[swah]

Why not buy only 100W power and data cables?

[brookst]

I did that. I regret it. All of my cables are thick and have a large bend radius.

[crooked-v]

That would be USB4 cables. They do have the problem of being awkwardly thick and stiff if you're using them for a lot of things.

[swah]

That tells me my 100W cables must be around half that power then! I have no thick tables other than the USB (Thunderbolt?) one from the Dell dock.

[rescbr]

And then there are the crappy devices that aren't compliant with USB PD and only charge with a USB-C to USB-A cable.

[zamadatix]

My thin ones are crap but convenient, thick ones are good but... thick. Gets me by without much effort.

[ludwigschubert]

Thickness, and also cost.

[throwaway219450]

Cost, really? A 2m USB4 cable from Belkin is $20 (eg INZ004bt2MBK). You don't save much going to 4 ft, sadly.

I find their cables to be pretty good (the TB5/USB4). They're certainly cheaper than Apple's. They have a soft rubber coating (not quite silicone) and a good bend radius. Compare to the super-stiff (but good) cables that Dell provide with their monitors.

[ssl-3]

Cost, really.

I buy USB C cables cheap. The last batch were Anker B8752, came in packs of 2, were bought online as clearance items from Menards. They were delivered for free to the store that I drive past twice on most days. They work fine; no complaints.

With tax, the individual cables were $0.55 each. I can afford to stock up on cables at that price, use them whimsically, cut them up for projects, and give them away to anyone when that seems useful. I don't miss them when they get lost; I just get another one. I don't have to decide between buying a decent dinner or traveling with spares; I can just toss some into my bag.

Meanwhile: I can't afford to do those things with cables that are $20 each. That's a vastly different value proposition. If I had $20 USB C cables instead, I'd guard them the same as I do the twenty-dollar bills in my wallet.

[throwaway219450]

Arguably these are different use cases. Cheap fast-charge cables are usually limited to full speed only (linked ones included). For that reason they don’t meet my criteria, as you can’t interchange the charging cable for a data transfer cable.

I’m not advocating using USB4 cable for everything, but I also don’t want to bother testing cables when I can buy a reliably good one for twenty bucks. I’m sure a cheaper equivalent exists.

[ssl-3]

I hate every part of the concept of testing cables to find ones that work for [insert purpose].

But I love the liberty to use inexpensive not-quite-universal cables with great freedom more than I hate the former.

So since I need a bunch of USB C cables in my life, and I love using them freely, then I'm left with the following optimization: Special cables for special purposes, cheap cables for everything else, and testing them when necessary.

It's not perfect, but pragmatism seldom is. :)