Yes I've used it and it works fine. I've used the "blue" traditional style for decades and this one generates a similarly effective suck. It seems the key is a snug fit of the rubber O-ring that slides in the cylinder. Or maybe I'm just lucky and got one with better matched parts; I'm trying to imagine if they do a suction test in production for this price.
One advantage of your style is you can cock it against the bench and then fire it with one hand...while the other hand holds the soldering iron. I remember marveling at re-work techs who had a high suck per minute rate using this technique. Though I think this is asking for a worker's comp claim for solder-elbow for the unusual arm twist motion to do this. 
Edit: oh, I didn't answer your question about the body. It's metal and I'm guessing aluminum based on a few places where the black paint has chipped off. I see no writing or brand name on it though.
