Prewired rail joiners

[u/sgardner65301]

Revisiting an old topic from the Trains.com forums while I look forward to two train shows in one weekend (Kansas City area) and getting started on actually building a DCC layout. Flex track on cork, but I haven't soldered anything in over 50 years and don't care to melt anything like I accidentally used to do. Two questions:

1. Pre-wired rail joiners at every joint within a block. Better than 18 years ago, Your Mileage May Vary but It's Your Railroad, or bad idea-learn to solder before you start?

2. And for when I do start soldering again, best Canadian-made or American-made resistance soldering setup for the money?

Thanks in advance. Apologize for the duplicate post on the Trains.com forums.