I agree that, at least head to head with a Mach II, the DB5 has advantages IF your priority is portability. But I think the assembly/disassembly issue is a bit overstated. the Mach II only needs three bolts (base, basket, chain assembly) and can be assembled by hand if you're okay with the nuts only being finger tightened. To me, that's good enough for the occasions where I'd only have it out and assembled for a few hours before it would go back in the car.
To me, where the DB5 really is better is that the pole breaks down into two pieces and everything fits into the basket giving it a smaller storage footprint. The Mach II has just one pole, which if you have a smaller car or trunk space, can be more of an issue in transportation.
For my money, I think the Recruit or the Black Hole is the best bang for the buck. The lone drawback to the Recruit is that it requires an Allen wrench to tighten/loosen the bolts (tough to finger tighten) whereas the Black Hole does not require tools. On the other hand, the Recruit's base has a wheel for easier movement when it is fully assembled where the Black Hole does not. Both targets have two-piece poles so the storage footprint is minimal. They also both come with two layers of chains standard, so no need to add inner chains like you would with a DB5.
Looks like MVP is running a Black Friday special on their Black Hole pro that includes free shipping. Dynamic always ships for free on orders through their store. So no added costs on that end (if you order this week, anyway).
