As a follow up to my own question... after more research, it appears that with the stainless cinch rings you only need ONE tool for all size pipe/rings... is this correct? Any it appears that Lowes sells Vanguard cinch rings and all the fittings as well as cinch tool... so, I guess my big question is, is the connection made by a cinch ring as good as a connection made by a copper ring crimper? Are there any issues with the cinch style that would make me want to not use them?

I dont know if its after the fact but I personally prefer copper crimp rings. They are my choice as Ive done plumbing for over 10 yrs and have never had an issue with the copper crimp rings. I was able to buy a tool that does all 3 standard sizes for pex 1/2 3/4 and 1 inch online for about 50 dollars then. Now I think its a tad more. Im not crazy about a cinch type ring but thats just me..

The copper crimp rings are pure annealed copper and it is coded color for easy identification. The rings for PEX tubing are either solid black or copper colored with black "PEX" clearly on the side, while the rings for PB tubing are solid copper colored. The copper crimp rings are usually composed of copper, a soft metal that flexes and bends under ressure. Generally PEX clamps are constructed of stainless steel metal. But both rings require special tools for installation. The copper crimp rings is slightly easier to install than the stainless cinch rings. The stainless cinch rings system is slightly less expensive than the copper crimp ring system.