O.o I can't say that I understand the complaints about the tool chewing up the ponies hair line. I rarely ever have a hole split into the next hole. And even on a pony with an FBR I have no problems with the tool. It doesn't scrape paint up unless I am careless when I pull it out of the head.
I don't know what needle size other folks offer, but I have tiny needles which I prefer even though they can't hold extra thick plugs. I also offer two larger sizes for the folks who wish to work with more hair at once.
Once you are used to the tool and learn to use it properly, needles rarely break. The only times I have broken needles in the past year have been when I was improperly using the tool to poke at things like glue, or my keyboard, or just randomly poking holes into a box >.> never when actually Rehairing.