I have an unbranded dial caliper which I bought second hand in the 1970s, well not quite unbranded, just not branded by a recognised (by me) manufacturer. The only markings are 'Stainless Hardened Japan' and on the dial, 'Japan Micrometer'. They really have been pretty good and I can't really fault them. I also have an Aldi sourced Digital Caliper, and these have been pretty good too, although only about 2-3 years old, I have only just replaced the original battery, with the included spare. I'm pretty sure that they are alkalaine cells, and not silver oxide, which is better than expected lifetime I would say, and there is a good chance that the on button was activated by the instruction sheet which was lying across the buttons when I opened the case. It had been working perfectly on the original button cell with no signs of low battery voltage only a couple of days before, but when I went to use it yesterday it would not fire up until I replaced the battery.
A year or two ago I purchased a second hand B&S digital caliper made by Tesa in Switzerland, which worked well for about 3 weeks before giving trouble. I think that the problem is a poor connection with the +ve contact in the battery compartment, it looks like part of the contact has broken away. It is possibly fixable, but I'm somewhat reluctant to have a go as all the bits are very small, and my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. It was nice to use when it was working consistently, with better ergonomics than the Aldi model, but the Aldi hasn't missed a beat so far other than he battery, and that lasted 2-3 years.
The best one I have used though, is a recent eBay purchase of this Mitutoyo.http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MITUTOYO-...vip=true&rt=nc
It too was second hand, and I've not had it long enough to say anything about its reliability, but it feels great in my hands, with good ergonomics and a very clear screen makes for easy reading. With the excellent reputation Mitutoyo have I'm optomistically confident that I will have a good run with it. I would certainly recommend them for their handleability, but the Aldis are much cheaper if they still have them, even if not as nice to use or as consistent in their quality control I imagine.
Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 10.16.46 PM.jpgHere is a screen shot of it for when the link to ebay inevitably becomes unusable.