Unpopular opinion: those $4 brake cables from the hardware store are a trap

My uncle ran a bike shop in Boise for 20 years and he always said the same thing about cheap parts. The $4 cable is just the start, then you're out a $15 tube and a $60 rim strip when the frayed end pokes through, plus the ride you lost. It's the same deal with those dollar store phone chargers that fry your battery or the 99 cent spatulas that scratch up a good pan. You're not saving money, you're just paying later with interest. That liner on the $12 cable is doing real work keeping grit out, and grit is what chews through the strands. Sorry you had to walk home to learn it, that hill climb must have been brutal.