[engineerscott]

Electroless is considered by many to be superior. It is certainly as durable. One added benefit - if the part you are plating is structural (i.e. will be expected to undergo significant mechanical stresses) then you have almost no issue with hydrogen embrittlement which will be an issue with nickel electroplate. The only thing that might cause an embrittlement issue with electroless nickel is if you use an strong acid (or long acid soak times) to clean the part before plating. The electroless process itself imparts almost no hydrogen into the base metal.

Nickel electroplating on the other hand will cause hydrogen embrittlement. If you are using it to plate a structural part you must bake out the hydrogen or you will risk fracture due to hydrogen embrittlement.