Like most things you get what you pay for
Sometimes, but often relatively basic gear is as good and in some ways better than the high end stuff.
Racks an panniers are one place where this can be the case. Some of the high end stuff is way overbuilt. In some cases it is so extreme that it is possible to find a set of racks and bags that weigh 18 pounds empty! Four Arkel panniers, an Arkel handlebar bag, and a set of Surly Nice Racks come in at something like 18 pounds depending on which panniers you pick. You couldn't get me to tour with that much weight in empty racks and bags if you paid me to.
Keep adding "high end" stuff like heavy brooks saddles and pretty soon your bike weight with no gear is up over 50 pounds! Some people manage to camp and cook with a total load including clothing and gear that is about that.
Granted not all high end gear is heavy and not all low priced gear is durable, but for me the sweet spot is still in the low priced range for many items. Some of them I would use even if price were not a factor at all. On the other hand I do splurge on a few high priced camping items and feel it is worth it.
I like the Nashbar or Performance Waterproof Panniers very well. They weigh a
lot less than most of the panniers usually recommended, are very durable, keep their contents dry and hold up well. Three of us used some combination of panniers including at least two of these on our 73 day, 4200+ mile Trans America and I used 4 of them on my recent 800+ mile tour. I addition my daughter had used two of hers for commuting for a couple years. All in all they have seen quite a bit of use and have been very satisfactory. I have no complaints at all.
BTW: For racks we used Nashbar or Performance clones of the old Blackburn Lowrider (front) along with a Blackburn EX-1 (rear) and were well satisfied with them.
