I think I know what you are talking about, I have trays like that and they came back in the days with that old freezer that still works good enough. that plastic is really more sturdy than anything today.

Unfortunately they started cracking so we were looking for new ones, but all of them are made of some kinf of cheap plastic or silicon, which I don't want to use, because just by looking at them I feel they probably "leak" lots of microplastic over time. also the cube holes are not trapezoid so its often hard to get out the cubes without damaging the tray, and adding even more microplastic to my drink

I hate silicone ones, they absorb smell/flavor. I have this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/256432559012 works great, nice and solid. I read that the larger cube version can break, but idk

I have silicone trays and I love them. I haven't had them super long (about a year), but I use them every day and they show no sign of wear. It doesn't get brittle with time like some plastic, so I don't see them wearing down any time soon.

If you need to be able to stack them, it might be worth looking into some kind of small rack?

Holy shit, I literally just bought the best ice trays in my life about 4 days ago, after the worst ones 4 days before that. These are regular plastic trays, with 14 cubes per tray, they seem to be strong as fuck, and the ice releases like butter. Also they stack, and fill really nicely without spilling.

Well, I can't say much about "for life", but I bought a batch of Rubbermaid trays back in 2008, and they're all still in use. No cracks, no problems. I added to the original 4 a couple of times, and the most recent two pack is indistinguishable from the older ones in thickness or coloration. So I'm fairly confident that the new ones should last just as well.

I'm also going to chime in about the silicone trays. They work fine, but I've had a lot of trouble with them picking up odors, like from being washed with scented soaps. Never had the issue with regular plastic.

However, there are also the old school metal trays that last for bloody ever. Might be worth looking into

Oxo brand shit is worth its price. I don't use them anymore but when I did, the Oxo ones with the cover made the best ice and lasted for years

Okay, so I just transitioned from an ice cube maker back to ice cube trays, and I was looking for a BIFL option that wasn't plastic (or silicone)

I ended up buying both those metal cubes designed for whiskey, as well as a metal ice cube tray that has this lever that breaks apart the ice cubes after they have become solid.

My conclusion is that the metal tray with the lever is by far one of the best ice cube trays that you can get.

It will last forever, zero weird taste, easy to use, not terribly expensive, and definitely something that I would recommend.

All other options are either gonna make the cubes taste bad, introduce plastic into your cubes, may not last as long as you'd like, or just suck at being functional.

The one I got is from the brand Onyx, and looks like this:

You should get silicone ice trays, they're basically rubber so they don't break and they twist way easier (I always hated those thick plastic ice trays cause sometimes you just could not break the ice free.)

I'd look at reviews, maybe see if Americas test kitchen has done a guide

Anything decent should hold up long term, I think you've just found some crappy ice cube trays

https://a.co/d/7dG2vHu

This one seems like the style you're talking about and has better reviews than just about anything else I see on amazon. How much you trust those reviews is up in the air, but it does look like a fairly foolproof, classic style of icemaker as long as it's not flimsy, and the reviews don't seem to suggest that's an issue 🤷‍♂️

I've never broken a plastic ice cube tray twisting it. There are plenty of plastic trays on Amazon.

I have tried a silicone one once and didn't like it, as it took more doing to get the ice cubes out than the plastic tray, where they tend to all readily slide out after the tray's been given a twist.