I have a zMax, it works great and has since day one... I have a ProVari, it works great and has since day one... I have a GGTS and it... you get the point...
Look, my zMax isn't built as well as my ProVari but its close(provari has a thicker tube, button is military grade, better battery cap threads, etc etc), but my zMax functions just as well and has VW to boot.
Ill completely agree that every arsenal is better with a provari, but I can also tell you for sure my ProVari rarely sees the light of day. It's a funny thought process... the provari is built better etc etc.. but yet I dont want to scratch, dent, lose, or break my $200 mod.. but I'm not the least bit concerned taking my zMax anywhere.. I beat my zMax like it owes me money, it keeps on working great. I'm not saying my provari wouldn't take it, it would probably take even more abuse, but I simply don't want to risk any damage to my nicer mods. (same with my GGTS, I have a Cube I take out, ggts stays in my house always)
To say the zMax doesn't live up to the expectation is donkey poo, its a great PV for a great price that performs extremely well. I have found a lot of the pro reviews must have been with an early model, my zmax holds my settings when I switch batteries, the button is very well fit and doesnt rattle, battery life is excellent. IMHO, great decision to get the zmax, if you end up loving larger vv / vw PVs you can always add a provari to the collection.. just my 2C