I know this is an old topic but thought I'd weigh in. I owned a rain wise at first MANY years ago and then added a VP2 which I used for over a decade and while it worked well, I needed to replace the temp and humidity sensors many times. The technology has not been updated at all as far as I can tell. The VP2 display panel today looks the same as the one I bought. Over the years I played around with Acurite stations (disposable and cheap), weatherflow and now Tempest (after two earlier WF models failed they allowed me to upgrade for a modest price). When the WS-5000 came back in stock I bought it. I can't speak to durability yet but in terms of ease of use, accuracy, "prettiness" of display, customization and full calibration options it is the best weather station I have ever owned, hands down. For a few bucks I can add a sensor that works as well as any I own, and if it goes bad I can buy another. The panel even has a "gain" feature for wind speed and so far it matches local reporting stations despite imperfect siting (not sure how this will play out in various scenarios, but pretty cool to have). The Tempest is OK but lacks any real customization or calibration; It's supposed to calibrate on its own with "artificial intelligence"; I don't know that I've noticed. I must say I still like a dedicated panel and the one provided with the WS-5000 is great. If anyone has any questions let me know.