In my humble opinion

the Emporium feels more like a fishing pole, whereas the SL2 feels more refined and "changed" for the job. Jeff is probably the most experienced "user" of these type of modular poles and can probably get away with having a weaker but lighter pole as he is great at using them ( you should see him putting one up, its like part of his body!!! ) But for the likes of me and many other people we need something very tough so only the SL2 has that toughness for a stupid rough worker like me!!!! I just would feel like the Emporium would break if I used it alot.
But I would still be happy to own an Emporium, but would always be wanting an SL2. The Emporium is cheaper and just slightly lighter but in my books the SL2 is already light enough and that extra strength hasnt come at a compromise on weight. I dont want to sound like a SL2 fan boy!!! as that would be closed minded. I want the best tools for my work and believe that the SL2 is best for me and also the majority of people coming into the modular world.
There is already quite alot of negative feeling and prejudice towards the modular "fishing" style poles so maybe it would help if people were buying the strongest modular on the market. Do you see where Im coming from?If I ever need another modular I may well consider an Emporium and was very impressed by it when Jeff brought it round, especially by the look of it, I even wanted to have a swap, mainly because it looked nice and had protection rings ( which the SL2 has now! ). But after thinking about it more and seeing the Emporium a few times I believe that the SL2 is the best pole for a standard user and especially somebody like Daniel ( owner of a larger cleaning company - lots of rough workers ), Luke