Speedotron makes very decent gear that will last for,literally, DECADES. As in "decades". Made right here in the USA as well....not made offhsore and then partially assembled in Florida so people "think" it's American-made....cough,cough.
Dynalite is very well-made, and smallish, and yet rugged and powerful.
In monolights, you can spend very,very little, like the
Adorama Flashpoint 320M, made I believe by Mettle, in China, but surprisingly reliable, and very low-cost.
Calumet Photographic Inc. sells its own "Genesis" line, that's low-cost and decently-made.
IMO, what a guy wants are MORE flashes rather than a "lot of power" at the expense of number of units. Today's d-slr's shoot great at ISO 200, so the "old days" need for a 1,600 Watt-second pack has been eliminated by no longer needing ISO 25 or ISO 64 slide film to make a great image...today, you can shoot at ISO 200 and get a GREAT image...or even go up to ISO 1,600 and get a good image when it's lighted by studio type flash. I would say buy 3, or 4, 150 Watt-second flash units, rather than one, or two, 800 Watt-second type units.
Get a 10/20/30 degree honeycomb grid set, a barn door set, and one light to use those things with. Then, get one light as a main light. Buy a third light as a hair light. Buy a 4th light as a background light.
Get four decent light stands, a bunch of A-clamps, and some other miscellaneous accessories, like a LARGE reflector that's 42x72 inches or so.
Umbrellas are affordable. Buy two identical ones. Photek Softlighter II for example, an umbrella box type umbrella that's a lovely light.
