so ive been going back and forth on this for a while and figured id just ask here because i keep going in circles on my own. i have a pretty decent hilltop location about 1800ft asl and im trying to decide whether to put up a decent yagi setup or just go with a longer collinear like a diamond X510 or similar for 2m/70cm general use including some weak signal ssb stuff on 2m when conditions are right.

the thing is the collinear is obviously way more practical for everyday use, local repeaters, random contacts etc but i know a yagi is going to walk all over it for actual weak signal work. my current setup is just a homebrewed jpole which honestly works fine for local stuff but i want to push further. has anyone run both and can actually compare the real world difference? not just theoretical gain numbers, more like what did you actually notice. also worried about wind loading up there, we get some serious gusts in winter so that factors in too.

ran a diamond x700 for years on a similar site and yeah its great for what it is but the day i put up a 9 element yagi for 2m the difference was pretty dramatic for ssb. like contacts that were basically noise before became workable, not easy but workable. the issue is you obviously give up the omni coverage which matters if youre doing anything other than pointing at something specific.

for wind loading on a yagi just make sure you're looking at the boom diameter and element count seriously, a well built M2 or similar isnt as bad as people think if its mounted right. some of the cheap import yagis though, ive seen those turn into a pretzel after a good storm. if weak signal is actually your goal id go yagi but maybe keep a small vertical around for the everyday stuff, doesnt have to be fancy.

what kind of coax run are you looking at from the antenna to the radio? asking because depending on how long that run is you might end up loosing more than you think with a collinear anyway, especially on 70cm. a good preamp at the feedpoint can help but still. just something to factor in before you commit to either option honestly.