After reading reviews on several brands and figuring out most of the plastic seats break within about a year and a half, and the wooden ones lose their finish after about a year, I found this "high-priced goodie." As always, Amazon got it to me with their fabulous PRIME two day shipping. The old K brand was cracked in two places ... cracks will eventually work as a pinch. In all fairness to Kohler, the seat was 10 years old and looked like new. With four toilets, I did not want to go through a lot of changes with the new "low quality" seats many brands are selling these days. So, thinking I needed to find another long term replacement. This one from Bemis looks great, fit as a replacement for the K brand Cachet, and has metal hinges. The plastic is thick enough so when someone sits on it, there is no significant bending. Comfort ... on a toilet seat ... well, it seems to be an important issue on many reviews, so, here goes. It seems to be about as good as any seat can be with a hole in the middle of it. No negatives from the wife on comfort, so it passes with flying colors. The quality of the plastic is great. Looks as nice as any other white seat. The instructions for cleaning state to keep away from aerosol cleaners, and scouring instruments. Warm water and soap cleans it just fine. The metal hinges, also metal bolts to hold it in place look like they will be around for more years than the house will. You will need a 9/16" wrench or deep socket to install. To install the bolts in to the hinges, I used both bolts on each stud, tightened them together, and installed them in the hinges, then move the bolts to the second one, same action. They do provide sufficient hardware to install the toilet and there is a nice little fabric/paper washer that goes between the china (on the top) and the metal hinge. This little washer keeps toilet seat from sliding around without having to tighten things down to the point you break the china. I do not expect to ever have to change that seat. As they say ... heavy duty, but from a guest looking at it, no one would ever notice much difference. A great fit and worth the money. In reality, changing toilet seats every 18 months is NOT my idea of fun. Besides, buying a cheap breakable, and changing it out every year or so, comes up at about $25 every few years. The heavy duty idea pays for itself in less than 5 years.
