Ball Shifter Reviews?

[LeelandS]

I've been looking over the forums, and I have been unable to find exactly what I am looking for. I've found bits and pieces, but I haven't found a central review on the VexPro Ball Shifters. We're looking into experimenting with shifting gearboxes, and while we are generally aware that AndyMark Super Shifters are the time tested solutions, the Ball Shifter offers some benefits that were are considering.

I'm looking for mostly first hand accounts (second hand details just get to skewed, but if you have intimate knowledge of another team's situation with them, by all means, share) of how the Ball Shifters held up this season.

Here's a few questions I'm looking for:

Was this your first time using a shifting gearbox?
-If no;
--What other shifting gearboxes have you used? How did they compare?
-If yes;
--Was the Ball Shifter easy to work with given the lack of experience you had?

How much maintenance did they require throughout the season?
-Were there any catastrophic failures that occurred as a result of the gearbox, and not outside circumstances?

What did you find to be the biggest benefit to using them? What was the biggest drawback?

Were there any technical issues in the design of the gearbox? If so, how did you remedy them?

Would you use them again?

Don't feel obligated to answer every question. Even if you only have one thing to say about the shifters, throw it out there. Just please be sure to provide as much detail as possible!

The help is much appreciated!