There is a lot of room for debate here. I personally use Hydrofarm, Johnsons, and Herpstat (all three currently) and I don't have too many complaints. For $26 the Hydrofarm does the job, my only issue is I don't know the life span of the probe, but once it's dead the whole unit has to be replaced. The Herpstat is definitely my favorite, and the Johnsons works well and I feel it is safe, but I could do without the fluctuations of the on/off thermostats but they are only within a couple degrees so it's not too bad. I say if you have the money, might as well go for quality. If you are really strapped the Hydrofarm works okay too but probably doesn't last as long as the other units. I want to try out the RBI VE-100, I think it's like $100 with shipping, not really sure though. Good luck!