MySaver:DIY Kit review
One of the casualties of the “make everything smaller” era of electronics has been cables. Starting with Apple and spreading to other manufacturers, cables now get less and less stress relief to help combat being thrown all over the place, tucked in bags etc. What was once a sizable piece of plastic on the other end of those 30 pin connectors is now as tiny a piece of plastic as possible with a rubber “stress relief” that really only control where the cable breaks in half rather than prevent it. That’s why 1694 people pledged a total of $48,835 dollars on Kickstarter by September 27 last year and gave the guy behind the MySaver Kickstarter project the money he needed to bring his product to market. The MySaver is a simple idea: bring back the giant cables that you could run over with a truck and still use afterwards. More specifically, make a kit that turn existing cables into such cables. The MySaver DIY: Kit is the DIY version (as opposed to a readily assembled cable), and after the break I’ll tell you why you need one.
The MySaver concept consists of a rubber stress relief and a metal casing to hold it all together, or more specifically, one set each for the 30 pin connector and the USB plug. The normal version comes assembled with an OEM cable, while the DIY version comes with all the pieces for the MySaver part of the setup while you have to provide the cable yourself. I chose the DIY kit for one very simple reason: my Cable Jive xlSync cable. It’s a longer, third party 30 pin Apple cable that I was hoping would work with the MySaver even if it isn’t 100% identical to the Apple cable as far as the plug ends go. Luckily, it is compatible.
The kit comes nicely packaged in a cardboard card-like thing with all the parts in a small bag. Assembly instructions with a link to a video tutorial for assembly are also included.
All the pieces of the MySaver:DIY Kit, minus some adhesive dots that were attached to the assembly instructions. The holes you see in two of the pieces are used to lock the stretch relievers together. The corresponding pieces also have corresponding rubber pieces that go through the holes, locking to the other side due to being slightly wider. Still, I found it best to add a bit of hot glue to the, when assembled in order to assure they stay together. The rubber pieces go around the cable and the metal pieces then clip on, with the actual cable connector sliding into place last. The adhesive dots mentioned earlier are for holding the connectors in place inside the MySaver, though you can substitute these with glue or something like that.
All assembled. Aside from providing sturdier plugs that won’t break if stepped on and cables that won’t split neat the connector if bent, the MySaver also has a built in cable management system by adding a cable clip to the USB plug end.
All in all, the MySaver is a solution to a problem that shouldn’t exist. Apple started the trend of minimalistic cables, but other manufacturers have followed, escalating the issue further. The MySaver is currently only available to Apple devices, but you might be able to use the DIY version on other cables, possible with some sanding down of the connectors etc. Either way, the MySaver is great. I don’t care if the cable is bulkier as long as I can rely on it to survive being on the floor, in my bag etc. As for prices, the MySaver:Pro (pre-assembled kit ith cable) is $25, while the MySaver:DIY Kit starts at $8 for the silver version and $10 for the other colors, making it a very nice deal. Triple packs of either version are $70 and $25 respectively. They can be ordered directly from the company’s site.
