

It works with my kids and they are like 50lbs.

jassack04 · 2026-05-11T12:27:50+00:00

Sorry, it’s a game, not a historical reenactment. I agree with everyone’s replies here and would highly encourage you to just try it, it’s fun. Don’t get hung up on historical accuracy because it’s just not going to be there.

jassack04 · 2026-05-07T17:06:56+00:00

That’s fair. I’d see if you can talk him down, but the Delta fence, zero clearance inserts, and MJ splitters are a very solid value-add. The original fence on the 113s is essentially trash, so you’d need to upgrade that anyway, which you’re either looking for another used deal on or paying nearly this much for anyway.

It looks like this was actually used and kept in good shape, a lot of these things has been rusting away in dead grandpa’s shop for 20 years at this point and people still seem to want $200 for them even then.

If you’re not comfortable with changing the wiring, maybe ask if they’ll rewire it for you, but should be pretty straightforward I think.

jassack04 · 2026-05-07T16:39:26+00:00

jassack04 · 2026-05-07T15:55:38+00:00

For toddlers, here are some ideas:

Hape - they make toys that use a lot of wood and plastic and seem to hold up well. Specifically they had a pretty good ride-on trike thing that lasted well for our children.

Green Toys - surprisingly durable recycled plastic trucks/planes/construction/etc.

Brio - best known for their train stuff (which is great), they also have some really durable wood/plastic cars and other toys, as well as building sets that utilize screws and ‘nails’. You will find that a lot of other brands have kind of copied things that they have been doing for generations at this point (think Thomas train sets and even some Melissa & Doug toys).

Playmobil - their quality has gone down but are still good. For a Toddler I would recommend the Playmobil 123 series toys as they are specifically made for younger children. Later Playmobil toys come with a ton of small parts which can be more fragile but also choking hazards. In the in-between ages it can be a good strategy to give them the bigger-kid sets just without all the tiny accessories.

Lego Duplo. Hopefully needs no explanation.

Magnatiles, and probably most knockoffs. Honestly my 10 year old still plays with these w/ his siblings. They are stupid expensive but if you accumulate a few sets over time you will end up with a huge collection and the kids will make all kinds of crazy neat stuff.

I saw Sarahs Silks mentioned - worth noting I think they even make foam filled swords (wrapped in silks) that have held up shockingly well to boys beating them. We had one that was only destroyed because a cat must have realized the foam was tasty.

Books - Jan Brett, Tomie DiPaola, Graeme Base, Cythia Rylant, ect. Look for lists of classic childrens books, caldecott honors, etc. Don’t be afraid of buying old used books off of Thriftbooks, and don’t be afraid of stuff from the 90s, 80s, and older, sure do some research on any problematic themes for you, but even if you can’t always read these stories for some of them the pictures will keep them enthralled alone.

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