critterhunter

There is real junk out there in the "cheap" stuff, but there is also some great stuff out there as well that performs as well or better than the brand names at 2 to 5 times the price. There is also some brand name stuff that is junk, or tends to fail a lot at certain weak points. What it comes down to is doing a little research and reading of test threads to sort it all out. A good place for this is the power sources forum on RCGroups for motors and ESCs. The batteries forum is great for that, and the radios forum for servos, etc. A good example would be the HXT900 servo sold by Hobby City. It's not just almost or as good as the HS55 by Hitec, it's even better! And at $4 a servo versus $10 to $20 for the HS55, I'll never buy an the Hitec again. Even here you must watch what you do. Buy the HXT900 from other sources (some times called the SG90), and you'll find it has cheaper parts in it. I confirmed this by first hand experience. The motor is weaker for one thing.

It all comes down to your confidence and what you believe. If you get extra peace of mind and confidence from paying for a respected and established brand name, and feel it's worth the extra cash you have to cough up, then by all means go that route. I'm pretty happy with the cheaper alternatives at a fraction of the price...only because I did my research to make a wise choice. It's sort'a like fishing. Some guys swear by a particular lure and catch plenty of fish with it, while the guy standing right next to him using the same lure can't catch a thing. He doesn't have the proven track record the other guy has, and thus he doesn't have the confidence to trust the lure. I've got friends who swear by BECs and won't trust a plane without them even on only 2 servos. This is because they've blown the BECs on speed controls and lost control of the plane. I've never had that happen so I don't see the need for a BEC unless I'm going 4+ servos with heavy amp draw.

The other factor that comes into my mind is failure rate. Even if I get two or three duds (never had one dud, I don't think) in electronics or batteries, chances are the third or fourth one that works will still have me spending less in total than the brand name equiv.