I've now been using the ZED R16 for almost a year to record classical orchestra and choir concerts on location. After an initial repair of the firewire board, it has been stable throughout all recording sessions. It is hooked up to a MacBook running BoomRecorder.
I had a case custom made in Germany which protects the mixer pretty well when transported. My stage hand had a back operation, so I now have to carry it by myself
however it is not really a problem for a couple of yards even up a flight of stairs.
I bought the R16 for the preamps and the converters, but I don't mind having an analog mixer - I found out that I prefer to use real faders and buttons rather than having to mess with software imitations for checking and testing. But I do like the on-screen meters which Boom Recorder displays; it makes up for the lack of a meter bridge.
The only wish I have would be balanced direct outs to hook up the backup recorder - I had to resort to special short cables to connect the channel inserts unbalanced which leaves me a bit worried. (There were no problems so far, probably due to the fact that the recorder is battery-powered.)