I've used Mecha-Tech's ... they tore.

I've used Dorman ... they tore.

I ended up with some very OEM 'like' boots from Advance Auto that ended up lasting. I also thought that there was not enough grease provided so I just picked up synthetic axle grease & packed them very heavily.

X2 on the zip ties. The metal bands are a PITA. If you are going to re-use the old boots that aren't damaged, be very careful cutting off the old metal bands (it's easy to cut the boot in the process).

I've never used the cone. Once you open the inner CV, the boot for the outer CV will be easy to install without the cone.

Also make sure you have at least 4 cans of brake cleaner & several rolls of blue paper towels. The job will be messy & you'll want to get as much of the old grease cleaned out as possible. If you don't have an air compressor, beg/borrow/steal or rent one. It'll help a lot to keep spraying out the grease/brake cleaner to get it all.

Also, pick up a pitman arm puller from Harbor Freight to get the ball joints seperated. The adjustable arm ones don't work well at all. Also spray everything down with PB Blaster the day before you get started.

I highly recommend that you have some anti-sieze on hand as well. Anything that you have a hard time removing should be coated with it during re-install since it sounds like you'll be doing it again in the future.

A couple of large punches or screw drivers are also helpful in aligning the Upper Control Arm bolt holes during re-assembly.