Northern Tool has been around for a while and I buy things from them, but, since I don't have a local store, I find their shipping ridiculously high.
Cabelas has
the 3500 non-inverter generator for $300 (with free shipping) right now, compared to Northern's $500 for the same generator.
The $700 price tag for a Champion inverter is also pretty high, when you can have a Honda shipped to your home for somewhere in the $800 - $900 range. I, personally, would pay the extra for a proven product with a nationwide parts and service network. The Honda can easily be adapted to use an auxiliary fuel tank. So far, no one has been able to come up with an easy, inexpensive way to do that with a Champion.
I am very happy with my Hondas. The only reason I would consider the Champion's is to save a significant amount of money. I guess I would rather spend a little more for a proven product, rather than be a guinea pig on a new mousetrap. Parts and service, down the road, scare me a little with the Champion.
IMHO, in order to be successful, the Champion inverters are going to need to be priced under $500. If I was going to pay more than that, I would rather pay for the proven product. The success of the 3500 was because of their low price. Most people were willing to take a chance, since they were cheap. If they had problems, they were willing to throw them out rather than repair them.
