hi Aus,
I have a similar rack to the zefal, in fact it might be the older version of it. Bought it ages ago, close to 10 years ago and had it on my front suspension bike for a while.
Been hanging on my garage wall since I took it off the bike. Kept it just because it is unique and one day could be useful.
It is ok, but the 4 connection points using that slotted part, with washers and bolts, is not super super inspiring looking. My thoughts always were that they could easily loosen just because there isnt a ton of meat of contact point with the washers and bolts. I bought it thinking I might use that bike for more Latin American trips, but in the end went with a diff bike and a strong lowrider.

the topeak one looks interesting, and solid.

depending on what you want to carry, have you considered some good fork leg cages? You could easily put some 5-8L bags on each side, and the whole thing will be possibly lighter than a front rack setup--to me lighter is always going to be better for a front suspension, suspended weight and all that. These would be a lot less expensive (I hope) than the OMM rack.

your thoughts?

ps, I have some Topeak stuff, a 10L seat bag, some fork cages, and the quality is all good stuff. As you say, you could work around the velcro thing if you didnt find it sturdy enough.