suitability for a give purpose or endeavor is not guaranteed by paying a higher price. All too often, you are just paying for bling or eye appeal.

Some cheap items that work quite well would include Mora knives and Bic lighters. There are a bunch of fairly inexpensive but reliable flashlights/headlamps. It is hard to beat cotton balls/ dryer lint impregnated with petroleum jelly for fire starters.

Sometimes it is worth it to fork over the dough. I dropped about $100 on my Zebralight headlamp and two batteries, but I got a totally reliable unit that I use frequently. I will also spend the money when it comes to critical items like climbing harness, climbing rope and protective headgear. Even here, expensive is not necessarily better. So many choices....