Mary, someplace I think I made a post about my cage for SkyesCrew, in which I mentioned the drawbacks I could imagine. They are not huge in my daily life, as you might imagine, or else I would be complaining. Only thing I can think of right now is 1) the place on the bottom where the divider would go gets messy and is a tad hard to clean and 2) only the main doors have locks. I saw fit to "lock" them with various devices.
I don't know the difference between makers of look-alikes. I think I would probably not notice much difference in person either. I don't know about the relationship of various cage makers, either. I can say my cages are looking 100% brand new, with regards to the finish. They are, what, like two years old? I can say I remain unfavourably impressed with Prevue-Hendryx products. Hendryx was top notch in my mother's day, not so much now.
ALSO, very important distinction, while I have stated my opinions on the smallest cage reasonable for IRN, I do not in any way truly recommend an IRN should be kept in a cage smaller than mine. I really don't. I just feel to go smaller than maybe 24" square is clear abuse, and 24" square is no prize either. It's just that when you tell a person they need to use a cage that is exponentially bigger than what they want to use, they frequently close their mind and decide to just go with what they have since they are not going to go with the biggest. Suggesting something more mainstream people will accept, in my opinion, upgrades birds literally to something they can live with. Compromise. A bird in a cage that small has got to come out a lot. Heck, a bird in a cage the size of mine has to come out a lot, too. Just, that's the biggest I could go at the time. At the same time, I feel it is essential that the bird be caged for a length of time each day - not just left to roam the house - so it can retain the skill of living in a cage. Ability to live in a cage is essential sometimes, as life throws us curves, and also in the event of us having to rehome the bird. I feel that I am *very* flexible in accommodating the needs of pets, and even I was shy to take on a bird who lived uncaged. If you really knew me, that would say a lot more to you.
If I were going to get a larger cage I might consider the version of this cage that is taller - and more than twice the price. Other than that, I would be looking into building something myself, or maybe hiring a better carpenter to do it for me. In general I am wanting a larger front-to-back size and I think this is where custom looks necessary. If I were going to ask a cage maker to build one with the smaller bar space just for me, might as well go whole hog and build my dream cage, you know?
The "dream cage" for me would be building in a space in my house ten feet long, four feet deep, and ceiling high. That's the space I have available. The other option would be just bird-proofing the spare bedroom and changing the door for a screen door, letting him roam or be in a living room cage when I'm home and putting in the bedroom there while I work. However, I don't see anything like that happening any time soon, especially since he *can't* be housed with my other birds.
I could express still more opinions, but gotta go to work now.
