Have owned mine for about 7 years. Was stamped by Celestron but is identical. I've ran my Swarovski over the years and the only issue was the travel distance. I guess every device would have that. I am adding to the kit, so here goes more goodies.

Yes, the slow motion knobs can come off, but the biggest problem is that the course altitude adjustment WILL NOT lock, no matter how hard you tighten it. After spending about 30 min. aligning this with my main scope the altitude joint slipped while I was putting the lens cap on. Don't buy this until they add interlocking serrations to lock the altitude axis!

It does make it easier to follow objects through binoculars on a tripod. It works as you would expect. But I had to subtract 2 stars because the plastic slow motion knobs fall off very easily. Not so good at night when putting on or removing from the tripod. They are just a press fit and do not fit tightly at all. Looks like I'll need the super glue.