The whole industry has moved on so quickly over the last 7 years, I imagine that they're scratching their heads wondering how to set themselves apart from other companies - and to justify their pricing structure.
I'm not knocking them for that because companies do what companies do - but I think they should have either stuck with what they've got or waited until they figured out a better way. Let's face it, whatever you might think of the company or its pricing structure, the products are good for the most part. They did slip up with the poles though. Being at or near the top of the game for so long can cause complacency. They took their eye off the ball and Gardiners got in there with some quality poles that actually gave people what they wanted rather than making poles, telling people that they wanted them and finding ways to convince people that theirs were better. Of the poles I've tried, equivalent Gardiner are lighter. The only test not really carried out is the one of durability. It may ultimately transpire that an equivalent Ionics pole lasts longer. Personally I would rather have a pole changed than an elbow or shoulder joint.
No problem with hot water. It must be quicker for some jobs and more comfortable to use in Winter. But ppb rather than ppm seems to stretch credibility to me. IMO they would have done better to find a way of crash testing at higher speed and marketing that. Now that would have been a far better piece of marketing spiel.