+1 Buy sufficient quality to satisfy the requirement, and not theoretical quality enhancements. This is the idea behind the quote I use in my signature. For example, you can easily spend 10 times as much on a knife that will do nothing more than a Mora will do. Use the saved $$ to satisfy another requirement.

I also distinguish between "cheap" which can imply low quality and "inexpensive" which does not. I think we are all talking about what I would call "inexpensive."

this may be a bit off the topic but you guys will get some humor out of it.
my hobby is wilderness canoe tripping so over the years i picked up some really nice,expensive gear with the idea that when i retired,like five years ago,i would go out with some class.
the hand made cherry wood paddle went out once,the Mora Raven knife never,the old classic Primus 71 stove with its kit never.i could go on but you get the idea,i still take the beat Coleman,SAK and a paddle that has been refinished several times to protect the expensive in my den at home-----

I'm not an outdoorsman like many of you, but shoot a lot of pistol, shotgun, and 3 gun competition.... the multi gun sports especially are pretty hard on equipment, as you abandon the empty firearms when you transition to another...over the years, I've tried to upgrade to the most reliable that I can afford...at my age, I really don't want a piece of equipment to go down at a big match as I may not be able to get there next year... its bad enough when I screw up...so I guess I tend to buy the best quality I can, but being retired and single, have a little more expendable income for toys....

occasionally, though, the switch do to reliability is a little cheaper... shot a series of 1911 pistols for 25years, and a link break at Ft Benning caused a switch to a plastic gun...

Adding yet another vote to the "Decent and appropriate, but not excessive" strategy. The only drawback to this is the stuff purchased years ago is still giving yeoman service, and I have no reason to buy new toys.

One particular pitfal of the most expensive gear lineup is that it may not be designed for durability, but for maximum performance at the lightest possible weight. One example is bicycle gear systems. The optimum durability option isn't the top notch competition system, which is ultra-lightweight but also much more fragile and maintenance-intensive than the budget "regular user" models.

Look at ultra-light models for virtually any aspect of outdoor equipment and you'll find the same: The lightest, most compact version is typically not what you'd like to "wear out" on a three-days-a-week,9-months-a-year schedule. Ultra-light may be functional, but very often it'll have a durability penalty.

Me? I'm too cheap to buy stuff I don't plan to use.

I bought a really good drill, lifetime warranty on the batteries even. Spent $100 on sale. Great deal. Yeppers - cept they don't make the drill or the batteries anymore. To get any warranty work done you jump through 3 hoops, juggle 4 cars, while hopping on one foot and reciting the Constitution from memory.

Now I buy cheaper stuff that will last about as long, and when it dies, I'm out $20,

As to field gear, I look at what's around, pick stuff that fits my needs and won't break the budget, and if it breaks, I can replace it. I use what I buy, not abuse, use.

I guess I do this inadvertently. For example, I carry a nice Fenix with fresh batteries, but I also carry a little fauxton on my key chain. The fauxton is good enough for most activity in the dark. Also, I'll freely allow somebody to have my fauxton. I pull out the Fenix when I need to see across a field, up a tree, etc. It would have to be a real emergency to hand over my Fenix to somebody.

Definitely guilty of this, I have $200 knives but my most used fixed blade is a $9 Mora carbon clipper.

I of course am concerned with cost of items. However, I will try different makes/models of things like fire starters, lights, etc and my decision is based on ease of use, wear, dependability, not ultimately on price. And I will use it hard.

I have no real expectation that a more expensive item is inherently better than cheaper. Factors like "Made in America", batch size, company size, demand, all play into cost, rather than simply the sum of its parts.

What I carry is what I want, price aside. And yes if its expensive I will not baby it. I will put it through the ringer in every way possible. How else do you become competent using it and knowing its limitations.

I don't understand people who invest in an expensive item for EDC and never use it, instead going to search for cheaper items, just in case it might break.

I do buy some cheap to preserve the good stuff- my EDC folder for example is a WM Ozark Trail $1 knife. I abuse it at work. I carry a good SAK which is rarely used, but more trustworthy.

Daily granola bars vs the better made for my PSK or evac ruck.

Constant wear at low cost is a trade-off. Yeah, I trust the cheap stuff to sustain me until I can access my better equipment.