Review: Tudia Klip

Apple has earned a reputation for superior engineering. The Apple logo implies meticulous attention to detail and customers expect quality. One area where Apple fails to meet this expectation–aside from what a mess the iTunes software is–is with the charging / syncin cables that come with iOS devices. The TUDIA Klip offers a cost-effective solution to protect your Apple cables and prevent the inevitable fraying.

If you’ve had an iPhone or iPad for more than a few months, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve experienced issues with the charging / syncing cable firsthand. With both the Lightning cable and the older 30-pin version, the cable has a tendency to crack and fray where the more flexible cable connects to the adapter at the ends. I have had more issues with the Lightning or 30-pin end of the cable, but many people also have issues on the USB end.

A 1-meter replacement cable from Apple costs $19. With an endurance of only three to six months, that’s an additional $40 to $80 a year “surcharge” for the privilege of using an iOS device. My wife and I have tried a wide variety of third-party Lightning cables to save a few bucks and discovered that the Amazon Basics offers the best bang for the buck. The Amazon cable also cracks and frays, but at $6 per cable it’s less than a third of the cost of the Apple cable.

What if we just didn’t need to replace the cable at all, though? With the TUDIA Klip, you can protect the cable and prevent the cracking and fraying from occurring in the first place.

The TUDIA Klip is a small, two-piece solution that attaches to your Lightning cable to provide additional support at the point where bending and creasing generally causes the cable to crack and fray. There is a flexible rubber piece that wraps around the cable, and a harder plastic piece that slides over to hold it in place.

I tried the TUDIA Klip on a few different Lightning cables, but it really only fits properly on the authentic Apple cable. TUDIA states up front that the Klip is only intended for the actual Apple cables. For some reason all of the knock-off cables are slightly thicker. The silver lining is that if you add the TUDIA Klip to your Apple cable from the beginning you shouldn’t ever need to replace it, so you won’t need to deal with cheaper knock-off cables at all.

The TUDIA Klip is sold in pairs. The idea is that you would put one at each end of the cable. Personally, though, I just use the pair on the Lightning end of two different cables since I don’t have issues with the USB end. At $7 for a pair, the TUDIA Klip is an effective and affordable alternative to replacing your Apple cables every three to six months.

It’s a simple design, and a cost-effective solution to an expensive problem. If you have Apple cables, you should check out the TUDIA Klip.

Would you like a pair of TUDIA Klips for free? Comment here to share your story of cracking and fraying cables, and what you have done to try and deal with that problem to enter for a chance to win one of four pairs of TUDIA Klips. If you want to increase your odds of winning, you can also earn additional entries by “Liking” the Facebook page or following the Twitter account of TechSpective’s sibling site, PopSpective.