Marmite clamps have always been a problem. Nothing wrong with them really it's just that they've always been different to the larger extender/xtel types you cut your teeth on - you upgrade to the SLX and it feels different to anything else you've used. The pole itself you can't really fault. I've had all the versions so far, loved the look of the shiney Mkll's clamps but hated the disign of the half sawn through pole clamping system, the Mkl was ok but tended to split a little.
The latest are the best so far but they can feel flimsy - maybe Alex has gone a bit too far trying to trim the weight to a minimum? I have the Mklll clamps with the Mkll metal barrel nuts and have had no problems so far other than the nuts coming loose now and again. I wouldn't use anything else other than an S-Max oh, and my S2
