I messed with Sram quick links for a couple of years, 8 and 9 speed. Sometimes they'd pop right off, sometimes it was an ordeal. I bought one of the tools and haven't looked back. People keep saying they don't use them and can get the links off no problem, but I don't care, the tool was cheap, I've used it many times, and it just makes the job easy. Right tool for the right job.