I'd really like to help you but I've never seen one of the stage 1 kits in action so I couldn't give an accurate comparison. I'll check with the guys who sold me the kit and own the ramp and see if they have any experience with the stage 1. Maybe they'll have some pics.

One thing to think about though, the stage 1 does not come with control arms so I'm not sure how they are getting the alignment right without the adj. uppers. I don't think I'd go with ANY 4 inch kit that didn't include control arms.

The whole reason I bought this kit was for the control arms. They are beefy and don't use spherical rod ends (heim joints). While it seems the heim joints would allow for more articulation, I didn't feel they would be a good choice for a daily driver because they transmit all of the shock and vibes from the axle thru the control arm. Please note that I based these feelings on mechanical theory and not real world experience. There are plenty of vehicles from street rods to 4x4s running around with heim joint suspensions but I'm not aware of any that are stock. Stock vehicles always represent a compromise between comfort and performance. I was willing to sacrafice some off-roadability because my Jeep will rack up more miles on the road than off. However, I still want to be able to wheel it hard. It seems to me that those control arms could take some serious punishment because of their shape. Now, as it turns out the Jeep flexes fine without the heim joints. BONUS!

I've given alot of thought to what I want MY Jeep to do and this seemed like the best solution for ME. Of course, ymmv because I'm sure you have your own ideas about what you want YOUR Jeep to do.

I didn't mean to turn this into a book, but I hope it helps you in some way.