Roger Darlington

I emailed Roger Darlington, and this was his response to my examples below: ‘I see punctuation as an art rather than a science. It is essentially an aid to the reader.
So I find all your versions perfectly acceptable.’

Plus, if you really think about it, if unnecessary hyphen clutter were added to the examples below, it would add nothing to increase clarity. Do you agree with Mr Darlington?

affects 20 to 30 year old men
affects 20-30 year old men

a 49 year old man
a 49 year old
a group of 30 year olds

a 5 gallon container
a 5 to 10 gallon container
a 5-10 gallon container

a 20 inch blade

a two week vacation
a two to three week vacation
a 2-3 week vacation

a 30 year prison sentence

a three inch cut

a five foot deep hole

a 10 inch drop

a five degree difference

a five to ten degree difference

a 5-10 degree difference

a $10 a day charge

a 20 to 30% a year reduction
a 20-30% a year reduction