Look at Overland. Their prices are amazingly good for full-grain.

Avoid anything labeled “genuine leather.” That shit is just leather dust glued together. You want full grain.

Honestly, $200-$250 is kind of the minimum to get a decent pair of good looking boots. Thursdays are pretty good for what they are, and unless you're really hard on your footwear they should last you a few resoles. But if you're looking for something to use daily and last you years and years, I'd agree with most of the other commenters and say you're probably better off going to one of the PNW boot makers like Whites, or Nick's, or JK. You'll have to double your budget, but they're well worth the money hand have hundreds of years of great reputations.

Hanks

Duluth Trading has good belts. Not dressy, more utilitarian, but still nice.

Look at Hanks or Bullhide

Brookstone is known to be cheap

Big fan of Bedrock sandals myself. They are super minimalist and resoleable. Absolutely love mine.

Check out Liberty Flatware by Sherill manufacturing. It is the company that used to be the original Oneida. They also sell 3 samples for $10. We needed extra forks last year and decided we potentially needed a new pattern but ended up buying three sets of sample forks now use those when we need them. Also bought some soup spoons from them.

I'm really happy with all my patagonia stuff!

Can't believe noone mentioned Jim Green. They're by far the most boot for the money. No fancy designs, just simple durable leather boots, using stitchdown welt construction. Get the African Rangers for a nice airy summer boot, or the double laster AR8 or Razorbacks for a more rugged thick hiking boot. Or the Stockman for the chelsea style work boot...

Goodyear welt is the most known type of a welt. But it's not the only one. Other welts are just as good, for example like the Norwegian Storm-welt or a hand welt (saddle stitched...). Stitchdown is another type of a welt, it's more waterproof than a goodyear welt and makes a flat space underneath. There's no filler material needed with stitchdown (you could use extra leather midsoles on really high end boots for more insulation, but typically not... with goodyear you need to use some filler like cork) and they make the boot a bit more wide. Very comfy and durable but definitely not as fancy/dressy as a goodyear welt...

Either way, most welted boots can be resoled, stitchdown is just as resoleable as a goodyear welted construction...

You can get Thursday Captains that are still $200. But really best value is in old stock new boots. The problem is you need to know what to buy and every place is different. For example you can still get very high quality boots that are army surplus. I have paid $40 for boots that are as well made as a $300 boot but just as easily as there is good stuff there there is also garbage. And each country will have different options.

I personally either just go to surplus stores and look. But now that I know my sizing and what I am looking for I can order online on poshmark or grailed as things turn up there. Here is an example.

https://poshmark.ca/listing/Biltrite-Steel-Toe-Black-Leather-Boots-Size-6D-63d61cff0164d0208e760a50

This type of boot they stopped making in 2020 but I found brand new ones in my size at the end of last year to buy. This boot here is easily as well made as a Thursday and likely even better then that. This boot has a solid leather foot bed more like an iron ranger and those cost $350. Again there are lots of examples like this. The problem is knowing sizing if you are buying online.

So while I have more expensive boots the ones above are my go to and have been for almost 30 years. And I can buy almost 10 pairs of them for the price of a red wing iron ranger. And over the years I have.

https://imgur.com/a/2rpYN3l

Just a heads up that sunbeam has dual controls now too!

I second the heated mattress pad. Ours is not Sunbeam since we liked dual controls, but still doing fine.

It was recommended to me upon purchase to sample the filtration ability by putting some food coloring in the water reservoir. My red water came out Crystal f****** clear and it even works with no power. I've taken at camping and from Lake water through it and felt safe also.

Found it, just took me a minute 😑

Online

Scratch and dent in store or online?

I've had one for maybe a decade. Love it and the filters rarely need replacement. Just be aware that the filtration is slow. It might not keep up with your needs if your family demands a lot of filtered water. That said I've seen one of their larger ones in use as a customer dispenser at a coffee shop so apparently it met that demand.

Berkey. Scratch and dent section. I picked up a Royal ~3gal. Found aftermarket filters that were more affordable

IMO - BIFL is well intentioned. But r/goodyearwelt are the people you want to talk to.

BIFL?

Anything that is 18/10 stainless. Don’t overthink it, find a restaurant supply store - usually much cheaper than consumer-grade models.

Alex Mill are my new favorites. You can find them on sale at times.

our sunbeam heated mattress pads are doing great, ~6 years in.

Lewis Leathers.

My big rectangular Zero Water filter has been going on for 3 years strong. The lid is flimsy and the hinges can break if you're not.careful. doesn't impact the clean water at all though.

It also comes with a water tester (can't.recall the correct name) but it's.got instructions that tell you when it's time to.change your filter and such.