Good concept and build. Fitment was really tight which is great in general but combined with the heavy spring I choose makes coupling/decoupling difficult. In order to more smoothly couple/decouple I had to sand down the finish a small amount around the circumference to remove the burrs around the small holes where the pieces collapse into each other.

Would suggest future versions have the edges of the holes broken to remove the burr or just ditch the holes all together.

I opted for the lighter 15lb coupler and it's pretty simple to fit and use, as long as you have some shims handy (might be worth ordering a pack to go with the coupler). The build is solid, with an acceptable amount of wiggle at the join, and it's quick to decouple thanks to only needing a 1/8th turn instead of the 1/4 turn that the previous version required, but be aware that it might need a breaking-in period, as if you hold the two halves of the staff at a slight angle they sometimes hang up when you try to separate them, but I think this will lessen with some use. Sound transmission is excellent as well, there's no muffling at all.

So, yeah, I'm happy with mine 😁.

I had the old coupler and thought I would upgrade. This feels more secure and the savers move less.

A definite upgrade from the previous version. With timing shims, the alignment is perfect. The coupler is also compatible with the Apprentice version.

Works really well and turns two to one on the fly easy. Well worth it.