Why are IN-1 tubes so reviled?

[Terry S]

I've had a 1 tube IN-1 clock running for years -- why does everyone seem to hate them?

Terry

[SWISSNIXIE - Jonathan F.]

I don't hate them (actually i don't hate any tube ), but IN-1 have a really large body for their digit height and they seem like poorly made in case of optics, i own a few IN1 and they all look very different like having non-centered digits ,or oddly used glue where the glass meats the base. So they might be not the first choice for a nicely lookinh project...

[gregebert]

I found them to be very unreliable; with the batch I have, I was getting digits shorting against eachother from metal whiskers that formed. I literally had to blow them like fuses with a power supply, and you could see them glowing like filaments before they burned-out. Even after 'fixing' a tube, it shorted again a few days later. Happened to me with several tubes. I hate to say this, but I dont like upside-down 2's masquerading as 5's.

Since many of you have had good luck with them, I might give them another try. They are so doggone inexpensive. Maybe I just had a bad batch ?