Red Snappers, Leadergrips, and Mondo clips all work on the same basic principle. I've heard the same comment about all of them being kind of tight at first.
I bought a set of Red Snappers for half price from someone who decided she'd rather use zippers. A year later I bought another used set and sent it to my friend in Michigan.
Do some research into what product you think you'd like best, then look around in your local quilting community, you might find someone who's selling theirs cheap (and already broken in!).
