Solid or stranded, shielded or not, and whether a load bar is in the packet

The best RJ45 connectors for 2026

A plug is a small object with an expensive failure mode, and two lines on the packet decide most of it. The first is what the plug is made to grip: solid or stranded conductors. Contacts intended for solid core straddle the conductor, while those made for stranded pierce it, and the wrong pairing produces a link that works on a bench and fails as soon as the cable is moved. Some plugs are marked for both. The second is the category the plug is specified to — Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a — together with the conductor diameter and the outside diameter it accepts, since Cat 6a cable is fatter than the plug bodies made for thinner stock. The third question is shielding: a screened plug has a metal body that must bond to the cable screen, and fitting one to unscreened cable achieves nothing whatever. Then the construction that decides whether a person can actually crimp them. A load bar is a small insert that lines the eight conductors up before they enter the plug, and on the larger categories it is close to essential. Pass-through plugs let the conductors out of the front so the order can be checked, and are trimmed flush by a tool made for them — an ordinary crimping tool will leave them proud. Boots are usually a separate item, and a boot fitted after the crimp is a boot that never goes on. We compare category rating, solid or stranded compatibility, shielded or unshielded, accepted conductor and cable diameter, load bar presence, pass-through or standard body and pack quantity.

The ones worth keeping in the drawer

1. 

   deleyCON Cat 6a IDC plug, solid conductors AWG 22-25, pack of 4

   A plug that needs no crimping tool at all, closed onto an insulation-displacement strip by hand — and one that publishes its conductor window as solid core only, which rules out every stranded patch lead.

   Category rating

   Cat 6a — stated in the title, with transmission to 10 Gbit/s and 500 MHz in the fifth bullet. Two standards are named in the first bullet, ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA568-C2

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Solid only — stated in the second bullet as solid or full conductor at AWG 22 to 25, for rigid installation cable. Stranded conductors are never offered, and the fourth bullet lists only installation cable among the categories it suits

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the title and in the first bullet. Nothing describes how the body bonds to the cable screen

   Accepted conductor diameter

   AWG 22 to 25 — stated in the second bullet as the conductor window. No figure in millimetres appears beside it, so a cable that publishes only a diameter has to be converted before it can be checked

   Accepted cable diameter

   Not published on the listing — the outside diameter of the sheath is never given, on a plug whose body has to close around it. A strain-relief boot is named instead

   Load bar presence

   Not published on the listing — the third bullet describes snap-in technology in which the conductors are pressed onto the insulation-displacement strip as the plug is closed. No separate lacing insert is named

   Pass-through or standard body

   Neither — this is a field-terminated insulation-displacement plug, stated in the first bullet as needing no crimping tool. Nothing describes conductors emerging at the front, and nothing describes a crimp

   Pack quantity

   Four — stated in the title

   Amazon reference

   B089T6TPSC (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4250580147961

   • Terminated with no crimping tool, which removes the one purchase that stops most people making a lead
   • Names two standards rather than a category on its own
   • Solid conductors only, so it will not finish a stranded patch lead

   Best for: A repair or an extension on a fixed run of solid installation cable, made by hand at the point where the cable comes out of the wall.

   ≈ 12 €

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2. 

   VESVITO Cat 6 STP crimp plug, AWG 24-27, conductors 0.9-1.1 mm, pack of 20

   A shielded crimp plug that gives its conductor window in millimetres as well as in gauge, takes solid or flexible conductors alike, and states in capitals that it is not for Cat 7 or Cat 7A installation cable.

   Category rating

   Cat 6 — stated in the title and the first bullet. The second bullet extends the cables it will terminate to Cat 5e and Cat 6A network, installation and patch cable at AWG 24 to 27, and to Cat 7 patch cable at AWG 27

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Both — stated at the end of the second bullet as suitable for rigid or flexible conductors

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the title and the first bullet, with gold-plated contacts and a grey boot. The second bullet says it will terminate screened or unscreened cable

   Accepted conductor diameter

   0.9 to 1.1 mm over the insulation, AWG 24 to 27 — both stated in the second bullet. It is one of only two plugs on this shelf to publish a conductor diameter in millimetres

   Accepted cable diameter

   Not published on the listing — the outside diameter of the sheath never appears, although the boot supplied has to pass over it

   Load bar presence

   Supplied — an insertion guide is included with every plug, twenty in the pack, and the first bullet names it as what makes assembly easier

   Pass-through or standard body

   Standard — the plug is named as a crimp connector throughout, and nothing describes conductors leaving the front of the body

   Pack quantity

   Twenty plugs, twenty insertion guides and twenty boots — stated in the fourth bullet as the contents of the packet

   Amazon reference

   B07CZJYPXB (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0725084085537

   • Publishes a conductor diameter in millimetres, which only one other plug on this shelf does
   • States plainly what it is not for, in capitals, rather than leaving the buyer to find out
   • No outside diameter, so the sheath has to be measured by hand before ordering

   Best for: Making up screened leads from Cat 6 or Cat 6A stock where the conductor diameter has been read off the cable and checked against the packet.

