if you are using a crimp on pl259 in a one time connection installation, 
that is, you put it on, and it never moves, never wiggles and you don't ever 
take it off, they're probably no different than soldered connections.
However, for anything where you are connecting and disconnecting allot, like 
with jumpers, or mobile installations, or portible installations, I've seen 
too many of the crimp on connectors just come right off...a soldered 
connection is mechanically more durable simply because you don't have the 
issue of expanding or contracting metal that will allow the connecter to 
come off...metal that is welded together will stay together much better than 
something crimped will.
That said, for electrical integrity, there is no difference, and you are 
right, a crimp on connecter will actually give the electrical connections 
more surface area etc than something soldered, at least with a pl259 type 
connector.  We use crimp on connecters in all our repeater installations and 
they work very well...but again, they are set and forget things.
a bad soldered pl259 is a bad connecter regardless...and a bad crimp on job 
is also not going to work very well.
Where I've seen the biggest issues with pl259's coming off the coax is on 
LMR400...for some reason they don't like to stay on very well...part of it 
is that the center conducter is so thick, that it doesn't allow a very good 
solid crimp on the center pin of the connecter.
RG58 stranded is probably the best with crimp ons, and the solid center 
conducter rg58 is also very good.

73
Colin, V A6BKX
--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2014 5:12 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: West Mountain Crimping Tool and Coax?

> I don't know, you ask different people and some say crimp is just as good 
> as
> solder for the power levels we run, almost all commercial radio
> installations use crimp connectors when it comes to 2-way. My personal
> opinion, I've come across some crap when it comes to connector installs 
> and
> I'll take a good crimp connector, which is very easy, any day over a crap
> soldered connector which is more common than ones done right. I've done 
> both
> and I don't see any quality difference. You have to figure, other than
> PL-259's, most other common connectors are either crimp, compression, the
> ones that screw together to clamp the shield, and you can't tell me that's
> any better or worse than crimp so I personally say the theory that 
> soldered
> is so much better is a bunch of crap. JMO but after seeing so much crap 
> work
> with soldered ones, no thanks I much prefer a well crimped one. I use both
> depending on what I have handy. Crimp isn't that much more expensive if 
> you
> know where to look, they used to be but I don't think that's as much the
> case as it used to be.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2014 12:45 AM
> Subject: Re: West Mountain Crimping Tool and Coax?
>
>
>> yup, but you have to use crimp on connecters which can be a pain and a 
>> bit
>> unreliable as compared with soldered coaxial connecters.
>> However, for a blind guy, they are great if you aren't comfortable with
>> soldering.
>> The different coax size dies make it a snap each time, and the crimping
>> tool
>> is ratcheted so it makes the crimping easy too.
>> Buy the cutting and stripping tool as well as this makes the entire
>> process
>> really simple.
>> It is set up to strip the outer jacket, and center conducter the precise
>> amount to fit into the pieces of the crimp on connecter.
>> A bit of out lay of cash for the entire kit, and the connecters aren't
>> cheap
>> either, but certainly the way to go if your not comfortable with
>> soldering.
>> 73
>> Colin, V A6BKX
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Dave Basden" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, June 06, 2014 6:47 PM
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: West Mountain Crimping Tool and Coax?
>>
>>> I saw a die set on the West Mountain Radio website that sounded like
>>> it makes the crimping tool work with various sizes of coax
>>> connectors.  Does anyone know anything about this?  If so, it would
>>> make doing coax connectors pretty easy.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Dave, W7OQ