I race once or twice a week, so what I purchase needs to be reliable aswell as providing good performance, i've always been a believer in 'you get what you pay for'. I've heard very mixed reports on some of the chinese produced items, some good some not so good... I think if you do buy cheap, you have to keep an open mind. That said I know alot of people that are running Hobbywing ESCs with great success, & i'm thinking of buying one to stick in a basher/fun buggy.
CHARGERS
I personally use the (so often copied) Bantam BC6 charger, which i've been using for the past 3-4 years with (touch-wood) 100% reliability;
http://www.glypo.com/reviews/bc6/ The link is for the same device I use but I believe there is now an updated version.
BATTERIES
Similar reliability with my Trakpower LiPo batteries for my touring car;
http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/trakpower/tkpc0270m.html
..... & Vampire saddle pack batteries in my 2wd buggy;
http://www.vampire-racing.com/
On the subject of batteries - I only have one pack for each class, they just get re-charged between races.
ESCs
I race my Touring car in the 13.5 'Turbo' class - I personally don't think you can beat the Black Diamond for ease of use, smooth responsive control & reliability.... its worth the extra Ca$h in my opinion
http://www.modeltech.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=882&PHPSESSID=rqwjxkusxic
For the buggy I race in open/modified 2wd class - i'm using the old ESC from my touring car which is an LRP Sphere TC spec, its a non timing advance speedo but is perfect for controlling my 6.5 motor. I've always liked LRP ESCs ever since I ran an original ICS Digital BITD. For me, for a buggy, i'd prefer to buy either a second-hand Sphere or a Novak GTB than risk my luck with something cheap from China...
