Your reasons may be plentiful, but if it's because you prefer the protocol, without the obstruction of handshake, I'd recommend using openssl s_client.
Obvious disclaimer: openssl binary may or may not be part of your system (although the same can be said about netcat and telnet)
Obvious disclaimer: openssl binary may or may not be part of your system (although the same can be said about netcat and telnet)