POST ED - Sorry for the rant. Maybe just skip to the last 2 paragraphs. The rest is mere histrionics etc.
China is like Japan. There was once an adage "Jap Crap". And China has been at the interim point for quite a while. They have recently been producing quality stuff. I suspect many still think their favorite products are still made locally or elsewhere.
If talking typical the typical red, blue & yellow "Insulated Terminals", I've been crimping them for decades with my original relatively cheap typical flat tool - crimps at the end with strippers & cutters handle side & bolt cutters central. That IMO has been fine and I've had few if any problems with bad connections. In fact I probably have more problems with soldered wires breaking...
Much later I bought a 2nd similar looking crimper but it has been useless. Even when bent back [i]straight & in line[/i] its gauge is too thin - it will usually [i]scissor twist[/i] when crimping unless I counter with my free hand. I'm determined to throw it out next time I find it.
Despite my happiness with my "primitive" & cheap crimper, having read the repeated wisdom of Howard and other gurus hereon I recently took the opportunity of (IMO) [i]investing properly[/i] and hence got a $40 [URL=http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TH1829]Jaycar ratchet crimper[/URL]. (I had a $100 credit voucher but no direct component needs.)
My verdict is still out. I've only used it for a dozen or so crimps and was surprised when one did NOT take. I'm not sure about the others, but I suspect such crimpers need a central rise for extra compression at the centre.
It is a Duratech (Chinese) tool and tho its construction seems good, it may simply be lacking design finesse if there is a problem at all - ie, lack of central dimple.
Tools are tricky. You can have a great manufacturer with excellent build quality but lacking the design experience specific to that tool use. Or you can have newbies that are excellent.
I recall being chastised in the late 1970s for buying a "cheap" SEK socket set. Other mechanics etc reckoned Sidchrome was the only way to go.
I remember being told off for using one of their Sidchrome sockets on my impact driver - too hard, it will break. wth? I'd been using my SEKs for impacting... That SEK set was my first work & private set. It rebuilt the several cars & bikes and engines I owned; the 12 & 14mm especially getting much hammering so to speak.
After maybe 20 years I recall my first problem - the 14mm socket had stretched so much it was useless (at least I think that was my SEK) but the rest are still fine to this day. I would probably only have gotten a few years out of (then quality) Sidchromes.
I still have my SEK open-ender ring spanners - also hammered at times get still unstretched and intact.
I think SEK has long been regarding as quality, but it was just 'cheap Jap crap' back then.
Sidchrome on the other hand has gone from (alleged) quality to cheese crap and back.
German tools were highly regarded but IMO overpriced, however I still cherish several Stahlwille spanners I have - fine & [i]thin[/i] yet tough yet with beautiful flex and form. They are brought out for the real hard nuts & hammer bashings.
These days are a pain. IMO no longer can a name or a price guarantee quality. I am wary of real cheapies like the $2 12mm spanner I bought that certainly did not look cheesy but its ring shattered on a tight bolt with mere hand pressure, but then my $11 6-piece double ended ratchet ring set was equal to equivalents costing well over $100 - except not as disposable LOL!
And my 1980s 50c no-name Jewelers screwdriver set (cheap even back then) is still probably the best I've ever had; some survive even today.
Maybe the best solution is reviews keeping in mind the type of use (several & professional versus occasional hobby) as well as longetivity.
The latter makes me think of Yale's copy of the Abus Diskus lock. Both seemed the same until a few months in the weather (or traveling with a bike). The Yale would seize within 12 months; the Abus is still fine after 30 years. (And the diskus is one lock you do NOT want to be required to 'crack'!!)
Put it this way, if Howard or IAAI or other similar gurus hereon provide tool suggestions, it should (still?) be accurate.
Of course non-professional cheapskates like me often reject the associate prices, but for key things will pay for that peace of mind.