Braided Stainless Steel vs. PEX to appliance?

Hi,

To allow for a little wiggle room, I've connected my water softener to the supply/distribution of my house with an 18" long - 3/4" diameter braided stainless steel "Water Heater Supply Line" from a big box store. But, there are some horror stories online of these things rupturing. Would it necessarily be better for me to switch to PEX, (which would still allow some wiggle room)?
Opinions and experiences appreciated.

Thanks
Theodore

 

If you want some flex, get good high ID corrugated stainless.

Pex gives a little flex, but probably not nearly what you expect if you have not worked with PEX before. In particular, don't line your softener up with what you want to connect to with PEX. Put some angles in there if you want a bit of flex.

 

I've seen corrugated stainless and corrugated copper. The rest of my house is copper. Maybe I'll stick with copper to avoid any dissimilar metal issues?
Also, are you suggesting that I should upsize the corrugated pipe from 3/4" diameter to 1"?