This is what I am finding works best for me, too.
contact detach is a great set, which basically never kinks. you keep the metal in, feel nothing and are free of worries. in my 10 years with that set i had 1 kinked cannula so far.
with other ones i would always get kinked ones.
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First time āluck,ā perhaps? Iāve been using the same sets you are, and have had kinked or bent sets at most three times in a year - one failed immediately, another worked for half a day, then my BG started rising - I noticed it was bent when I removed it.
Iām glad that Tandem helped you change the set without losing the cartridge and insulin. I do that with my pump (Animas Vibe), despite strong warnings that it is ānot recommendedā from Animas. I told the last Animas CDE that I spoke to about it that this is a result of the ābad habitsā I learned from using the Asante Snap - which packaged sets half with/half without tubing on the advice that changing sets will happen more frequently than changing cartridges. Worked great for me with the Snap, and so far, works just fine for me with the Vibe, despite their displeasure at the concept!
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Just another tip, when changing the cartridge, you can suck the insulin out of the old one. I just stick the needle in the fill spot of the old cartridge and draw out the left overs.
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I have always done this, except for one time early on, when I had a sample set with some sort of injector. OMG, it was so hard to use, I think I just threw it away and never looked back.
I canāt give you much on the whole stretch mark thing ā¦ itās kinda out of my experience range, lol!
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Iāll avoid comment on the stretch mark thingā¦ 
As to injectorsā¦ well, some of us have serious issues with needles that the inserters help alleviate. No reason to stop those that donāt from skipping the āassist,ā though. Meanwhile, I have to pause and collect myself every timeā¦ shudder
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You should congratulate yourself for catching that bent cannula like a pro! And it was your first set insertion. Iām impressed. When things go well, itās not so hard. Catching a bad or ineffective site before it gets serious is something that usually takes more pump experience. You saved yourself from what could have developed into an emergent situation fairly quickly. Good job!
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When I was first diagnosed 33 years ago, it took me 45 minutes to do the first injectionā¦ I know whereof you speak when it comes to needles. The question for me becomes which is more importantānot seeing the needle go in or having more control over where and how the insertion happens. I have a feeling I am a bit of a ācontrol meisterā 
Thank you, @Terry4 I do my best to be a lifelong learner and listen carefully enough to be able to extrapolate intuitively. I am not, for the most part, a logical person (that would be my husband, the software engineer 
) but I have refined my ability to troubleshoot by intuiting what to do one step at a time.
And, again, it helps me to have context, and I am reassured by your kind comment 
Exactly, this, and I think I am following in your footsteps. If the injector doesnāt make it easier for me, then I have no use for it