hy_tek said:
I looked at the Road Morph and it frankly looks rather cheaply made of plastic except for the main cylinder. That was my first impression anyway.
I have owned a Topeak Road Morph (with gauge) for almost two years now. It is a fantastic pump, absolutely the best I have ever owned including full size frame pumps and various mini pumps . It lives in my commuting pannier so it gets jostled around most days of the week, but it still works perfectly.
The only problem I had with it was that the foot clamp fell of since the small nut and bolt holding it came loose. Probably a design problem since other people have experienced it too. A small dab of weak Loctite 222 seems to have solved that problem permanently.
Regarding the build quality I must say I can't recognize your description of it as cheaply made. The very sturdy plastic doesn't have the slightest nick and looks like new while the metal tube have some scratches. The latter is of course expected since I don't hesitate to heave 15 kg of cans, bottles and groceries on top of the pump when shopping.
Some things I like about it:
It works like a mini track pump, so one can actually fill the tires to 120 psi or above without any problems.
If your arms tire you can use your entire upper body to help press down on the pump.
The lockable head with the extension tube means that one doesn't need to hold on to the perhaps cold, wet and very dirty rims, and also mean that the valve isn't stressed at all. (it is a common mistake to wreck valves/tubes with frame pumps if one doesn't use the right technique).
The gauge is surprisingly helpfull. It means that I don't have to check the tire pressure after a tube change.