I ride mostly Campagnolo drivetrains with Shimano chains. Best chains in terms of longevity and shift quality.

Use the supplied Shimano pin, as far as strength, a much superior solution to quick links. Shops despise Shimano chains, because they take a extra 60 seconds to install, and you have to read the included instructions, clearly beyond your standard shop mechanic.

I've heard that Shimano has caved-in to misguided customer and shop pressure, and for 11-speed chains has gone to a quick link system.

Normally, Shimano is a rational engineering-based firm that gets dragged into dumb things when forced to by external irrationalities. For example, stupidity like 1 x drivetrains, 11 speeds (now 12 speeds? Seriously? ) etc.