I had to replace laminate flooring in our basement because our water heater had failed. While I was able to salvage approximately half of the planks, I had to buy enough to completely replace all flooring in the damaged area because the click-lock system had changed. I was aware of the change and read the <mostly> negative reviews; however, since all of the laminate in our house (approximately 1500 sf) is the Golden Amber Oak (GAO) , I essentially had buy this particular color and style. I also had to buy approximately $120 worth of transition strips because the new laminate was not compatible with the old system.
The laminate looks the same and has the same thickness and padding; and for that I am grateful. I give the look, the surface durability, and the integral padding 5 stars. But those traits do not complete the picture.
I have installed/reinstalled approximately 4000 sf of the original GAO laminate across two houses; and have installed approximately 7-8000 sf of flooring in general. The original laminate price was exceptional and the click-lock system robust and simple to assemble. The only downside (and I presume this also applies to the the new flooring) is that water must be immediately wiped up. Good luck if you have an "accident"-prone pet.
However, the new click-lock system on the GAO II is garbage:
a. It does not stay locked. I had to repeatedly re-seat adjacent boards. As a result, the planks often became cock-eyed, complicating installation of successive rows. I believe the old system had either tacky tongues and grooves or had a "glue" type coating of some sort.
b. It is not durable. The new system's tongues and grooves are wide and thin and easily damaged even before installation. Two of the seven boxes came with every plank damaged on one end or the other. Because I understood laminate flooring interconnections, I was able to use most all of the damaged pieces; however, an inexperienced DIYer might have problems.
c. Every single piece had to be individually "tapped" into place, sometimes forcefully, often multiple times. With the old system, as long as all boards in a row are aligned lengthwise, the row will click into place.
d. The leading edge of planks does not lay flat without being weighted down.
As a direct result of the new system, it took me approximately 2-3 times as long to install the laminate as I had been expecting.
For all these reasons, the next time I look at laminate, I am NOT going to be looking at the Traditional Living laminate flooring.