Krafted Tech Connex Review

DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.

Reviewed by Colin Hewitt

I used to work away from home a lot, dispatched to hotels, sometimes at unreasonably short notice. I consider myself well-organised. However, I’d often arrive somewhere only to discover I’d forgotten an important connector or cable. As the number of devices increased, the situation got worse. Remembering and juggling the individual requirements of mobile phones, tablet devices, cameras, laptops, etc became a nightmare.

So many of the gadgets I needed had their own unique charging connector. Because of this, my garage now contains many boxes of redundant connectors, and leads, all of which might ‘come in useful one day’. Admittedly, with ongoing standardisation, this doesn’t seem to be such a problem as it was 10 years ago, but many of us still use legacy products with different charging ports.

Therefore, when I saw this new product, it intrigued me. It’s basically a high-tech equivalent of a multi-tool. Not only that, it’s ergonomically beautiful. Tactile, not too heavy, but with enough weight to give it gravitas. It gives the user confidence that this piece of kit is durable, and built to last – in short, it easily passes the feel-good test.

First, a little about the company. Co-founders Charlie Rudge and Vinal Patel saw the need for sustainable technical products that had very little impact on the environment. With a fundamental company philosophy built around ‘Innovation’, ‘Eco-Credentials’, and ‘Built to Last Products’, items like the Connex go a long way to fulfil those aims. Even the packaging it arrived in adhered to those aims. Sturdy recycled corrugated cardboard, which was extremely protective and environmentally friendly.

But enough about worthy aims. What about the product itself?

It’s a little like a large penknife (95mm wide x 31mm deep x 19mm tall) and weighs 875g. ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) forms the outer shell. Each of the units’ five arms are made from Silicone Rubber, giving them a considerable amount of flexibility – invaluable when trying to connect to awkwardly mounted adaptors.

The Connex has the following connectors:

USB-A input

USB-C input

USB-C output

Micro-USB output

Lightning output (2A/4A)

USB-C to USB-A convertor

It’s available in two colours, Jade (pictured) or Charcol Grey.

The item worked exceptionally well, connecting my iPad, Pixel Phone, and rechargeable headphones to my laptop usb for charging (one at a time). The only minor drawbacks were that the arms have limited rotation (one way only), which inhibits it slightly (but something you soon get used to), and if using it for data transfer, it is quite slow. However, I would only use it for data transfer in an emergency, so for me, that’s not an enormous problem.

This product would not only make an ideal Father’s Day gift, but a great gift idea for anyone who uses a plethora of technical gadgets (even more so if they work away from home).

I wish I’d had this product many years ago. It would have saved many a trip to reception asking to borrow cables or a quick trip to the local store to purchase yet another one (which would inevitably find its way into the aforementioned box in the garage). I’d just need to remember to pack the Connex – something Krafted can’t really help me with.

Rating: A well deserved 4/5 for innovation. The company has developed an excellent piece of kit.

RRP: £29.99

This product can be purchased here www.kraftedtech.com