In no way meaning to sound pretentious, but it really all comes down to how each individual perceives the price based on their own income and weight of benefits. Now, I didn't go with the FTS system, I just got the Brew Master Bucket, for several reasons one being I don't really have any problems controlling my temps during my brewing season, and second I don't want extra components and buckets of water which are obviously required. Not sure if it's in this thread or the one I started but someone compared the costs of a plastic bucket to an Ss Brew Bucket, but for me it's not a simple matter of price comparison. I make decent money, not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, just a decent middle class income with no car and no kids. For me, even replacing all three of my fermenters at $225 a piece I don't consider expensive, partly because I believe they'll last and mostly because of convenience. I've been using the original plastic Cooper's fermenters for coming up to 5 years now. Been great and now I know I simply cannot live without a spigot built in. The main issues I have with it are 1: How incredibly hard it can be to unscrew the lid! - often takes one person to hold the fermenter and the other to unscrew the lid, which of course I cannot due in place where it's fermenting. The Brew Bucket has simple latches. 100% alleviates that problem and no longer will I have to move the fermenter into my kitchen to open it to dry hop or add something to the beer. 2: Much better spigot than the Cooper's screw on, which after time ends up too loose and leaks and also is very tight to open and close to take a sample. 3: Very accurate thermowell temp monitoring instead of stick on strip. 4: Stainless instead of plastic and 5: Will be way easier for me to clean due to design than the Cooper's.
There are other benefits such as the conical styled bottom etc. But honestly, for me the cost is worth the product and not even an issue. If they were $400 then yeah I'd have a problem, but at $225 it works ok for my budget. <shrug>
Rev.