What are your reccomendations for thermostats? The only one I really know to be very well reviewed is herpstat, but I'm hoping to find one a little less pricey but still reliable. Right now I'm using a Jumpstart hydrofarm one so... definitely looking for an upgrade.
This really depends on what your using it for. For instance, if your connecting a thermostat to a light bulb you'll need a dimming proportional thermostat. All of the thermostats in the $50 range like jumpstart and ink bird are only on/off. This is fine for heating equipment like ceramic heat emitters and things that don't give off light, but they're not very accurate.
Pulse proportional thermostats are one step up and they still turn on/off but at a much faster rate. They're more precise. While dimming proportional controls the wattage. This is the type you want for lights. You can also use it on other heating equipment.
The two main brands I know that make proportional thermostats are Herpstat and Vivarium Electronics. I'm a Herpstat user myself because they are known to have a lower failure rate than Vivarium Electronics. Here's a chart of what products VE has to offer.
As you can see, if you want a thermostat for lights the cheapest dimming thermostat is the VE-200 at $115.
On the other hand, Herpstat offers the Intro + which is a dimming proportional with safety features for $105. They also have just an Intro version but it doesn't have a safety feature and is only $10 cheaper. So I would spring for one with a safety feature. I've used the intro + for years and it's worked great.
Other thing to keep in mind are wattage limits. The cheaper thermostats have a lower wattage limit so if you're hooking up multiple enclosures you need to know what the total wattage will be.
For my five enclosures I'm making currently I'm springing for the Herpstat 2. It allows you to control two different heat settings at once. So I'll be able to hook up my radiant heat panels for ambient temperatures as well as my halogen lights for basking to the same device.
Hope this helps!
