I'm a hunter first that trains my own dogs, I read once that one needs to decide if they want to train or hunt. The Alpha is more of a hunting collar and it perfect for that. I've been using the Alpha 100 for the last 7 years or so. I have Drahthaars (currently 2, one has passed) and a Teckel (wirehair dachshund). I have 3 collars and can run all 3 dogs on it when we go for walks or hunt. I have a Montana OnX chip in the Alpha 100 as well. Most of my Drahthaar buddies run one as well. It has good training value as well. It's easy to see where the dog is or what they are doing. I like the ability to set the buttons how you want. I use "momentary" and "vibrate" the most. I train my dogs to whistle commands but I started using vibrate after my old dog became deaf. Hunting pheasants I like to be as quiet as possible and the vibrate really helps. My dogs can range out and being able to see where they are on the hand held is a big piece of mind that helps one keep from "hacking" on the dog. I've "watched" my dogs chase a jackrabbit a mile, and watched their return on the hand held a couple of times.
I dont have many negatives with the Alpha 100, reading the screen in the sun can be a challenge and as I age the screen is hard to read.
I have seen the new Alpha 200 and like it a lot and would have upgraded to it but the fact that its not OnX compatible made it a non-starter for me. But I really like the larger screen that's easier to read in the day light. I know you can use a smart phone with OnX but Montana has a lot of dead spots without cell coverage and I never seem to down load maps on it. The Alpha 200 also has a built in "In Reach" which would be perfect for our dead spots for phones. If only it was OnX compatible. I hope this helps (sorry if my post is rambling)