About a year ago, I stained my deck using Defy clear wood stain and the results after a year are so-so. The vertical surfaces have held their color well, but the surfaces bearing the direct sunlight have grayed a bit more than I expected. In it's defense it has held its color _much_ better than my two neighbors whom did not stain their deck at all, but I expected better.
Consumer reports did a article on deck stains and I searched around for it, but I can't seem to locate it. Wife must have filed it in one of her special spots.
I just put an addition on my deck and reconfigured the railing system on the old deck. Reusing all the wood that I could, I have a mix of old (clear stained) wood and new. I plan to clean/strip the deck and stain it all again. I will go with something a wee bit darker this time to hide the graying from the beating from the sun. I too am not sure of the product I will use yet. If I can ever find that CR, I may go with the recommended product.