AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable – 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) – Black

You never know just how dependent you are on your cellphone until you’re stuck with a dead battery.

You forget to charge your phone the night before.

You wake up and have to run to a meeting. 20% charge.

“Well”, you think. “I can make it through the day, right?”

Then you get three phone calls, ten texts, need directions to where you’re going, and BOOM.

Brick.

You get smart to this, though. You bring an extra Lightning cable in the car, just in case.

But it being in the car, the lifespan of the Apple Lightning cable is about 3.7 minutes. One pump of the brake at a red light and your precious cable has been julienned.

Apple makes incredible, elegant, but not always durable products. Their charging cables have a particular weak point at the juncture between the Lightning (or 30-pin) connector and the cable itself. This area tends to hold a great deal of stress. Apple is aware of the problem and if you bring your cable back to the Genius Bar, they’ll usually kindly replace it if the product is within warranty.

However, you’re simply getting another soon-to-be-faulty cable.

Other manufacturers have solved the problem by reinforcing this area on their cable or making thicker cables.

But out of every third-party cable I’ve tested or used, the best by a mile is made by, of all companies, Amazon.

AmazonBasics is a new line of electronic and home accessories that are generic versions of everything from charging cables to Bluetooth speakers to coat hangers.

They’re priced right, too. While Lightning cables can cost anywhere from $9 at the cheapest on eBay to $29, the AmazonBasics cable is $10.99. It’s Apple Certified too, so no more sketchy-mall-kiosk cables that work half the time and the other half either elicit a pop-up on your phone saying how it’s less compatible than you and your ex. Or it burns your house down, just like your ex.

The best part of all – it comes in a 6-foot length for $3 more. You can plug it into the wall next to your bed and use your phone while laying in bed. You can plug it into the front of your car and someone in the backseat can use it. You can plug it into a wall outlet and use it while seated in an actual chair in the airport instead of huddling next to the wall like a transient.

This is the most durable cable I’ve ever owned, and I’ve had it for almost a year. It doesn’t have a single weak point, fray, rip, tear, or patchy spot that electrocutes you every time you touch it.

Since buying my first one, I’ve bought four and (reluctantly) given two away as stocking stuffers. I keep one at home and one in the car and I’m never, ever without a charge.