@Rusty – I’m a constant tinkerer, always removing bars and swapping things and that – anything other than lockons would drive me mental.
As for a QR seatpost doing the same job – I don’t believe it does. To be able to charge towards a steep descent, drop the post, charge down, and then flick a switch, have the saddle come up to meet you, and pedal straight up seated, all without stopping – it’s great. I stay on the bike longer, and go faster both up and down. For me, it’s worth every bit of the extra weight, complexity, expense, maintenance and ugliness – can see it might not be worth it to everyone, and not necessary for all types of riding, but I wouldn’t be without it now.
Horses for courses, I suppose. I enjoy the tinkering and spannering and trying out new bits almost as much as the riding – I find a couple of hours in the shed very relaxing – and hugely enjoy the buzz of getting and fitting a new part. All my bits for 1×10 are arriving next week 🙂