Apollo vs Hotrod

Which speedlite stripbox is better and why: Lastolite's Hotrod or Westcott's Apollo?

http://fjwestcott.com …eedlite-kit#tabs-61-tab-2

http://www.lastolite.u​s …ed-lite-strip-box-16-x-48

I'd be most inclined to buy an Apollo knock off.
The lastolite is just a 12x48 soft box with an adapter ring for speedlites.
Westcott is much easier to setup because its umbrella based frame. But too expensive considering its fragility. There are lots of knock offs that will do just as well.

Apollo-like designs (shoot backward to bounce forward) feel logical fit for use with speedlights to me, so that's what I use, but if I was considering shoot forward design that requires wide angle coverage from flash, like Lastolite's, I would want to make sure my speedlight and strip box combo will be able to give me result I am subconsciously expecting to get, so you might find that answer to which one is better is "it depends on you".

I personally didn't buy knock off but went straight for Apollo. I understand both sides of an dilemma, financial incentive vs. sometimes getting what you paid for, but my dilemma was simple as I got Apollos for good deal, and I saw MPEX recently have an incredible deal on Apollo's holiday bundle for $129 IIRC.

The Cheetah Stand Strip isnt a bad option either. I would say better build quality than the Apollo but not umbrella mounting.

https://www.cheetahsta​nd.com …Strip-9x36-p/strip936.htm