USB-C has finally become the standard, and it means I can ditch my old cables that don’t have any use anymore. Unfortunately, that means I have been buying a lot of USB-C cables of varying quality, and it hasn’t always been a smooth ride. USB-C cables are used to charge my game controllers, my phone, my laptop, and several other things. I have a lot of these cables now, and I’ve already had a few of them fray and break down on me. Perhaps foolishly, I let my bedroom phone charger have exposed wiring for far too long.
I eventually replaced that broken cable with a braided one, and now I’m wondering why I didn’t do that way sooner. A braided cable is far more durable than the regular ones, and the price difference doesn’t feel very steep. I don’t see why every future cable I buy won’t be a braided one. It just makes way too much sense, and if I can guarantee my cable’s safety for years, I might as well do it.
Having cables last longer is a big deal
No reason not to do this
If you’re anything like me, you don’t really make much effort to keep your cables tidy. I have a power strip next to my couch with several cables plugged in that are sort of just lying there. I have a cat and a dog that don’t mess with them too much, thankfully, but they are just lying there defenseless. If you have a pet that goes after everything it sees, or a small child, these non-braided cables might not last for long.
Braided cables last a lot longer, and they feel a lot heftier when you’re using them. I have a relatively long one in my bedroom that stretches from my nightstand to the center of the bed, and I still have some slack leftover. Usually, a long cable like this meant it wasn’t going to last very long, but it’s been over a year since I’ve been using this cable, and I still don’t have any issues. It definitely helps that my plug is positioned in a way where the cable doesn’t bend at all when it plugs in. That’s typically been the weak point of my prior cables, but even a braided cable that’s completely straight will last longer than your regular ones.
I’m not asking you to go out and buy a bunch of new cables for your devices, but I just don’t see the downside to eventually transitioning all your cables to braided options. I know each time I buy a new USB-C cable, it’s going to be braided. If you look up the price of these cables, you can find some good value from a reputable brand. Anker sells a two-pack for $10. With prices like that, it’s hard to argue for something with less durability.
Your bundled cable will still work fine
Use it until it breaks down
The downside to switching your cables over to braided ones is that it’ll usually mean you have a large stack of them collecting dust. Most devices you buy come bundled with a cable already, and I would imagine most people just stick with those. It’s good practice since you know you’re getting the correct power draw from the bundled cable, and it means you won’t have to worry about any sort of overheating.
There’s already enough e-waste in the world as it is, so adding to it isn’t ideal. I’m guilty of having a lot of junk in my house too, and a lot of it is made up of old cables that I don’t have much use for. My HDMI cables are a big problem area since I have amassed so many of them over the years. My USB-C cables aren’t quite to that level, but my old Micro-USB and Mini-USB cables have become a similar problem. It’s actually worse than my HDMI cables since I can’t even use these USB cables for anything modern anymore. At least my HDMI cables work on my modern TVs, although I wouldn’t recommend using them like that.
I think it’s great that USB-C has finally gotten onto a unified platform, much like HDMI before it. It’s cool to know that many of the older, non-braided cables will still have a home somewhere eventually, unlike my Micro-USB ones. Sure, I’ll still run into durability concerns, but if I need a cable in a pinch, I can’t think of many issues with using one. My plan is just to upgrade my most-used USB-C cables to braided ones, since those would be the ones I’m most concerned about failing. Basically, your phone charger is the big one you should look at, so if you only had to pick one to upgrade, it’d be that one for sure. The rest of your cables can be switched out over time, and there’s really no downside to doing so.
