I trialled the phoenix pole and the slx when I switched from brodex (lol auto correct changes brodex to broken), out of the box there wasn't much in it. I went with the SLX because it seemed like it would last longer. Whether or not it would I can't be 100% but I suspect that I was probably right.
My slx poles are still going strong but there is a wee bit of triggers broom syndrome going on. Regardless of that, for me the slx is unrivalled as the best all round pole.