What makes a Great Charging Cable?

(Last Updated On: January 24, 2017)

 

We’ve all been there. The charging cable that simply does not want to last but you buy it with great confidence thinking: “This is it, this is the cable that’s gonna last a long time and it won’t wear down and be torn apart!”. Oh, but it most likely will be torn apart and this is because all charging cables are not created equal, especially at this point in time. There are so many manufacturers for charging cables nowadays, and so many take advantage of producing cables at a very cheap price.

What does it mean to produce cables and basically any other product for a cheap price? This means that the end product is going to be well below the standards for the customer. It’s quite easy to make the baseline function of the cable; A charging cable is meant to Sync and Charge a device, those two aspects are generally enough for someone to purchase a cable for their device.

What many people do not know, is that a charging cable should provide sustainability, meaning that the cable should be strong enough that it can be used for charging, syncing and basically do any other functions that it’s meant to do. How can a broken cable perform its task if it’s broken? It cannot and that is why choosing quality when it comes to cables is a mandatory decision.

What makes a quality charging cable?

First thing is that you’re gonna want to choose the length of your charging cable, and the length of your cable doesn’t matter because it’s a personal preference. Getting a short charging cable will mean that your phone will have to stay stationary for most of its charging, the spectrum with short cables is usually within the 1ft or 3ft range. Then there’s the medium length that’s 6ft. Lastly, most charging cables go as long as 9ft or 10ft.

Now for the actual construction and design of a charging cable. Most charging cables simply having the wire that is encased with PVC (Basically rubber) and the charging head begins without any reinforcement at the head. Getting these kinds of charging cables is bound to end with the results being a torn apart cable. This is because it’s part of the cable’s fault and the way we live our lifestyles. We are constantly on the move; Maybe you take your charging cable to work, to school or maybe out on our morning runs. The charging cable must be on par with your lifestyle.

Charging cables are now being made with the better material, though, with decisions such as using better material when it comes to the outside casing and inside the casing of the cable. The charging head of the cables has now been improved to make the degradation of the charge heads much slower.

The Cable’s Wire

The wire is the main piece of the cable that needs to be in great shape and for that to happen, the cable needs to be made of great material.

Great quality charging cables have two main constructional material paths:

• Rubber Outer Shell with Kevlar Construction Inside the cable

• Nylon Braided cable

Rubber Outer Shell with Kevlar reinforcement

These cables may look just like any other normal cable but the quality lays within them. Cables like these feature Kevlar construction which means even if the outside of the cable gets torn apart like it usually does, the cable will still function because of the protective Kevlar construction around the data and power wires.

 

Nylon Braided cables

These cables are another type of construction for cables that is also widely because it gives extra protection to the outside rubber material of a charging cable.

Here’s what a Nylon Braided means:

 

The Nylon is simply braided on top of the rubber constructed wire. This benefits the longevity of a cable because the Nylon acts as a first shield for the cable. The second shield would then be the base rubber casing. Nylon braid charging cables would be the best option if you move your charging cable a lot because this way, the Nylon will wear out first, then the rubber case and then the inner parts of the wire. So it will be a while for your next charging cable.

The Charging Head Housing

The heads of charging cables are another common weak point for charging cables because it’s the spot of the cable that can have the most stress on it. The stress on the head of the cable comes from it not being flexible and when something is not flexible it break, the same goes for a cable head.

When then head of the cable base is flexible, it allows for pressure to be more spread out, which allows for the many parts of the head to take pressure easily without damage being sustained.

 

Some companies such as Anker make it a point to specify that their charging cables feature a flexible base.

 

Then there are charging cables that simply have a flexible head base because it’s the best choice for design. A charger doesn’t have to specify whether it has a good base or not, but it’s alright to have the indication and you can tell if the base if flexible by the length.

Conclusion:

There is an ocean of charging cables and it’s important to reel in the best cables for you. Cables that are going to last long, cables that match your expectations and will not fall apart.

Now that you know the basics of what to look for in a charging cable, take a read of our upcoming reviews for more charging cables that provide the best in charging tech.

Products Mentioned:

• Anker PowerLine Lightning

• BlitzWolf Lightning Cable

• PowerLine Micro USB

• Amazon Basics Lightning Cable