I have had my GHD for over 16 years and it's still going strong. I wouldn't use any other brand. I've even bought one for my 15 year old for Christmas this year as she keep stealing mine.
Mine came with its own styling bag, roll mat and sectioning clips. The roll mat keeps all surfaces protected by the heat of the styler.
Yes GHD's are expensive but when they last for a long as mine has they can't be beaten.
My hair comes out beautiful and straight with just two passes of the styler on each section.
Gosh the things I did before having this! When I was a kid I thought people were just lucky and had beautifully natural straight hair. When straighteners first came out the heated tongs were not ceramic, it was metal. It took several minutes for it to get to temperature, it took a couple of hours to get my hair somewhat straight and it wouldn’t stay straight by the end of the night. Now even if I tie it up or sleep on it after straightening, it would still be beautifully straight until wash day!
Tips: Small sections at a time - might feel like that will take longer, but taking larger sections will take you longer because the inner strands will not have the same exposure to the outer strands of the section