Plastic vs Metal Foot
 

Is there any reason to get a plastic foot versus a metal foot? I found many cheap foots that are plastic on eBay shipped internationally for very cheap, whereas on Amazon I can get Distinctive brand all-metal what looks like name-brand for a little more expensive. In general, metal is better than plastic because of lifespan, but I was just wondering if the same applies to these feet?

Is there really any reason to get a metal foot over a plastic foot?

i have a viking machine which came with a good assortment of feet- some are plastic & some are metal- the plastic ones make it possible to see where you are going (can't see through the metal)
i would not however purchase feet that are not for my machine-no matter how cheap they are- i know some people do without incident- but i also some who have & done hundreds of dollars worth of damage to their machine- so i stick with feet that are for my machine- accept them in what ever material they are made from & pay what ever the cost is...just me...

I agree! I also have a Viking & use the plastic open toe foot for applique.

I am like the other posters, I will only buy a presser foot that is made by my machine manufacturer (or made under license for them).

That said ...

Overall, yes - metal feet can last longer than plastic feet. The plastic can be damaged easier than the metal. I've put a needle through one of my plastic feet. They can get gouged and scraped leaving ragged edges that can snag fabric.

There are times though when plastic feet are either necessary or more desirable. Vision is one reason, the other is that the plastic feet have red markings on them making it easier to see the markings - most metal feet that have "markings" are just grooves in the metal and not real easy to see in certain lighting. If you need to rely on the marking on a foot then I prefer plastic.

If vision wasn't a factor, and I didn't need the markings on the foot then I would choose a metal foot. But as I said, I don't buy "generic" feet. A presser foot will last me a LOOOOOONG time, so it's worth it to me to buy the correct foot.

I have a Pfaff machine and only buy accessories from a Pfaff dealer and more than half of my feet are plastic. I've had no problems with any of them.

Trust me plastic feet break. If you are concerned about vision get the open toe foot. I use it often when I need to see.

My plastic feet have lasted years with no problems. I have a few generic that work fine as well depending on what type of foot it is.

I only use feet I purchase from my Viking machine dealer and are specific to my machine. I have both plastic and metal feet. I am not sure I would order generic feet just because they appear to be a good buy. I absolutely love my plastic open toe foot!

I bought some plastic feet from Amazon, and they worked great. I made some mistakes and my needle hit the plastic a time or two (or three) and chipped some of the plastic away. I shudder to think what would have happened if the needle had hit metal.

I have a plastic open toe foot for my Bernina, made by Bernina and it broke from wear. I had to re-purchase it. It lasted 2 years. The metal version of it won't work on my machine. Something to do with the computer. It won't read it correctly. So, I'm going to have to keep on purchasing this foot over the years. Bummer! I love that foot, too!!