I’m confused about the supposedly weaker strength of clip types links. I can’t think of any reason the side plates and the pins of the clip type link would be made of any weaker materials than the rest of the chain. As long as the clip remains in place to keep the link together, shouldn’t it be just as strong as the rest of the chain?I know I’ve said it before, but I like clip-type master links. In some applications they’re significantly weaker in tensile strength than the bulk chain, but that’s a non-issue on the NCX, IMO.
In any case, the chance of the master link actually breaking is not something I would ever worry about. The reliability of the retention methods of the various master link types would seem to be the only variable.