I just fitted a new 1/8 chain which came with a very simple to sue quick link. Not a type I've used before. It went on very easily.

In the past, I have mainly but not always used the chain tool to push a pin most of the way out. It's fairly quick and easy, and as long as you use the tool correctly to ensure the link moves freely when it's back in place, it works fine.

If you have the proper pliers to remove a quick link, it is undoubtedly faster. I finally succumbed and bought a pair last week. There are ways and means without the special pliers, but they are all fiddly and slow.

My one doubt about the various types of quick link is the way they insist you should use a new one every time. That sounds like lawyers writing the advertising copy to me. I can only report that I've reused them and I've never had a problem.

Old style connecting links for 1/8 chains used to come in 3 parts, the 3rd being a sort of elongated circlip. They were "unidirectional" in the sense that it is good practice to insert them with the closed end of the "circlip" facing the direction that the chain moves. This removes the largely theoretical risk of the circlip catching against something and pinging off.