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Not your imagination: from backpacks to food, consumer goods are getting worse
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2026
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In case you missed it in the article, or didn't read it at all, here's a direct link to the database: https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/
Oh this dude is on Mastodon. I love his articles. They’re extremely informative and well written.
Bah I looked through that and I'd call it bogus. The site likes expensive yuppie brands and makes some weird calls. Avoid Ridgid power tools since they've gotten worse due to the TTI acquisition? Um no, there were no Rigid power tools before the acquisition--they only made hand tools. The power tool line has been TTI from the start. They have good and bad points like everything else but the manufacturer has always been TTI.
Klein (approved)? Maybe the company still has its original ownership but the tools have gotten worse according to user reports. They just stick their label on the usual imported stuff now.
Several other things like that.
That’s not what it says about Ridgid.
They don’t say the power tools got worse. They say that the power tools don’t have the quality that the hand tools were known for, because they’re just a licensing agreement to slap the name on price point built stuff rather than actually built by the same company.
They don’t ever say that Ridgid made power tools before TTI. They say the exact opposite.
I disagree with them about the quality of Ridgid power tools, because they’re great for the price and have a lifetime warranty.
I’ve got both Rigid and Milwaukee corded and cordless tools. My drills, saws and batteries from 2011 are still cranking along and the newer stuff is fine too.
I got the rigid stuff from my dads when he passed, he was a carpenter/handyman and chose rigid because of the price performance at the time. (Early 2000s).
Ryobi is the lowest price and focuses on consumer level, Rigid is mid teir and easier to warranty at HD, and Milwaukee is premium priced and had higher power specialty things like impactwrenches, and power cable crimpers.
I've got absolutely no complaints about any of the Ridgid tools I have. They're still right up there in the A tier for performance, and usually at a much better price than like, DeWalt. Perfect for the handyman or DIYer that isn't using them 12 hours a day, every day.
Milwaukee is definitely geared towards those making money from them though. If it's your actual job, Milwaukee or Makita are the way to go. They're expensive, but they are absolute workhorses.
Ah ok, Ridgid licensed its brand name to TTI for use in power tools. Same deal though, Ridgid brand power tools have always been made by TTI. No idea if Rigid hand tools are especially great. All tools are built to price points, especially power tools.
Home Depot has a good-better-best thing where Ryobi is the economy line, Ridgid in the middle, and Milwaukee at the top, but all are made by TTI. TTI also makes Hart (Walmart house brand) and other brands too. I have some Ryobi tools and a few Milwaukee and I'm satisfied with everything. The main thing I hate is battery incompatibility between brands, but you can bypass some of that with adapters.
I'm unconvinced that the high end stuff like Hilti or Snap-on is really better. What you get with those brands is a high level of fleet service. Like if you have a factory using Hilti tools and one of the tools breaks or becomes due for maintenance, the operator just puts it in a box and gets another from the inventory. Once a month the Hilti rep comes around, swaps out the box of broken/worn tools for new ones, and takes the box back to Hilti for repair.
Torque Test Channel is a good YT channel for tools. AvE (Arduino vs Evil) is entertaining some of the time but I don't watch it that much any more. AvE used to do a lot of teardowns of TTI and other power tools.
AvE was such fun for a while. Then he turned up the grift with the"town pump cnc" he bought with patreon money. Then when the patreons noticed it was just an endmill breaking machine he went all Fuck Trudeau to scare away the smart people and just leave the fart sniffers.
Really too bad, he was fun for a while.
My grandpa used to only use Ridgid hand tools for plumbing. That’s about all I know about them lol.
But yeah, Ridgid is great for a homeowner or hobbyist, but doesn’t quite stand up to something like Milwaukee for a pro.
I would not put it in the avoid list. Ridgid is perfectly fine, they have a huge selection, they’re powerful enough, and they warranty is killer. They’re about all I buy for cordless tools, but I’m also just a DIY homeowner and not a contractor. But I’ve also not tried their new Nuke like which is supposed to be “pro grade”.
I just wish they’d put a rack and pinion fence on their table saw before I buy one. When I upgrade from my 15 year old ryobi, it’ll probably be dewalt unless Ridgid upgrades that fence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techtronic_Industries
The reason they're not as good as Milwaukee is because they're made by the same company, and they want the Milwaukee brand to mean "better tool"
They'll purposely avoid making the Rigid or Ryobi tools too good so people have to buy the Milwaukee stuff.
I try to buy mostly Makita, cause they're high quality, and not built by a conglomerate.
Oh yeah I'm aware they're owned by the same company, and they use the tiered model where Milwaukee is their top end. I wouldn't say it's done so that people "have" to buy Milwaukee. Just that it gives different options for different customers.
Ridgid is perfect for me. I don't use them for my day job, just for projects around the house, remodeling, and hobby work. Milwaukee is better, because they're built to last longer and stand up to the abuse of someone using them 12 hours a day every day for work. That would be a waste of money for me because I simply don't use them that much. For someone that makes money with them, or is doing a lot more heavy lifting with them, that's more critical and worth the extra money.
For my use, I don't need to spend the extra money. Ridgid more than gets the job done, and if it doesn't last as long as Milwaukee it doesn't really matter because they have the lifetime warranty. I can just go to HD and grab a brand new one off the shelf for free if it dies on me. Same with batteries.
Ryobi are geared toward the homeowner that only needs occasional use. I've got a Ryobi table saw and miter saw from 15 or so years ago, and they're... fine. But they're more of a pain to get set up accurately, and you have to repeatedly make adjustments to keep them accurate. They're good for a project, but are not great for making repeatable consistent cuts. I'm doing more projects since we bought our current house, so those two are starting to become the pain factor for me, and will be upgraded soon.
Yeah their criteria for what’s good or bad seems to be very subjective. Some brands are bad because the product is diminished while others are bad not because of the product but because of a corporate structure or supply chain decisions.
For example Pyrex is avoid because in the US it’s no loner borosilicate just tempered soda glass—this is understandable, the product is objectively worse.
Hoka is also avoid not because the product is bad but because they don’t own their factories and don’t have long term manufacturing agreements.
This site seems more of a purity test for their vision of how companies should operate as opposed to an actual products are worse list. I think we all agree that private equity is generally bad but this site is basically just bashing any company they disagree with how they’re ran. Let the quality of the products dictate the rankings not subjective shifting criteria based on corporate structures.
If you don't have factories or long term agreements your QA is stressed and there's no guarantee what you're getting as a buyer. From some subcomponent being inferior to quality differences between factory and b to all of this and worse...
While it's not a guarantee of bad, it's a risk, and it's the company saying the build and outcome doesn't matter.
This is one way enshitification works.