Just to throw another option out there for ballheads since I haven't seen it mentioned, I've been looking at the Acratech GP. There is a review of the GV2 below, but the GP is basically the same but gives you the option to flip the head to use as a leveling base for panoramas. Seems like Arca Swiss, RRS, and Acratech are three of the best brands you can get.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ad-Review.aspx

They have a bunch of videos on their website demonstrating the use and durability of their ballheads:
http://acratech.net/pages.php?pageid=7
http://acratech.net/home.php?cat=1