barrel jack - how to make it last?

[ardgedee]

But you'd also think that a jack that is rated for more operations would also be made with more robust materials, tighter engineering etc, and would be more rugged and stand up to the knocks a bit more. But yeah, barrel side-jacks of all types are notoriously unreliable.

Durability as an installed unit is something the socket maker can't make reliable claims about, since they have no control over how their parts are installed. Personally I think I'd rather have a jack that pops out relatively easily rather than one that has the potential to maul the guitar badly. Though if I was the overlord of music electronics, I'd make everyone use a connection method that lowers the risk of either.