I put these on my touring bike last year and love them. It cost me a bit less because I could reuse the bar end shifters that were already on it.

I normally ride with my hands on the hoods, so they feel very natural to me. If you're always on the drops they won't be as convenient.

Ordered directly from Retroshift, and the communication with them was great. They answered all my questions (my tourer has mechanical disc brakes), and shipping to Canada was very brisk. Simple to install, even with my "Tab A into Slot B" mechanical aptitude. Built with [to me, seemingly] very high quality materials and workmanship.

I wouldn't call them an Albatross, but I wouldn't replace the brifters on my road bike with them. For an application where you want simplicity and ruggedness (like touring or cyclocross), or you have a bike with bar ends that you want to make more ergonomic I think they're great. I highly recommend the product and the company.