Top hat grommets rock! I went with some 6 outlet manifolds on this new one, like the octa bubblers. So far so good, I've got them running to some 45 degree spray stakes. I'll post some pictures. Nothing beats the simplicity and reliability of top hats with open ended lines though. I just felt like trying something new. I'll go back to the tophats on the next one, way better flow.
On another note, I ended up going with cages. I spent a lot more time spreading the plants out and topping more than usual for me. I also used
H16 Fire from the last week of veg and it definitely slowed the stretch down. I don't think i will need to yoyo as much as usual. We will see though, sometimes all those side branches need a lot more support if they get heavy enough.