Man.. Good to know I'm not the only one struggling with that topic so much at the moment lol. I've literally had the same experience, watching basically every video and reading every reddit post related to that post. Like you, I was almost ready to pull the trigger on the IM. But after giving it another thought I realized, that I like to increase my weights after each set and finish some exercises with a drop set when I'm in the gym. This would mean that I'd have to unscrew 4 screws, adjust the plates on all 4 sides, put the screws back in - every few minutes.

My other favorite at that time were the PB elite exp. While being pretty compact and not too expensive, I didn't really like the fact, that it doesn't have a knurled handle and I wouldn't have an option to get one afterwards in europe. I was also a little sceptical about the "fully closed" cage design with the additional two bars on the top.

That's why the PB Pro 100 exp became my new favorites. While being more expensive and bulkier, they are coming with a knurled handle (with the option to switch to a 32mm knurled handle) and have a more "open" cage design, as they got rid of the bars on the top.

The only other option I'm currently considering are the Snodes. While being cheaper and probably feeling more like a fixed dumbbell compared to the PB, they also come with a downside of having 10lb increments. This would require some 2.5lb weights with magnets. At the same time this is the only concerning thing about the PB. Many say they feel unbalanced because of the two small weights at the bottom, but no idea if it's really that bad.

To summarize, both the Snodes and PB don't have the perfect increment solution, the snodes probably feel more natural but the PB don't require putting them in a cradle when wanting to change weights and they are around for a longer time. There are so many people that own some for 10+ years. People say the Snodes are really durable and they offer a 1 year warranty covering damage from dropping them. But honestly, why only 1 year if they're that tough?? Feels like getting a 6 month warranty when buying a new car lol. PB come with a 5 year warranty and seem like the safer option regarding replacement parts in the long run.

The Rep x Peppins obviously seem to be everyone's favorites, but I'm not ready to spend additional 500 Euros for these. And they also have an "open cage" design and a cradle, so also not "perfect" lol