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I used a Bintel 12" dob last year for 6 nights
For $1000 less and 12" instead of 6" there is no decision for me, the Bintel 12" dob wins. BUT scopes must match the user and the best scope is the one you will use a lot which depends to a large extend on your goals.
I was impressed with a 12" Bintel f/5 dob used for several ORs posted to IceInSpace around mid March of 2010. I cannot find the Bintel part number. It was smooth in movements and held position well even with fair sized eyepiece. (important for a dob). The mirror was of very good quality although this with some vendors can vary so I cannot speak for all Bintels. It had a telrad finder and I had used my own orion 9x50 right angle finder as well on it.
This is a big scope so you need room to bring it in your car and you need room to store it between uses.
You will unmistakably get better views of the deep sky objects in a 12" scope than a 6" by a huge margin. So it is a question of portability VS aperture. I generally feel that 10" or larger is a great size in this tradeoff of scope size VS what you see in the field.
There is no right answer as you have seen, some people don't like DOBs and want an equatorial mount for tracking. There are many factors.
If there is any way you can go to a star party and sneak views while talking to the owner you may find the best fit for your needs.
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