These are well made. They were a better bargain at $2.99 back in April of this year.
Is there really a watt rating on USB-C cables? I thought they were all the same?
Yes, the conductors in many USB cables are only made with a relatively lightweight gauge of wire, which is not always safe for carrying higher voltages, or at higher amperage… If you have ever felt a phone or tablet get warm from charging, it is the same concept that high charge or discharge of current can cause heat as it meets resistance in a cable, port, connector. Ideally, most of the basic cables will handle simple “fast charging” fine, down around 15-20W (5V x 4A). But pushing more current can cause heat, melting, or even fires. Think of it like a smaller garden hose, which could be forced to carry a lot more water than is typical, but it could burst. Or catch fire, in this case.
However, the ratings provided are also not a complete guarantee on cable quality - Some manufacturers want to sell more of a product, or at a higher price, so they say something like 100W, but don’t make it obvious that it’s only meant to do that for a minute or two at a time.
Please be careful when trying to use high wattage chargers with cables that are not explicitly designed for that use case. I may just be some curmudgeon on the Internet, but I have worked with the electrical design of battery management systems for lithium ion banks for large scale use, and I am only sharing this with the hope that folks don’t end up being one of those terrible news stories about a house fire, or a burn victim, or whatever else - I’ve seen and helped triage the aftermath of that before, and I wouldn’t wish it on pretty much anyone.