AEV is pricey for sure, but people still buy it. I live in south Texas, we hit deer and 300+ lb hogs a lot more often than we prefer to. The stock bumper with the hidden winch is a nice perk from the factory, but at the end of the day it is nothing more than a cheap, flimsy, factory bumper with a winch mounted between the frame rails behind it. Not everyone will want or need a steel/aluminum bumper, but some of us demand one and eventually a rock, tree, or root will mangle a part of that factory bumper and then it'll be time to upgrade. Aluminess makes great products, a few of my buddies have them on their Ford E Series and Mercedes Sprinter Sportsmobiles. IMHO they are top of the heap when it comes to Vans, but their bumpers for full size domestic trucks don't even register in the top 5 or even top 10 of all of the options out there. The designs from an aesthetics point of view for their truck bumpers are awful.
Thuren is great if you have a Ram or Tundra, but you are SOL if you have a Ford or Chevy. I think Thuren makes a great product, but I still think Carli is a step above. Carli loves to keep their top end kits on the King gear so I could see them suggesting Thuren for a better Fox tuned shock. At the end of the day, we are very fortunate to have so many options when it comes to products for these vehicles, we are certainly living in exciting times for off-road accessories industry.