Just be very careful with the HF and odd/big lots stuff, sometimes you may think your saving $ but end up wasting more. I;m not saying you have to buy the most expensive gear out there but I have bought the cheap stuff too and don't have any of it left anymore. I bought a cheap multi tool and had it break on the first use, cheap (and not so cheap) flashlights and had them fall apart, cheap tools that wore out or broke in just one of a few uses. My inlaws are very into the biglots shopping so after I first got married we went there with them since we needed stuff. Bought tools, gear, household stuff and had to rebuy it all in a very short time so it ended up costing us more to rebuy all that stuff. There is a certian point where its better to not have a tool/gear than it is to buy something that won't work because the cheap (ir even expensive) piece of gear that doesn't perform its task gives a false sense of security (much like the TSA <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ). A good example would be the coin cell LED flashlights I have bought at $5.99, $7.99 and $19.99 to replace the old maglite I carried for years. I don't have any of those coin cell lights so the $34 I paid for them just went down the drain but still have the old mag solitaire and it still works and still has its original spare bulb in the base. I paid $9.99 for it 10 years ago and they are now about $7, I'd recommend buying one of them before a cheap coin cell LED light. There is a line beteen good gear for not a lot of dough and bad gear for not a lot of dough, you have to know your gear in order to distinguish them. I'm not trying to say JoeBob is wrong but if your not an expert at telling the difference between the good and bad then stay away from the HF and biglots because you will get burned. If you are good with gear and can spot the crap and/or know you will only use something once then those places can save you a little bit of $. Last tool I bought from HF was a U joint press, the quality tool was $99, HF's was $39.99 so up front I saved $60 but knew I wasn't going to use the tool ever again because I reaplced the OEM U joints with aftermarket ones held in by c clips so I wouldn't need a press to change them again. That Cheap U joint press bent and stripped half the threads by the time I had replaced both U joints so I can't use it ever again. Same happened with the chinese multitool I bought for half the price of a leatherman, tried to cut barbed wire and it broke, so that $30 went in the trash so instead of spending $60 on a leatherman, I spent $90 on a leatherman and cheap tool but on;y have the leatherman. I have lost count at how many wrenches, sockets, etc I had to throw away because I was getting a deal or they were a gift but don't have any of them anymore.
I recommend Mag lite over coin cell led lights, slightly bigger but will last.
Shop the clearance bins of Sears or Lowes or Home depot, they usually sell better quality stuff than cheap chinese stuff (though a lot is starting to show up) but you can find discontinued items or returned items. I bought my camping grill because it was discontinued, bought most of my tools when sears discontinued that particular kit, so if you have patience you can get good deals.