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Buying Things By Weight - Printable Version

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Buying Things By Weight - FrodoSwaggins - 03-31-2025

Here's a weird tip: when all else is equal, or so close as makes no difference, buy by weight. Buying blind? Consider buying by weight.
Weighted mice notwithstanding, shipping weight alone can often be a strong statement of build quality. No one is increasing the shipping weight of their product, and the associated costs, without reason (except for those pesky weighted mice people).
All around product testing dude and quintessential redneck, Project Farm, did a video about testing "household tools sets." Most came from Amazon, but I think one or two came from Harbor Freight. In that comparison, weight ended up having a somewhat unexpected correlation to quality. Hindsight is 20/20 and so it makes sense that heavier tools would be stockier, made from more or denser metal, or include more components. 
Here are a few items that are likely to correlate weight with quality:
  1. Tools & Tool Sets
  2. Shop Equipment & Auto Equipment in General
  3. Flatpack Furniture (in many, but not all cases)
  4. Down Filled Jackets & Comforters
  5. Sweaters & Other Apparel
  6. Shoes & Boots
  7. Audio Equipment & Electronics (from reputable dealers who haven't weighted them)
  8. In particular, a heavier speaker cabinet would likely be higher quality
  9. Leather Goods (I don't, but maybe you do)
  10. Protective Gear, Such as For Sports or Motorcross
  11. Small engines and motors, such as Tree Trimmer, Saws, and Pressure Washers
  12. T-Shirts, had to edit the post to add t-shirts because they're such a good example. Of course 5 t-shirts that weigh more than another brand are very likely to be higher quality.
Do you have any examples of products that were unexpectedly built like iron and weigh accordingly? Ever find a project that's supposed to be high end stuffed with sand or washers?
Here's the Project Farm video:


RE: Buying Things By Weight - gorzek - 04-01-2025

So, putting weights in electronics is actually very common now, not always for nefarious reasons! A lot of it is about balance and ensuring the device doesn't (for example) fall off your lap or tabletop too easily.
On the flip side, electronics made with aluminum are deceptively light. I have a Dell E7270 which weighs 2.7lbs while the average laptop is closer to 3.5, and you can really feel the difference. The reason? Aluminum body! So it's built like a tank despite being tiny and weighing next to nothing.
With tools I agree that weight is often a strong indicator of quality because it's usually too hard to fake a tool's weight with artificial weights.
Speaker cabinets are iffy: you could spend more money on the box than the actual speaker and it might feel like you got a good deal but they cheaped out on the equipment. Like, a speaker made of solid wood would feel nice and heavy but could be packing the cheapest woofer and tweeter out there.
Reviews are really important for things like that, I suppose.