Yes, it is certainly clear to me that the problem is one of saying a specific competitor product is worse. Use the word "Fluke" and you're asking for attention.
However, if you were to make an indirect reference - one that 99% of people in the industry would immediately pick up on, without mentioning the actual name at all - I would think you might be safe.
There have been examples of corporate criticism from journalists attracting strong legal responses. I believe there was one example where IBM was the target with some critical, but restrained material. However, when IBM came down on them, the journalist switched to talking about a mythical "Big Blue". Readers who would have an interest in the subject matter would instantly recognise this reference. Of even more interest is, that because the reference was no longer directly mentioning IBM, the journalist was able to really let loose and carved into Big Blue - with absolutely no legal worries. As a result, "Big Blue" suffered far more than they would have if they had left the journalist alone.