Tony,
I like the distel as a cross-over from the TL or Blakes to the "advanced" hitches. One thing I found frustrating was finding a cord that was compatible with the hitch and climbing line. If you have ready access to a store with different cords, buy small lengths of several types and see how they work. I don't have that kind of access and finally ended up with 8mm PMI pumpkin line. It works OK with my Sampson Blue Streak.
Whatever you decide I found this really helpful. It was posted by AxMan at Tree Buss. I was uncomfortable laying into my system adn hoping the hitch would grab. Sometimes they did, sometimes not. Try this instead. My hitch is on the right leg of my system. I use my left hand to pull slack out of the system and set the hitch (ie. see if it grabs), then sit into my system while releasing slack with my left hand--thereby avoiding the butt puckering "sit and see" approach.
I don't know what Murphy's talking about with spliced ends making advanced hitches more efficient. That may be true, but I'm not convinced. One thing though, tying double fisherman's on the cord will allow you to adjust the length of the cord to your preferance. I found that helpful. Unless you know how to splice you'll be stuck with a certain length.
Good luck,
BAB