Trousers and fake Jo's

After the recent 'trouser' incident (dated 5th Nov 2008) I was in the market for a new pair. After some googling (is that a word?) I found that you can buy just Gi trousers. I opted to buy then from playwell. In short the prices are good but the service is pretty poor. The site states that things are 'in stock' when they're not. They also managed to lose the order completely and then it turned up suddenly in their warehouse. Quality is OK - a bit light so much more of a 'Summer' Gi I think.
When I was placing the order for the new trousers I was browsing about the site for other goodies. I thought I would treat myself to a new Jo as the old one had a widening split at one end. I found they sell PVC Jo's. They promote them as being superior to wooden Jo as they don't split or break. Once it arrived I brought the Jo into the next meeting... how everyone laughed :¬)
On the plus side it has a good weight and seems pretty tough, one of the possible downsides is that it is quite springy. I still need to do more work with it but on balance it's a useful alternative to the wooden Jo - not sure if I'll be getting rid of the wooden one yet though.