In the USA, Gossen is Dranetz, and I think is the most accurate, and precise HH there is. But its basically a compacted bench meter. If you're own the road so much, particularly by air, and need a truly portable bench meter, this fits the bill. Dranetz accessories tend to be very pricey, including the data logging interface, if you need it. Its over your budget, but if you're interested in these models, work your way down from the top and see where the twain meets.
http://www.tequipment.net/DranetzDMMDranTechULTRA.htmlOtherwise for transport use, I think a true bench meter is more practical such as the industry standard HP 34401a or its updated 34410a because the high end features of the meters, such as 4 wire ohms, or uV measurements, are near impossible to do in an uncontrolled environment, and best in a lab.
HH meters are made to give you portability first, so it needs to be tough first, but precise and accurate enough for field measurements, as best as a field can allow. In that case, the 1272a offers the best combination of features for price and is tough for travel, and if its your one and one one tool, this is it. The 87V is the most updated of the series and the defacto industry standard, I prefer the 87V for its ergonomics over the 1272a as I've had the 80 series for over 20 years, but the 1272a is superior in many respects as a measuring tool, but less in ergonomics. For the the usage I put it through, the ergonomics starts to weigh on me as I don't use the extra features of the 1272a as much. One missing item in the 87V is datalogging, for doing long range continuous measurements, then documenting it; with the 1272a to avail of it just requires a $40 cable.
I have a very different, but extremely fun Job. I am a Instrumentation Engineer and design scientific test equipment. Primarily optical systems, interferometers etc... for the Pharmaceutical industry. My background is Aerospace (Astrospace specifically) and mechanical engineering but I have been doing this for the past 5 years.
I like the look of the U1273AX, that display looks like it will work in low light well, something very useful to me.
Thanks for the suggestion of a hot air rework station, is very interesting. I have a couple of good soldering stations but everything is going SMT these days. Totally agree on the Panavise, I have a couple of the big ones and they are epic! Have you seen the Bernstien versions?
On hand tools I have a moderatly obsessive collection. I love PB Swiss tools, I note Dave uses them too. Absolute quality and precision. The Japanese "Engineer" brand is awesome for the price too. Im guessing the 87 (V) is the updated 87?