I prefer to patch. I’ve even had to patch patches, and surprisingly it works most of the time. I hate the stick-on scab-type patches, so I have a small jar of rubber cement I keep in the house, which seems to prolong the shelf life. I probably have a lifetime supply of new tubes stashed away, though, because I went through a phase where every time the LBS had a sale on tubes, I’d buy a few more.
I’ve always patched them, unless it’s a catastrophic blowout, or it’s been patched so many times that it’s not viable anymore. Most recently, it seems to have failed under the patch (should have used a larger one) and I judged the tear was too large to patch again.
I vote patch. I like doing it - reminds of my younger days. Plus, somehow I ended up with several patch kits.
The only one I have has no glue left, and the tire has two holes, since it was a pinch flat.
For me, depends on how old the tube is. If I repair, I put it back on the tire, better to have a known good one in my bag than pull out a used tube I repaired months ago and discover it’s no good.
This sounds like my approach. The damage from a single thorn or nail puncture is almost certainly limited to an area smaller than a patch. A pinch is more like a linear fold with hidden stretch damage beyond the visible hole more likely and is just harder to effectively patch.