HF hand tools can be a bargain, especially for tasks I don't do often. If I'm getting tools to last, it seems that all the tool brands are making tools that are worse than they were putting out a decade or two ago, so I might as just go with the least expensive with the lifetime warranty. Only exception is if I'm working on bicycles, I use Park tools even though they are at best middle of the road.
However, if I were buying a generator on a budget, I'd probably meet in the middle and go for a Champion open-framed model which is a few hundred more than the Yamaha ET800 clone (which most of those $100 generators are), and produces much cleaner power. Plus, the Champion pollutes less (just gas exhaust, not gas + oil), and has better voltage regulation.