All my multipin stage snakes are W1. I have a Patchmaster in one rack, but also several fantails for other situations. I have 5 fans that are the same colors as the patchmaster and 5 matching colored boxes, plus another couple fans and boxes. I'm pretty well covered.
In my area, all the audio guys have W1's and the broadcasters have DT12, so I figured I should choose between those. DT12's are super durable, but they're also huge and I didn't want to deal with the size. I've built and used a lot of CPC's over the years and I knew I didn't want to go that route based on direct experience. CPC's just don't hold up, even with Ramtech shells and rings. LK37's are great, but absolutely nobody around here has them, and I've hardly seen any of them over the years. I haven't seen too many sound companies use DT12's, but there are a few out there. So I chose W1, and I don't regret it at all.
I prefer the Patchmaster to others because it's 1RU. You can squeeze CPC's into 1RU with just a little overlap from the ring, but otherwise I think Whirlwind is the only choice for a 1RU size connector. I was a little hesitant to go with W1's based on what people said about durability, but I realized I'd been using other companies W1's for years and never really had issues. True, W1's are a bit of a pain to work on, but they're really not that bad and they don't need work all that often. Mine have held up very well, as have others that I know of around here. It's also nice to know that when I take another company's rig out that my snakes will plug right in, or in the unlikely event that I need more cable for a show that I have several local sources for it.
