Brand loyalty - what brands do you proudly support?

I only buy my tools at The Work Bench.

Good prices, but customer service is Hell.

Awwwww, what’d I miss?

I was just going to write down that I don’t have any brand loyalty.
Then I remembered that my Bosch powerdrill must be almost 40yrs old by now. And it has had a hard life!
My other powertools are also made by Bosch, unless Bosch does not make it, or it is a gift to me.
Most of my kitchen appliances, like oven and freezer, are Bosch. They score pretty well in consumer tests.

My wife does not trust those consumer tests, she trusts salesmen.
So she comes home with dyson’s, or a suicidal vacuum cleaner that tries to hang itself in every possible way.

I’ve worked 28yrs for the same power company, mergers and all.
Until they end your contract at 65yrs. A mandatory thing. They are on my dislikes list now.

Yes, I do have a sort of dislikes list. But I’m not going to explain because it is mainly a personal feeling.
If something is the matter, I am not going into lengthy arguments, I just don’t buy stuff from them anymore.
Apart from buying from China, but those a mostly small amounts. Those “dialogues” help to pass the time.

I don’t really set out to buy from specific brands, but there are a couple that have accumulated in my house because I’ve had consistently good stuff from them.

Lights: Convoy.

Far and away the place I buy the most light-related stuff from, be it parts, hosts or ready-made lights. Good value, decent lights, full range of parts for builds and repairs.

(Years ago, it used to be Fenix and Sunwayman for lights, but then they got expensive, even as they fell behind the technology curve.)

Cells: Eagletac.

Eagletac protected 18650s aren’t cheap, but they’re good cells, the protection circuits allow decent power output and I’ve never had a light they wouldn’t fit. Mine are all button tops based on the NCR18650GA.

(Fenix are too wimpy for power output, Keeppower are usually too fat to fit my lights.)

Consumer Electronics: Samsung.

Good stuff and it just keeps on going:

Tablet: 5 years old.
TV: nearly 7 years old.
Computer monitors: 9 years old.
CD / radio / tape player: 23 years old!

Beer: Germany :slight_smile:

I’ve owned 4 Samsung phones (2 Notes, I have a Note 8) over the last 11 years, 2 LG, 2 Motorola. I like Samsung best.

Only WallyWorld unflattering people shots…. :laughing:

high funk quotient pics that got modded… no loss…

Yesterday I was seriously thinking of putting a bunch of company logos in my signature...

Today I think I have changed my mind.

Emisar, Convoy and Sunwayman for lights, Charmin Ultra toilet paper, Miller Lite beer, Spyderco and Esee knives, HungryMan TV dinners, La Flor Dominicana and CAO Flathead cigars.

Chris

Acme!

hardware: THE WORK BENCH

grocery: SUPERSTORE

beer: BELGIUM

burger: JACKINTHEBOX

watch: ROLEX

car: PONTIAC

flashlight: FENIX

bike: PEUGEOT

charger: NITECORE

denim: REPLAY

everyday electronics: HONGKONG

knife: SPYDERCO

tools: XIAOMI

Astrolux & Convoy

When it comes to flashlights, I find it hard to be loyal. There are just so many choices out there.

Electronics: Samsung. Except their refrigerators are crap. This is well known.

Trucks: Chevy/Gmc

Cars: Kia. Hard to beat a 10 year powertrain warranty.

Tools: Lowes Cobalt line.

flashlights? convoy easily.
I like durable lights that can survive my modding mistakes and still stay durable

but when it comes to budget speakers for consumer use?
Edifier for me. In my area Malaysia, Edifier is the most decent sounding speakers and packs the most heft for every cash spent.
Others may benefit in features and connectivity but when it comes to “only speakers” and “I want all my money in sound” Edifier is my go to choice for budget recommendations.

My favourite companies all went under: Saab and Commodore are well known among them. Saba is only known in Germany I guess. Oh, I love HP RPN calculators. HP still exists, but was broken up. Pentax, manufacturer of my trusty K10D, is now part of Ricoh and got very silent.

Companies somehow profit by being ignored by me. Microsoft, Apple, Nikon, Volkswagen … all going strong. It’s Magic.

Osram, Luminous & Cree without these companies emitter development this would be a boring hobby. Also Panasonic & Sanyo for their work on cells I doubt we would see so many decent cells without the ground work from those companies and again without good High drain high capacity cells non of this would be possible

Host wise it is hard to dispute the quality and value offered by convoy they really do need to be acknowledged , I just wish they would release some Aspheric hosts

For flashlights the only brands I would say I have any loyalty to are HDS, Malkoff, Oveready, and PFlexPro. Not exactly budget but I do like supporting small shops run by good people.

For pocket knives I like Victorinox and Spyderco. Both provide consistent quality and attention to detail, good value, and well thought out design. I also like supporting custom knifemakers when I can, although that can get expensive as well. It’s cool to know the name and maybe even have met the person who made your knife vs just a factory assembly line.

For motorcycles I like Yamaha and Honda. Both provide excellent quality and reasonable price for replacement parts coupled with long service intervals. Right now I just own Yamaha.

For cars I like Toyota and again Honda. I still drive my 1983 Land Cruiser and I’m always impressed by Toyota’s attention to detail and commitment to quality, although it does make parts pricey.

For tools I like Craftsmen, Makita, and Irwin. Always had good experience with their stuff.

For electronics I like Samsung. My Galaxy S5 is going on 6 years old and has been dropped, tossed around, and dunked underwater plenty of times but is still going strong. My Chromebook has lasted well also.

For outdoor gear most of the brands are pretty good. I like REI’s in house brand stuff as I think they provide a better value than most of the big names.

Everything else I pretty much look at on a case by case basis. I do tend toward smaller companies when I have the option.

Flashlight: ASTROLUX, Olight, Emisar, Fenix, Thrunite...

EDC gears: Victorinox, Leatherman, Spydeco, ...

Measuring Instrument: Fluke, Sekonic, ...

Powertool: Makita, Dremel, ...

Personal Computer (including component makers) : INTEL, SAMSUNG, G.SKIL, NZXT, ASUS, ThermalTake, Cosair, WACOM ...

Watch: G-SHOCK

Car: LEXUS, ...

hellmann’s mayonnaise
Emisar
Nike
Oris
Nabisco
Long Horn
Reate

I’m a loyal customer of Scarpa shoes and boots. Very high quality and they last a very long time. I’ve had five different pairs over the years and they have all been well worth it.

Blundstone boots are also on the list. Just a fantastic design and very comfortable.

Dewalt and Bosch tools have been good to me and I’ll buy more in the future.

The simple Dixon Ticonderoga pencil is the perfect blend of quality and low price. I hoard them in my classroom.

For flashlights, there are too many to choose from, but Sofirn has made some very nice lights at very good prices and are getting better all the time.