As a reseller the Smittybilt product is very popular and profitable. As an installer, and wheeler, I feel the build quality of their Chinese made parts is far from stellar.
It honestly depends. There are things where "quality" isn't paramount. A piece of powdercoated steel is a piece of powdercoated steel. If it is a cosmetic piece, I see nothing wrong with them. Believe it or not, Smittybilt is one of the few companies that actually spends the money to certify their rear bumpers for towing, so obviously the strength is there. Would I run a critical piece of equipment from them? Probably not. Would I run cosmetic stuff? Absolutely. My rampage bumper (made in china) has the best powdercoating I have ever bought, from any company, on any vehicle. It's been 4 years, it has been caked in salt, blasted with rocks, covered in mud,etc, and it still looks as good as the day I bought it. Not only that, when I was drilling into the bumper, the powdercoating didn't flake like 99.99% of powdercoated parts would. My made in the USA stuff has not held up as nicely as the rampage. Now obviously Im not saying Chinese > everywhere else, but just because it's imported, doesn't mean it's sh!t. All companies have some parts geared towards serious gearheads, and others for profit. There are some things Smitty makes that are complete dogsh!t, but there are others that are pretty good, especially for the money, and they are not alone. Rampage, Rugged Ridge, ATX, Level8, etc. Just my .02