re: What's a cheap item that you've gotten a lot of use out of?

Not necessarily “cheap” but cheap in respect to its counterparts. Got a Hyundai Sonata when I was in grad school in Georgia. I put close to 100,000 miles on it in three years and didn’t have a single issue with the car whatsoever and got close to 35 mpg.

As far as actual cheap, I got a camo hunting bag from academy for maybe $20, and I’ve had it in the blind with me for damn near 15 years now.