I have one of these, and am a "strapping" 44yo male (if one wants to consider age/gender/strength regarding need for this). Yes, the price is a bit steep and I struggled to place the order, but haven't regretted it at all - the flat face couplings on my grapple will go on by hand every once in a while, but most of the time I use the x-boom. It still requires some effort at times with the clamp, but far easier than by hand.
It may be cheaper to get one of the Waite tools to remove pressure, but they're still expensive and I personally figured i may still want/need something to help make the connection.