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Which is the best resin system manufacturer / brand for hand layup vacuum bagging? Wich brands / manufacturers should be avoided?

Most anything will work.
Choice is more by physical properties and process particularities than brand name.
i.e. hardener type -cycloaliphatic or straight chain, speed -"Fast" v. "slow," resin modulus -max. impact v. flex v. stiffness, etc.
The best thing to do is look hard at the full list of properties for the resin systems you are thinking of and choose which meets your needs that way. Keep in mind there are variations within a brand or product line depending on speed, etc. For example the hardeners are naturally different between fast and slow, but with some brands, it is a really different type of hardener, others not as different. Where this usually comes into play is if you have concerns about things like "blush" (a residue on the laminate) or about skin sensitization (mainly a worry for people with other allergies, fair hair and Euro background.). General advice: unless you are in a hurry, slow hardeners are nice -less harsh, more time to get the job done before it kicks off....
But...since you ask about brand,
Having used West, MAS, System Three and Resin Research, I prefer Resin Research.
One reason is the 2:1 mix ratio is harder to screw up than west's 3.x or 5:1, another is the cycloaliphatic hardener, which is non-sensitizing, another is it's a little cheaper than west, and finally, if you have questions, call the number on the bottle and the proprietor, Greg Loehr, picks up the phone (or at least he did a couple years ago when I called).
He is quite knowledgeable, and "kind of a big deal" in the surf guru world.
Or just grab a gallon of something and wing it.

I use west system because my local shops cary it. It would be nice to work with a system that you don't have to wet sand between layers to remove the amine blush and mixes 1:1 or 2:1.

gbleck wrote:I use west system because my local shops cary it. It would be nice to work with a system that you don't have to wet sand between layers to remove the amine blush and mixes 1:1 or 2:1.

I've used West and East systems, East being a Canadian product I believe. Both are very similar, the east is a bit runnier and I think you can use the same pumps for both. Both leave that annoying wax after a curing. I never did a wet sand to remove the wax, I jused soap and water and a nylon scrub pad. Once I used Amonia and a rag but that was to stinky

I've used SPS ampreg 22, was pleased with the result, but then: i'm easily pleased Didn't know back then what I was doing, but the results were good.
Later I found out it was a quit expensive epoxy resin, but I got it really cheap. I bought 2Kg's back then, only used 500gram, I sold the rest of it for the same price I bought the whole 2kg

I now bought a clear epoxy, but it's a rebranded one, so don't know the initial manufacturer

West System does not need to be wet sanded or washed between coats as long as you don't let the bottom coat cure. Amine blush comes from complete curing. I believe it is also a much stronger (chemical) bond if you don't let it cure.

They have a great website with lots of info:
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/use-guides/.