   ≈ 14 €

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3. 

   Cable Matters Cat 6 pass-through plug, 23-26 AWG, conductors 0.97-1.07 mm, cable to 5.8 mm, pack of 100

   The only plug on this shelf that publishes both a conductor diameter and an outside diameter in millimetres, and the only one that says outright it is for unshielded cable — with a title and a bullet that disagree about stranded.

   Category rating

   Cat 6 — stated in the title and the first bullet, rated in the third for a gigabit Ethernet channel and described as backwards compatible with Cat 5e

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Both, in the bullets — the second states that the plug terminates solid or stranded cable with a three-point contact. The title says it is for solid wire, so the page carries two answers; the wider one is the maker’s own and is reported here with the difference noted

   Shielded or unshielded

   Unshielded — stated in the first bullet, which says the plug terminates unshielded twisted-pair cable. It is the only plug on this shelf to state a screening answer of either kind rather than claiming a screen

   Accepted conductor diameter

   0.97 to 1.07 mm over the insulation, 23 to 26 AWG — both stated in the first bullet. It is one of only two plugs here to publish a millimetre figure for the conductor

   Accepted cable diameter

   Up to 5.8 mm outside diameter — stated in the first bullet. It is the tightest of the three outside limits published on this shelf

   Load bar presence

   Not published on the listing — the second bullet describes feeding the wires through openings in the pass-through body instead, which is the function a load bar performs on a standard plug

   Pass-through or standard body

   Pass-through — stated in the title and in the first two bullets, with the conductors fed through the front and the plug crimped afterwards

   Pack quantity

   One hundred — stated in the title and the fourth bullet, supplied in a screw-top storage tub with a moulded handle

   Amazon reference

   B07PXMN2VK (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0818707025734

   • Both diameters are published in millimetres, which no other plug on this shelf manages
   • States that it is for unshielded cable instead of leaving the screening question open
   • The title says solid wire and the second bullet says solid or stranded, which is a page arguing with itself

   Best for: A large run of leads made from unshielded Cat 6 stock, by someone who already owns a tool that trims pass-through plugs.

   ≈ $18 / £11 / 16 €

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4. 

   Mr. Tronic Cat 6 STP crimp plug, 8P8C, pack of 100

   The emptiest listing on this shelf: a hundred shielded Cat 6 plugs described across five bullets that never once give a gauge, a diameter or a conductor construction — the three things that decide whether a plug fits a cable.

   Category rating

   Cat 6 — stated in the title and in four bullets, with Cat 5 named in the third among the cables it is offered for. No frequency and no standards reference appear

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Not published on the listing — neither construction is named anywhere in the title or the five bullets, on a plug offered for patch cable and for ADSL and modem leads in the same sentence

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the title as Cat6 STP. The bullets never return to it, and nothing describes how the body meets the cable screen

   Accepted conductor diameter

   Not published on the listing — no gauge and no millimetre figure appears. It is the only plug on this shelf with neither

   Accepted cable diameter

   Not published on the listing — the outside diameter is never given, and the bullets describe the plugs as durable and low-loss instead

   Load bar presence

   Not published on the listing — the second bullet says the wires are passed through the plug and clamped, and no insert of any kind is named

   Pass-through or standard body

   Not published on the listing — the second bullet describes feeding the wires through the plug, which is how a pass-through body is normally described, but the term never appears and nothing says the conductors are trimmed flush at the front. The plug is called a crimp connector throughout

   Pack quantity

   One hundred — stated in the title and in the fifth bullet

   Amazon reference

   B0859HVTJV (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   8437018037872

   • A hundred shielded plugs is a quantity that covers a whole installation with spares
   • The 8P8C position count is printed, which two listings on this shelf leave out
   • No gauge and no diameter of any kind, so the cable cannot be matched before ordering

   Best for: A buyer who already knows this plug fits the cable in front of them, and is reordering rather than choosing.

   ≈ 22 €

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5. 

   ARLI Crimp plug for installation cable to AWG23, five categories named, pack of 100

   The plug on this shelf with the longest list of cable categories, including the only mention of Cat 8.1, published for installation cable up to AWG23 — and one that never uses the words solid or stranded.

