in your case, sailing in hard to extreme conditions and racing hard, it is easy to suck it up. well, easier. i do not sail my boat too hard. not because i cant, but because those conditions only happen once in a blue moon where i sail. my gear should not fail. i replaced one cleat one day only to have it fail two weeks later. i then replaced it with a ronstan cleat. that was a year ago.<br><br>