MAK

I'm going to add a dropper post, but don't know much about them other than that they go up and down. My bike has internal routing and is dropper post compatible. I'll be doing trail riding and nothing technical unless by accident.

What should one look for in a dropper post? What makes one post better or inferior to another? Is one brand more durable or better performing than another? Any brands considered vastly superior or horribly inferior to all others? Is there a general price point that delineates quality?

I know, a bunch of questions, but I don't want to make a mistake or waste money.

Thank you.

grubetown

KS, Rock Shox and Fox are the brands I would recommend to look at first. PNW if you are in North America and want a smaller brand.
Make sure you know your seat post diameter and how much room you have down in your frame vs how much travel you want/need in the post.

fly135

This was a biggie for me. My frame only has 7" of insertion. So finding a post that is short enough is an issue for me. I have to pay close attention to the dimensional specs.

PickleRick

So my 000002 cents. "trail riding" and "nothing technical" are very subjective terms. If you really are doing fairly tame XC type trail riding I would suggest spending your hard-earned cash on something other than a dropper.
I had a dropper on my Trek Remedy. In fact, in my first two years of ownership, I had four of them; three replaced under warranty and the fourth dropper from a different vendor when I got fed up with the first vendor. The Remedy is my "rowdy" bike and the dropper was nice, but I finally removed the fourth dropper after its demise and I am doing just fine without any dropper now - thank you very much.

My other MTB is a XC rig. It also has a dropper, but being an XC bike, it's my "go-fast" over longer, tamer, distances rig. Still riding singletrack, mind you, but very few teeth-clenching technical descents. That dropper still works, but in the three years I've owned the bike I've only used the dropper four times (..and one of those times was to depress the seat so it would fit more readily in the back of my SUV).

Sooooo, if you really don't intend to get rowdy/technical I would think twice about purchasing/installing a dropper. BUT, if you have an eye towards more technical trails in the near future then, by all means, get one.

FWIW I would stay away from the RockShox Reverb Stealth....but YMMV.

Ronsonic 

The Pickle beat me to it, "nothing technical" means you probably won't have much use for a dropper. I mean that's why you drop.

That said, I bought one and ride mostly less technical stuff. Mostly. I'm thinking that if I make it a little easier with the dropper I'll be more likely to hit the wilder trails.

I got the KS eTen. The cheap one (check Blue Sky Cycling) and it's worked in testing and only a couple of rides. Hardly had a chance to get it out in the woods so can't speak long-term yet, so we'll see how that works out for me.

Mountain Mitch

I’ll join the chorus: if you trail ride nothing technical you don’t need a dropper post. And I’m a guy who thinks they are the greatest invention since the suspension fork.

Ive used many different posts on various bikes. The cheapest was an X-Fusion. It wasn’t quite as quick and responsive as some but worked just fine.

Kapusta

Reliability is a big problem with most dropper posts. Honestly, expectations seem to be so low that simply not crapping the bed for a season or two seems to earn a dropper the reputation of "reliable".

Gravity Dropper has by far the longest and best track record for low maintenance and reliability. One of the lighters posts, and also not too expensive (though not cheap either). Pretty bare bones in the features, though. It has only 3 positions: full up, full down, and one point in between. The "Classic" version requires a butt-tap on the seat to bring it back up, and the "Turbo" (which returns just with the push of a button) returns really fast and you'd better be clear of it when it does. Kind of ugly too. But they a very reliable and long lasting. Mine is almost 14 years old. Also not that expensive.

PNW is a great option for something affordable, full featured, and reasonable reliable. Heavy, though.

The Fox, and Rock Shox mentioned above are both really slick, but expensive, and I seem to read about failures and problems often, but might just be par for the course for a lot of droppers. I don't know much about the KS.

If you think you want to drop your saddle, get a dropper. Makes technical a lot easier.

MAK

Thank you all for your responses.

To explain further...Trail, but nothing technical in my case means that I'll ride singletrack, some roots and smooth to uneven terrain. Not technical means no major air, no bunny hops, no racing through turns, no rock gardens. I may give my LHT a break and do some multi day bike packing. Maybe as I get comfortable I'll get more aggressive, but starting out at 69 years old, caution and enjoyment trumps edge of the envelop thrills.

Kapusta

I think i get what you are doing. It is what a lot of mountain bikers who are not in Red Bull Rampage videos are actually doing.

Get a dropper. Obstacles come along, and dropping the saddle makes many of them easier (and safer) to go over.

NoWhammies

I cannot get over how great the dropper post technology/invention is. Riding up a hill, seat is up. Then starting to descend, quick push of the button and the saddle goes down. Riding down and hit a small up section needing some pedaling, boom! Hit the button and the saddle pops back up in to place. Brilliant.

I have a OneUp Dropper post. For the most part the dropper post is working well, although I am having an issue with the seat post not returning all the way to the top. I think I just need to give it a bit of maintenance. Plus they're a local Canadian company to boot!