   Category rating

   No single rating is assigned to the plug itself. The first bullet names the cables it supports instead: Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat 7, Cat 7a and Cat 8.1. It is the only listing on this shelf to name Cat 8.1

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Not published on the listing — neither word appears. What the first bullet names instead is a cable type, installation cable, which is a use rather than a conductor construction, and the page never says which construction the contacts are cut for

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the second bullet, which names a screened construction with gold-plated contacts and credits both with consistent data transmission

   Accepted conductor diameter

   Up to AWG23 — stated in the first bullet as the ceiling for the installation cable it is compatible with. No lower limit is given, and no millimetre figure appears

   Accepted cable diameter

   Not published on the listing — the outside diameter never appears, although a boot and a metal strain relief both have to pass over the sheath

   Load bar presence

   Supplied — an insertion guide is included with every plug, named in the fourth and fifth bullets as part of what arrives in each polythene bag alongside the plug and the boot

   Pass-through or standard body

   Standard — the fourth bullet describes installation with a crimping tool, and nothing on the page describes conductors leaving the front of the body or being trimmed flush

   Pack quantity

   One hundred — stated in the title and in the fifth bullet, each plug bagged with its strain relief, insertion guide and boot

   Amazon reference

   B073XRKW1D (same reference on 3 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4260624572079

   • The gauge ceiling is published, and it is the one that suits the AWG23 installation cable sold on this site
   • Every plug arrives with its own insertion guide and boot rather than needing them ordered separately
   • Solid or stranded is never written, so the commonest mismatch on this shelf cannot be checked

   Best for: Terminating fixed runs of thick installation cable, where the AWG23 ceiling is the number that had to be matched.

   ≈ 30 €

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6. 

   DIGITUS Cat 6A field-terminated plug, AWG 27/7 to 22/1, cable 5.0-9.0 mm, pack of 10

   The plug here with the widest published sheath window, 5.0 to 9.0 mm, terminated without tools onto solid or stranded conductors alike — and the only one on this shelf to publish an operating temperature range.

   Category rating

   Cat 6A — stated in the title and the first bullet, with transmission to 10 Gigabit per second and suitability for PoE applications up to PoE+, named as IEEE802.3at

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Both — stated in the second bullet as a toolless termination for solid and stranded conductors, colour-coded to EIA/TIA 568 A and B. The gauge notation carries the same answer: the suffix on 27/7 is a stranded bundle and the suffix on 22/1 a single core

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the fifth bullet, which names a nickel-plated zinc die-cast metal housing with strain relief and cable fixing providing a 360-degree screen

   Accepted conductor diameter

   AWG 27/7 to 22/1 — stated in the second bullet. The window covers stranded and solid at once because the figure after each stroke is the conductor count. No millimetre figure is given for the conductor itself

   Accepted cable diameter

   5.0 to 9.0 mm — stated in the fourth bullet as the sheath diameters the plug will take. It is the widest of the three outside-diameter windows published on this shelf

   Load bar presence

   Not published on the listing — the second bullet describes a toolless termination with the conductors laid to a printed colour order, and names no separate lacing insert

   Pass-through or standard body

   Neither — the first and third bullets call it a field-terminated plug, assembled without tools for repair, maintenance or joining two installation cables. Nothing describes a crimp, and nothing describes conductors leaving the front

   Pack quantity

   Ten — stated in the title

   Amazon reference

   B0CX23DJ6R (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4016032495116

   • Publishes both conductor constructions and both gauge ends in one notation
   • The sheath window is the widest here, and it is the dimension most plugs leave out
   • Ten plugs at this price is the dearest per end on the shelf after one outlier

   Best for: A repair or a joint on an existing run, where the plug has to go on in place and the cable might be either construction.

   ≈ $52 / £35 / 31 €

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7. 

   BIGtec Hirose TM31 plug, Cat 6a to 500 MHz, AWG 24-27, cable 6.6 mm, pack of 100

   The only plug on this shelf identified by its own manufacturer and part reference rather than by a house name, published at a single sheath diameter of 6.6 mm and stated outright as not for flat ribbon cable.

   Category rating

   Cat 6a to 500 MHz — stated in the second bullet, with Cat 6, 6a and 7 cable named in the title. ISO/IEC 11801 is named in the third bullet, together with PoE conformity to 802.3af and use in 10 Gigabit networks

   Solid or stranded compatibility

   Not published on the listing — the gauge window is written as AWG 24-27 without the conductor-count suffix that would carry the answer, and neither construction is named in the five bullets

   Shielded or unshielded

   Shielded — stated in the third bullet, with gold-plated contacts named alongside

   Accepted conductor diameter

   AWG 24-27 — stated in the title and again in the second bullet. No millimetre figure is given for the conductor

   Accepted cable diameter

   6.6 mm — stated in the second bullet as a single figure rather than a range. It is the only outside diameter on this shelf quoted without a tolerance either side of it

   Load bar presence

   Supplied — the first bullet lists an insertion guide with the plug and the boot, as the three things in the packet

   Pass-through or standard body

   Standard — the plug is identified as a Hirose TM31 and nothing on the page describes conductors emerging at the front or being trimmed flush

   Pack quantity

   One hundred — stated in the title

   Amazon reference

   B01LYUHUOK (same reference on 2 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4051687021129

   • The plug is identified by its own maker and part reference, which nothing else here does
   • States what it will not take — flat ribbon cable — rather than leaving the shape unmentioned
   • Solid or stranded is not stated, and the gauge notation carries no suffix to imply it

   Best for: Round screened cable of a known diameter, where the plug reference itself is what has to be matched to an existing installation.

   ≈ 92 €

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