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Hi,

Next week I finally intend to order my long awaited ender 5 3d printer. Obviously filament is a big topic in itself, so if anyone could suggest a good one for a complete fdm beginner, it'd be appreciated. I'll mostly be printing terrain for me, and toys for my toddler.

Thanks in advance.

Generic PLA.
In all honesty, they don't differ that much in quality as long as you don't take some cheap crap, where the diameter fluctuates or the string is grainy. Look at reviews and keep a look out for these two issues, because they can and probably will result in a nozzle clog.
If you're environmentally concious, look for nationally produced PLA.

I have found the Hatchbox PLA very good quality, while reasonably priced. However, there have been some bargain brands I have had good success with. My key is to read the reviews on Amazon and never buy filament that has blank/bad reviews.

When I started Hatchbox was what was recommended to my by someone who’d been at it a while.

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated. Think I've found a good place to start. Just need to get the hang of cura and I'll get the machine ordered

Hatchbox is stupid expensive to source in the UK, but honestly as long as you don't lowball it you should get something respectable.

I started with AMZ3D which I've gone through a few rolls of in various colours, I've also used Basicfil from Amazon, and a few other bits and pieces.

None of it has been magically better or worse.

One thing to watch out for is PLA+, which generally is billed as being stonger or offering a slightly better finish. The issue is that "PLA+" isn't a codified term, and different manufacturers use different additives, making it a lot more of a minefield than simple PLA.

It isn't bad by any means, but it can be a little trickier to dial in.

I've used a lot of Sunlu recently, both PLA+ and PETG. They have worked pretty well. Prusa make nice filament but it's a bit more expensive, but super nicely wound on the roll. I tend just to order the colour i need off ebay or amazon at not quite the cheapest available price. Just be careful on price versus the content of the roll. I have seen lots of rolls that are 750g or even wacky sets of 20m of a few different colours just to keep the price similar to some of the cheaper 1kg rolls.

Yes, you do have to watch. And, again, the reviews on some of these have kept me from possibly making a bad buying decision, as bad products will typically get bad reviews!