My 2 cents, after seeing a lot of rigs in and out now and what works, doesn't work, what fails, what wears out, etc.
In my opinion the best joints on the market are the Rock Krawler Kralwer joints. They are similar in design to a johnny joint but have some real though put behind them.
First of all, their race design kicks ass. Doesn't ride/cushion quite as much as a johnny joint, but articulates very smoothly and they hold up really well. To date, we have not had to replace and of the races.
Second, they use a threaded body instead of just a washer and snap ring. The benefit to that is that you can pre load the bushing a little bit, and as they do start to get a little bit of slop in them you can tighten them a bit before they need to be rebuilt.
Third, since they have that threaded design they are MUCH easier to service. If you've done a johnny joint, you know what a pain in the ass it can be to keep the bushing halves lined up and compress it to get the snap ring in.
