CABLE CONFUSION?- Does a $160.00 guitar cord sound better ??? ...a must read!!!

 WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM A CABLE  ???  

ROBUST is a MUST

Well first it is a total waste of money to buy an entry level one. The jack plugs can easily break and it will have cheap shielding. The shielding is a wire mesh that is wrapped around the hot wire. The hot wire acts like an ariel and picks up all kinds of signals in the air that presents itself has hum.
If the guitar cables is noticeable a little fatter you can be reasonably assured the shielding is adequate.
As for the jacks if they are any 'brand name' they are probably robust. Fortunately this is all visual.
Just have a good look for some thickness to the thing. Better still many cables now include a Lifetime warranty against breakage.

WHAT ABOUT SOUND?
Sound quality is really how little capacitance a cable has. In short a cable can not 'ADD' to the sound it can only suck up the highs.
One average Brand Name Cable in a 10 foot length is pretty well the same as the next.

Nevin Douglas of the 12th Fret does a detailed analysis. Check it out if you want all the chapter and verse.
According to Nevin there are a few winners.

Like the under $10.00 Elixir cable.

$20.00 USD

Ignore the Atlantic Quality Zerocap ...it has a Buffer built into it. In short it is active.You can buy a cheap buffer pedal if you want to go that route the Mosky is only $20.00 USD.
It will do a very nice job.

One cool thing though is the Waves Cable Station cables. They are a solderless Kit cable. The custom cable makers despise them. No wonder! They prove that solderless cables are just as good. LOL

Now lets get into the REAL WORLD. Even one half decent pedal and more than 10 feet of cable will suck up the high end. LOL
If like me you have learned to hate noise and are using a noise gate anything better then an average brand name is a waste of money.
What about Gold Tip cables? Zero for sound except they take longer to tarnish. All cables oxidize over time. They can be easily polished up with a bit of emery cloth. Once a year is fine.
Gold does nothing for the sound. They are basically B.S.

  PEDAL BOARD FRIENDLY JACK PLUGS  

I have found that the cheap HOSA very short $5.00 pedal patch cables with the pancake mono plugs are ideal for a pedal board. On a pedal board you want as little protrusion of the jak as possible and they have as good as it gets. Unfortunately they are very wide and can bump into the inputs for other cables on your pedals so on those the smallest wireless are often needed.
Where Possible the solderless DIY jobbies are the way to go.

As for solderless they are never cheap. BUT!
I have found the Protaitone 
10X Solderless Mono Plug  very promising. At $25.50 USD for a pkg. of ten. That works out to only $2.50 a pop. This price smokes the competition.You have to get them on-line from Protaitone on AliExpress. Shipping is Free.
Robust ...not to chubby and not nano therefore not fiddly to assemble.
TIP
You will need some cable. Yes?
It is often cheaper to buy a 20 foot long standard guitar cord
and cut off the plugs then to buy raw cable,
Make sure it does not have an oversize covering and can not fit into the solderless plugs.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY?

-A brand Name on Sale.
-A brand Name cable you like because it comes
  in a cool colour or with a equally cool fabric cover.