Dynamic Discs is a fantastic company that produces quality merchandise and never disapponts, their new Marksman basket is no exception to this standard. This basket is very high quality, especially when you consider the price point. It has a very sturdy construction, and can be assembled/disassembled very quickly; in about 3 minutes.
This is essentially a little brother to their Recruit basket. They did introduce some new, upgraded features. One was welding the nuts into the pole construction. So now all it takes is a few bolts and an allen wrench for assembly. Also, because both the Recruit and Marksman break down into five major pieces they can be a bit wobbly when put together. To remedy this, Dynamic Discs created some very small threaded allen wrench pieces that tighten the basket together. These upgrades are extremely effective and I hope the new Recruit baskets have the same adjustments. I was also really impresssed with the actual basket/bucket on the Marksman. It has vertical sides and is deep, so it can hold a lot of discs without them effecting the functionality of the basket and chains.
If you are looking for a good first practice basket, that is similar to the ones you play with at your local course, this is not it. This is a unique basket with a smaller diameter and only one row of chains. You really have to hit the sweet spot on this basket to get putts to stay. This construction means that this basket will not act like, or catch discs, the same way.
I believe it can be very good for practicing, and allow you to zero in on hitting your mark, but you must remain aware of your putting stroke. I noticed that after using this basket I was able to putt at full sized baskets with ease. However, I also started to develop a different, softer putt to allow discs to come to rest in this basket more often. If I were to keep using this basket, I would remain conscious of my "normal" putting stroke and make sure not to adjust it for the basket, but only use it for its aiming improvements.
Overall this is a fantastic basket that I would recommend as an addition to other baskets. If I was purchasing my first basket, I would not choose something so unique. I would choose a basket that was more traditional, like the Recruit. This is a lot of fun to shoot at, and in my opinion, it does improve my putting using an "aim small miss small" mindset. The Marksman will definitely find its way into my basket family very soon.