So our React site is fairly static, but as it grew we had more and more state to manage across components, and more of it trickling down; in some cases state would come from fairly high up in the structure, and have to be ingested pretty far down the component chain.

So as I read the React docs, I discovered childContext, and I started using it. Some of my coworkers would stick to passing props along 2 or 3 or 4 layers down, because every time I'd point childContext to them, they'd point to the part in the docs where it says it's experimental tech and that it could be removed in the future. I'd point out that the React devs have a very sane code-breaking policy and we'd just cross that road when we'd get there. It's not like we're aggressively updating to the latest release anyway. Some other people would suggest using Redux, but would agree with me that we just didn't manage _that much_ state.

(We also have a React Native app, and as we manage more state in there, we did implement Redux, though it still bothers me as a tech.)

Anyway, fast forward to last month, where I read Abramov explain that Redux actually uses childContext!! So:

1) there's no way they'd just rip it out of React without warning,

2) if childContext works for you, don't worry about the complexity of Redux, just pass down state and a few state-modifying functions in childContext!