Review on TrueCABLE Cat6A Riser (CMR) Computer Accessories & Peripherals by Tom Roberts

I teach computer networking in a program that requires students to make their own ethernet cables and do their own runs each semester. We still tend to use Cat5e just because it's economical and easy to use for beginners, but sometimes we plug in and use Cat6 when it's available. I figured Cat6a would be no different than 6 so I decided to protect my home a bit by purchasing this product for a home project I am working on. This Cat6A material is a whole different beast if you're used to working with Cat5e or Cat6. The cable is THICK, like a thick RG6 coaxial cable. I was worried my Cat 6 connectors I had on hand wouldn't work, so I decided to stop rolling. I had to manually reduce the tension on my cable tweezers because they didn't open enough for this cable. The color scheme of the cable isn't the worst I've seen, but it's also not the clearest in terms of white versus solid color separation and which white is for which couple. The cables themselves are pretty close to Category 6, meaning they're a lot heavier than a typical Cat5e. I could barely fit the wires into my Category 6 3 piece RJ45 jack and had to pinch, smash and otherwise force the cable jacket into the RJ45 (even after cutting out the center shield). I'm not sure if this is just an issue with this particular product or if all Cat6a cables are made to this standard, but I'll warn you right away that you'll need at least a decent amount of practice to work with it. I can usually do a three part termination on Cat5e in about a minute to a minute and a half, it took about 3-4 minutes so it takes a bit longer than you're used to if you tend to work with older and cheaper standards.