Is there consensus on whether Ultegra RX or Force 1 is better for 1x?

I have Ultegra RX and an 11-36 out back and a 42t up front. I’m happy with it. No chain drops. With the correct chain length and a good front chainring I don’t foresee a dropped chain.

I don't think it matters. I have raced the last couple years on 1x without a clutched rear derailleur and have no complaints. Maybe choose based on your prefered shifters.

Before plunking down money on a 1x11 system, I'd wait 6 weeks and see if a Force 1x12 mechanical is launched at Sea Otter.

Shimano. It will last longer than Sram.

No need for a clutch. If you have an 11spd derailleur already, use it. A NW chainring is a good idea. I bought a cheap Litepro off ebay (~$32) and it's fine.

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I currently use a mechanical Shimano 9100. A NW chainring is all I need? My plan is to get the 3T Torno. 3T suggested they will have AXS compatibility soon, in case I change to AXS later down the line.

Could someone clear up the Shimano specs for me? On the 9100 page it says " low sprocket max" = 30T but then further below says "total capacity" = 35T. What's the difference? My preference would be to run 11-32

I currently use a mechanical Shimano 9100. A NW chainring is all I need? My plan is to get the 3T Torno. 3T suggested they will have AXS compatibility soon, in case I change to AXS later down the line.

Interesting. And you didn't experience any chain drops in that period?

My experience with road and big cogs / short derailleurs.

I have run a 32 cog on my DA9000 with 100% shift performance. No issues. I don't think it will take anything bigger. I've run it with a 53-34 front as well (Pikes Peak). Front shifting is a little sketch, but you need to shift about 2 times on that climb in the front rings.

I have run the road link. There is compromise there and it will negatively impact performance. I have setup about 4 bikes this way. It's a poor man's way up Pikes Peak or Mt. Evans. That's it.

Therefore for 1 x 11 I'd recommend the mid cage or whatever comes with the new 8000, 9100, or go with the RX / Force 1. I would have zero hesitation running the straight road 8000 or 9100 cages on a road / Tri setup. As long as the front is narrow / wide.

for a tri bike? i would only go electronic on tri bike so I'd go ultegra di2 1x in this situation

Every case is different I guess, but I'd run with that. I'm using a 9000. The clutch sucks some energy anyway.

And small rings and cogs are not ideal for TTs either. Some efficiency is lost and small cogs are not smooth (inherently).

Not a single one for my tri/tt bike. 50 tooth NW Sram ring. Ultegra rear derailleur. I was mechanical the first year and had the spring in the low tension setting too. Electronic (no clutch) last year. Four half distance races and a handful of shorter ones those two seasons. I probably have <10 outdoor training rides on that bike per year, so that should be considered.

I have been 1x on my cyclocross bikes with 105 or Ultegra rear derailleurs (with NW rings) for the last 3 seasons. The derailleurs were always in the high tension setting. The only chain drop I had was in such apocalyptic mud that the chain was literally lifted up and over the ring from how much mud had built up around the chainring. I cleared it, put the chain back on and the rear derailleur was ripped off half a lap later from all that muck. I ripped another rear derailleur off in January in really crappy conditions, but there was never any hint of the chain coming off the chainring.

I have nothing against the newer clutched stuff (and had the first clutch shimano mt bike rear derailleur), but I haven't found a reason to replace anything I already own with clutched versions. It used to be that I would have picked Force 1 so I could throw in a bigger cassette if needed, but it seems like the newer Ultegra rx has about the same cassette swallowing ability. I don't like R2C shifters, so that's reason enough for me to choose Shimano for mechanical tri/tt.

The narrow wide chainring is the most important piece of the equation.

If you're doing this for the road (TT/triathlon), I would use neither of those derailleurs. A clutch is not necessary and a clutch introduces a tiny bit of drag. I would go with a mid-cage Shimano Ultegra (non-RX) derailleur and call it good.
Before the RX derailleur came out, I rode several seasons on gravel (including extremely rough gravel) without a clutch rear derailleur and never dropped a chain. But I did use a Force1 crankset and chainring. The contours of the teeth on the Force1 chainrings keep the chain under control.