[b]Boomholzer's[/b] thread about unsubstitutable name brand products has inspired me to ask, "What store brand products do you PREFER over the name brand variety.

I've been impressed with various H-E-B products since arriving in Texas almost 4 years ago.  To me,  H-E-B "Original" cola is as good as Coke or Pepsi, and their "Hill Country Fare" line of products can go toe to toe with any of the big boys, with the only exception I've found to be HCF sweet gerkin pickles are not quite as good as the Heinz.

Anyone else care to comment?

Fry's Cherry Cola.

Wal*Mart oil is made by Valoline.

Wal*Mart Anti-freeze is FirstBrands (ie Prestone).

and on and on and on....

Store brands are often the exact same thing, just a differant wrapper.

Sgatr15

Sam's Choice Giant Pistachios (Wal Mart) kick the butts off of any other brand.  Cheap and nummy.

My flashlights, TV remotes, and other low-draw stuff live off of batteries from the dollar store.  4 AA's or D's for $1, and just change them every few months as needed.  TV remotes and other stuff need batteries even less frequently.

Galyan's house-brand shirts are pretty much all I wear... to work or for play.

For one-off projects where I want to keep investment to a minimum, I'm perfectly happy buying the cheap house-brand screwdrivers, drill bits, etc... from Menards or Home Depot.  Nothing puts a damper on a project like having to spend $20 for a tool that I'll only use once.

edit:  I also use Walgreens "Studio 35" film pretty regularly, although not exclusively.  It's made by Agfa, and I've had OK results with it.  I still prefer Fuji, though.

[b]Blasphemer![/b] I thought that was the whole purpose of "projects": to justify buying more tools.

About the only generic brand stuff that I buy regularly are paper plates, plastic forks, trash bags and other disposable items. If I'm buying something to keep, I'll only want to buy it once.

ditto. Someone once gave me a VERY expensive "can" of pistacios, they were NO BETTER than the cheap wal-mart brand

Roundys cheese sprials beat out kraft any day