Spades vs. Banana plugs ??

It's not fair to generalize.  Not all banana plugs are made the same way.  Audioquest banana plugs, particularly in the 500 and 1000 series, are made from high grade copper with a heavy silver plating.  They are made in the identical fashion as the 500 and 1000 series spade connectors.  They are strong and very conductive.  Of course, these two series cost more than lesser quality connectors.  But you get what you pay for.  I assume that other high-quality brands, such as Cardas and Furutech, will have the same approach.

True, there are exceptions, but almost always the “flagship” model at a high price.  The Audioquest you mention, Furutech 202 series, Neotech NC-01675RH and maybe a couple of others are copper or have a copper center pin, but the majority are brass (Cardas), beryllium (Furutech BFA), or phosphor bronze.  The copper bananas I had bent and eventually broke from the weight of the Harmonic Technology cables they were attached to.  
Bananas would for sure be easier than spades. Are you recommending the Audioquest 500/1000 series connectors? Unfortunately the AQ BFA style is made from beryllium copper.  The Furutech 202 series utilize a center pin made from copper and the Neotech are locking, which seems beneficial.

I like the idea of tube connectors, striped down bananas. but i use bananas primarily. 

Whoever said to use bare wire with the ends tinned together is one of the first methods  I used.  That said, four plus decades later I've tried everything from inexpensive solid copper nickel plated spades purchased at the hardware store to WBT expanding bananas.  My preferred lately but not married to them are a solid copper banana designed like the nickel bananas preferred by Linn, Naim and many British companies.  Can I hear a difference between any of them?  Not really.  I even experimented with different bananas with screw down connections to the wire on Tara Labs cable from three bucks a piece to Fifty dollars.  The Monoprice  Affinity Series 24k Gold Speaker Banana Plugs that Brent Butterworth recommends I think are a best buy.

Wireworld’s BFA bananas are my favorite termination of all time. They are low-mass (which for some reason consistently sounds better), have great spring retention and fit snugly in any binding post. I am not a fan of most Wireworld products but I do love the performance of their factory-terminated speaker cables. 
 

If one must use spades, the Kimber Postmaster spades are probably the best option available.