Here is one more vote to resist the urge to buy the cheap axles. In the past I had always replaced just the boots when they failed, but decided to try a new $60 axle with a "lifetime warranty" on a previous car. These axles lasted maybe 10k miles before getting loose and vibrating. After the second warranty replacement, I bought a boot kit for the original axle, which I am VERY glad that I kept, and reinstalled it. No more axle problems...
The clamp tools are not expensive, and easy to find. I have one like
this. These allow you to put a breaker bar/rachet/etc. on them to get the clamp adequately tight. VW uses plastic boots on some of their cars that need to be crimped super tight to stay sealed, and this type of tool is the only I found that is up to the job.