What Brand Should I Use?

Early in the irrigation design process, brands and models of irrigation components are selected.  Sometimes this is dictated by the owner of the site.  Other times I am asked for recommendations.  There are some products that are unique to a manufacturer.  There are also a lot of similar products that all manufacturers offer.  So how do I choose?  Below is just a brief list of considerations before I recommend a specific product:

• Price:  Let us get this out of the way first.  It is the first thing that most bring up.  While I do not think this should be "the" deciding factor, it is a factor.  If there are two or three products that get the job done, and are reliable, I usually go with the lower priced item.
• Location of the project / Product availability:  There is a lot of disparity between the number of irrigation distributors in New Jersey vs. Harrisburg, PA vs. Washington D.C.  Some products available off the shelf in D.C. may need to be special ordered in Harrisburg.  When possible, I try to stick with what is locally available.
• Local contractor experience:  Contractors' experiences with certain irrigation technologies can vary greatly in our area.  This is not a slight to any contractor.  The differences in level of experience can be a result of many factors.  Maybe a locally based sales rep pushed it hard in an area, or the product was more practical for local projects.  A prime example of this is when two-wire was first introduced.  It was very popular along the beaches in Maryland and Delaware.  It provided a wonderful solution to the phased in construction associated with many of the large development projects, and was quickly adopted.  There was little benefit and cost savings to be had on the smaller irrigation projects in Central Pennsylvania.  The result was a slower adoption rate for many local contractors. 
• Product performance / Site conditions:  Every site has unique conditions.  Some products are a better fit based on their specifications and/or performance.  
• Reliability
• Local support:  Some people manufacturer's have in the fields are better than others.  If they have a track record of being unresponsive it is usually best to steer clear of their products.  No manufacturer is immune to occasional manufacturing problems.  Having good people in the field helps correct these problems quickly with minimized issues to the end user.
• Past product experience:  From 1998 to now I have used many products on numerous projects.  Many good ones, and some I have learned to avoid.

So how do you select which products to use?