Welcome to the forum McGillicutty. I really want to see pictures of your projects. They sound pretty interesting.

I looked at both companies pretty closely as well before deciding. I think what really convinced me was looking at what products both had in 2012 and what they introduced in 2013. Everlast has brought out some really leading edge stuff this year and has clearly listened to their customers when making enhancements to their existing products. There's some real product management progression going on here. Everlast also visits the factory frequently during the year. None of this seem true for the other guys.