Are these the world’s toughest cable for your MacBook and iPhone?

April 07, 2020

I’m tough on cables. My MacBook Pro’s charging cable died the other day. The cause of death I believe is that bending at the charger end killed it (this cable predated my use of 20-pin USB-C magnetic breakaway connectors so it’s had a hard life).

Fortunately for me I was sent for testing new cables by Lauco Technology, which currently has a crowdfunded project going for it claims are the “world’s most rugged” USB-C and Lightning cables.

OK, so they’re cables, and do what you expect of cables. The USB-C-to-Lightning charges the iPhone at high speed, and the USB-C-to-USB-C cable supports 100W fast charging along with 4K@60Hz and 10Gbps data transfer.

Each cable comes with a cute leather tie to keep it under control.

Lauco Technology makes a number of claims for the cable, some I can test, some I cannot.

In terms of strength testing, I’ve yanked and pulled on the cable as hard as I can, and the cable and connectors seem well attached. The outer of the cable is indeed made of Kevlar and is heat resistant, handling brief exposure to candle, match, and lighter flames (although I suspect the inner cabling is not as robust so was wary of applying crazy levels of heat), and the cable seems highly resistant to damage from bending (the maker claims it’s tested to 50,000 bends, but I don’t have the time to test that).

Must read: This Raspberry Pi alternative has an 8th-gen Intel Core processor and 16GB of RAM, but will cost you almost $800!

The cable also offered with a lifetime warranty. This I have not been able to test.

These cables are highly impressive. They’re tough, and after being put through a barrage of abuse, not only to they work, they look like new. I particularly like the design of the strain relief which not only adds strength, but is also ergonomic and bakes connecting and disconnecting easy.

Each cable costs $14, which is very reasonable.

Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of crowdfunded projects. There’s too much that can go wrong between the bit where you hand over your money and the bit where you get your new, shiny thing. If crowdfunding is your thing, and you’re looking for a robust cable, then this project is well worth looking at. If not, wait until the product launches and pick up a cable then.