Every ten years or so three or four of my absolute favourites wear out all at the same time - usually my fave socks (yes, sad), my waterproof and my besty fleece along with maybe some walking shoes or (ag heaven forbid) my rucksack. Last night during my quiet nightshift I went online to replace my old OMM Rucksack, my Lowe walking shoes, my 1000mile socks with what appear to have metallic thread to stop them stinking, my Montaine super duper waterproof and my Montane microfleece.
Amazingly, after shopping around for newer better products I've eventually settled on pretty much the same product from the same brands - some like the OMM rucksack and the Montane stuff are equivalent, but they've remained the same price after discounts so I'm happy that I'll have another 5-10 years of use.
I can't decide if my brand loyalty is due to picking the best I could get in the first place, due to getting old and fearful of change, or a combination of the two. But its like always having a Latte when you go into Cafe Nero - its strangely satisfying and warm, which is also like weeing in your walking trousers when you're already saturated from a rainstorm in the winter.
Roy