The Extech arrived today. In the hand it feels better than the General; maybe because of the rubbery panels on it. The pins are a tad shorter than those on the General and fatter/stouter which will mean a lesser degree of wood penetration but so minuscule as to be negligible. Pin separation on the General is a tad greater on the General. The Extech screen is black and white with large digits; the General has a green screen and the digits are a little smaller. Readings on a large piece of hickory were identical between the two meters. I do have to say that the General penetrated the hickory easier than the Extech as the pins are narrower. I was in the local Lowes the other day and they had an older model General with yellow side panels mixed in with the newer models.. I don't know if they are a hard plastic or a more grippy rubber. So the older model may still be available. Is the Extech worth the price difference? For me it was. As I said above, it feels better in the hand.
UPDATE: So I had dinner and tinkered with both meters. The pins are interchangeable between the two meters with no apparent reading difference. It is dark outside and the General is definitely easier to read being back lit . The Extech is not back lit, at least not to an appreciable degree, if any. Plus 1 for the General. The pins on the General (and now on the Extech) do penetrate the wood much easier so that the reading is from a slightly deeper portion of the wood while the Extech standard pins are rather difficult to push in. Plus 2 for the General (tied if you have slimmer pins to swap out). Both meters have a board in the cover for calibration. As purchased, the nod goes to General for pin penetration ease and screen visibility in the dark. Extech feels better in the hand which is a silly reason to buy something that is used only periodically. Not so sure now that the price difference was worth it. Such is life.