Aftermarket pistons fall on a spectrum. Meteor are usually the best, Hyway is mostly good, many other unbranded AM pistons out there that might be okay or might not. Lil Red Barn (LRB) and Traverse Creek sell a variety of aftermarket pistons where price usually indicates quality. Golf pistons have consistently been low quality.
If you’re going popup, Hyway or LRB are usually your only options. I would trust Hyway slightly more (though they could be made in the same factory for all I know).
As far as longevity, you get more life out of dual ring pistons than singles. Caber or OEM rings are best. OEM circlips are nice insurance as well. In my experience, I haven’t seen that many fully worn out pistons. Most pistons are replaced because of scoring (ingested material, lean conditions). A low quality piston may have poor enough balance to wear the lower skirt prematurely, but even that is usually related to worn (or single) rings. With good rings almost any piston will run for quite a while.
Keep the OEM piston. Used pistons aren’t worth much but they come in handy.
