That bit about glued seams vs stitching reminds me of my dad's old work boots, lol. He had this pair from the 80s he'd get resoled every few years, and @michael548 is right, the stitching held everything together forever. Meanwhile my modern hiking boots just had the sole delaminate after two seasons, like the whole thing just gave up. It's wild how we lost the whole idea of maintaining stuff, like everything's just sealed up and meant to be tossed.

Bargain valves can handle steam pressure just as well as expensive ones.