I think the price of a reliable, well-built weapon is a worthwhile investment, but what you can afford is a first concern when you are deciding what weapon you want your life to depend on. As much as I respect reputation, it isn't the same as reliability. Reliability is a proportional quality for individual weapons, not brands or products. If your Kimber jams in the middle of a firefight and you get shot with a Hi-Point, reputation didn't get you killed, reliability did. With that said, I'm not staking my life on whether or not my gun is a reputable brand, I'll stake it on the hundreds or thousands of rounds that have proved the reliability of my weapon of choice.