diff --git a/src/clj/com/rpl/specter.clj b/src/clj/com/rpl/specter.clj
index a89fc23..9c627cd 100644
--- a/src/clj/com/rpl/specter.clj
+++ b/src/clj/com/rpl/specter.clj
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 (defn select
   "Navigates to and returns a sequence of all the elements specified by the selector."
   [selector structure]
-  (compiled-select (comp-paths* selector)
+  (compiled-select (comp-unoptimal selector)
                    structure))
 
 (defn compiled-select-one
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 (defn select-one
   "Like select, but returns either one element or nil. Throws exception if multiple elements found"
   [selector structure]
-  (compiled-select-one (comp-paths* selector) structure))
+  (compiled-select-one (comp-unoptimal selector) structure))
 
 (defn compiled-select-one!
   "Version of select-one! that takes in a selector pre-compiled with comp-paths"
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
 (defn select-one!
   "Returns exactly one element, throws exception if zero or multiple elements found"
   [selector structure]
-  (compiled-select-one! (comp-paths* selector) structure))
+  (compiled-select-one! (comp-unoptimal selector) structure))
 
 (defn compiled-select-first
   "Version of select-first that takes in a selector pre-compiled with comp-paths"
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
 (defn select-first
   "Returns first element found. Not any more efficient than select, just a convenience"
   [selector structure]
-  (compiled-select-first (comp-paths* selector) structure))
+  (compiled-select-first (comp-unoptimal selector) structure))
 
 ;; Update functions
 
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
   "Navigates to each value specified by the selector and replaces it by the result of running
   the update-fn on it"
   [selector update-fn structure]
-  (compiled-update (comp-paths* selector) update-fn structure))
+  (compiled-update (comp-unoptimal selector) update-fn structure))
 
 (defn compiled-setval
   "Version of setval that takes in a selector pre-compiled with comp-paths"
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@
 (defn setval
   "Navigates to each value specified by the selector and replaces it by val"
   [selector val structure]
-  (compiled-setval (comp-paths* selector) val structure))
+  (compiled-setval (comp-unoptimal selector) val structure))
 
 (defn compiled-replace-in
   "Version of replace-in that takes in a selector pre-compiled with comp-paths"
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
    in the final return. replace-in is useful for situations where you need to know the specific values
    of what was updated in the data structure."
   [selector update-fn structure & {:keys [merge-fn] :or {merge-fn concat}}]
-  (compiled-replace-in (comp-paths* selector) update-fn structure :merge-fn merge-fn))
+  (compiled-replace-in (comp-unoptimal selector) update-fn structure :merge-fn merge-fn))
 
 ;; Built-in pathing and context operations
 
diff --git a/src/clj/com/rpl/specter/impl.clj b/src/clj/com/rpl/specter/impl.clj
index cfd2be6..d1c44c7 100644
--- a/src/clj/com/rpl/specter/impl.clj
+++ b/src/clj/com/rpl/specter/impl.clj
@@ -95,6 +95,18 @@
         (updater this structure next-fn))
     )))
 
+(defn coerce-structure-path-direct [this]
+  (let [pimpl (find-protocol-impl! StructurePath this)
+        selector (:select* pimpl)
+        updater (:update* pimpl)]
+    (->TransformFunctions
+      StructureValsPathExecutor
+      (fn [vals structure next-fn]
+        (selector this structure (fn [structure] (next-fn vals structure))))
+      (fn [vals structure next-fn]
+        (updater this structure (fn [structure] (next-fn vals structure))))
+    )))
+
 (defn obj-extends? [prot obj]
   (->> obj (find-protocol-impl prot) nil? not))
 
@@ -149,11 +161,8 @@
              all)))
 
 (defn coerce-structure-vals [^TransformFunctions tfns]
-  (condp = (extype tfns)
-    :svalspath
+  (if (= (extype tfns) :svalspath)
     tfns
-
-    :spath
     (let [selector (.selector tfns)
           updater (.updater tfns)]
       (->TransformFunctions
@@ -182,6 +191,24 @@
              combine-same-types)
         ))))
 
+(defn coerce-structure-vals-direct [this]
+  (cond (obj-extends? StructurePath this) (coerce-structure-path-direct this)
+        (obj-extends? Collector this) (coerce-collector this)
+        (obj-extends? StructureValsPath this) (coerce-structure-vals-path this)
+        (instance? TransformFunctions this) this
+        :else (throw-illegal (no-prot-error-str this))
+  ))
+
+;;this composes paths together much faster than comp-paths* but the resulting composition 
+;;won't execute as fast. Useful for when select/update are used without pre-compiled paths
+;;(where cost of compiling dominates execution time)
+(defn comp-unoptimal [sp]
+  (if (instance? java.util.List sp)
+    (->> sp
+         (map (fn [p] (-> p coerce-structure-vals-direct)))
+         combine-same-types)    
+    (coerce-path sp)))
+
 ;; cell implementation idea taken from prismatic schema library
 (definterface PMutableCell
   (get_cell ^Object [])