Echo that. I've seen some good stuff made in China, and great stuff from Taiwan. And a lot of garbage made in the US and Canada.

As for what and where...

What are your plans? That will narrow the range of sizes. Where can depend. I'm about to annoy some people and say avoid military surplus- yes it is cheap, becuase it has either been worn out by the military or the military decided it was junk. You can get lucky and find unissued items, but I've seen (and bought) "unissued" stuff that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck for a few miles. REI and Campmor are very good, particularly with the new year items coming out.