I had the opposite experience. I got the sneaker pedal because the Grip King was out of stock. It's a good, serviceable pedal, but once the Grip King started showing up as the MKS Lamdba, I was able to get a pair, swapped out the sneaker pedals, and never even considered switching back. Except in the rain, where any any non-pin pedal can slip, the lamdba/Grip King pedals are great. There's even instructions on adding pins to them, if you're an all-weather rider, which it sounds like PaulRivers's brother is not. I am, and I can see where in really wet weather some pins might be nice, but I haven't done it, and I still find the pedals to be great. So much surface area, it's almost like standing on the floor. I have used and liked pedals like the MKS Touring pedals in the past, too, and liked them, but with a softer, rubber-soled shoe, you can feel that your foot is only supported by the edges of the pedals, but with a firmer soled shoe, they're great.

But if I had my druthers, I'd put Grip King/Lamdbas on all my bikes. And, if memory serves, they're not terribly expensive compared to some of the "high end" pedals mentioned. Maybe around $50? There are definitely cheaper pedals, too, but none I've found that I like better.