When confronted with the break-ability of the Bearing King shorty after the release, the CFO of Flambeau is quoted as saying, "We will just sell more tops," and they continued to produce the same tops for the next 14 years, with strings that were too short to operate properly. Makes me sick.
Having said that, modded BK's are quite fun (hole in crown, PET shell, balanced). I have modded many, many, many of them, and hope to one day have done so to the majority of all that remain. Also, it is worth noting the BK tips are pretty darn tough compared to some other manufacturers.