Best cable tidy 2022: Organise your messy wires with these management tools
(Pocket-lint) - If you delve into the back of most TVs or office desks, or deep into backpacks, you have little faith in humanity.
However, the truth is that owning a bundle of cables is pretty easy. With the number of electronic devices we own, the number of cables inevitably increases.
Thankfully, there are plenty of products out there to help, no matter what kind of mess you have or how neat and hidden things need to be for you. There's something that will help you completely hide every trace of cords, whether you're trying to spice things up at home or while traveling.
We've put together a list of our favorites as well as a quick guide on how to find the perfect cable storage solution for your needs.
What's the best way to organize your cables? Our current recommendation is Fisual Chunky's reusable cable ties. But we also find the Bluelounge SOBA hose system, the 3-part BUBM organizer set, Cocoon Grid-it and the Bluelounge Cable Box worthwhile.
Our top pick: Best cord wrap
Fisual Chunky Reusable Cable Ties
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Against
- Doesn't necessarily hide your cables
If you're not too bothered by the sight of exposed cables, the simple cable tie is a great way to keep all your cables neat and tidy together. If your view of the cables is already blocked by something large - say a TV - all you need is a few Velcro strips to keep the HDMI, power and audio cables neatly bundled together so your eyes don't get insulted.
These are your best no frills cable ties and come in packs of 10, 20 or 40 in black or white. They are 150mm long which means you can hold between 5-8 regular cables together without stretching too much.
Sometimes it's best to keep things simple, and wrestling those technical spaghetti is a breeze with these tried-and-true Velcro cable ties.
We also recommend cable winders
While we think Fisual Chunky reusable cable ties are an excellent choice for most people, they are only ideal for situations where the cables are not visible. Fortunately, there are many great options for different wiring situations. Here are some other top cable storage options that we recommend.
Bluelounge SOBA tube system
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- An easy way to corral wires
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- Only a limited number of cables will fit inside
This Bluelounge SOBA tube system is tried and true and a favorite here at Pocket-lint. Like Bluelounge's other products, it is beautiful to look at and well designed. Its limitation is that you can only hold 3 cables at a time while maintaining their usefulness. It is ten feet long or about 3 meters long and you can cut it to the length you want.
It comes with multiple plastic ends and connectors, allowing you to route cables in different directions without sacrificing the clean and tidy look. The plastic end caps ensure you don't end up looking at frayed tubing at the end of each strip.
However, what we really love is how you apply it to the cable. Since this hose is inherently very tight, use a semi-circular plastic zipper and pull down to open the hose while threading the cable inside. Once you're done, remove the "zipper" and your cables are as tight as a bug, holding tight together.
BUBM 3-piece organizer set
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- Ideal for traveling with lots of cords
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- Slight overkill for some users
We've all dug into our pockets at some point and discovered a tangled, incomprehensible jumble of electronic tumbleweed. It's never intentional, but it's seemingly inevitable when we throw our cords, headphones, and chargers together without separation.
If you're a tech-savvy consumer, you probably have more than just cables in your pocket. For example, if you have a slim laptop, chances are you also have multiple dongles for different purposes. We've found the BUBM organizer bags to be an invaluable tool for carrying essentials around.
This set comes with a small, medium and large bag, so you'll be well protected whether you only need a few essentials or you're carrying a mountain of tech. The bags are also available separately if you don't hoard quite as much tech as we do.
Cocoon Grid-it
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- Perfect for customization
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The Grid-it by Cocoon is not a hinged pouch, but has strong elastic strips woven into it on the outside. They are arranged so that you can organize virtually any small item of any size and shape the way you want. It's the ultimate in customized tidying up.
We love that all your gadgets can be laid out without having to rummage around in smaller bags to find those little essentials. The Grid-it organizers come in a variety of sizes to accommodate all types of gear.
These little organizers quickly turn any backpack, briefcase or office drawer into an organizational machine. The design looks cool and they are also beautiful and affordable.
Bluelounge cable box
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- Keeps your power strip out of the way
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- Still pretty ugly to look at
There's one company whose mission is to bring order to your clutter-free world, and that's Bluelounge. It is a company that produces well-designed, attractive and durable solutions. We tested many of the company's products for this list, but this is one of our favorites. The Cablebin is a rectangular plastic box for storing power strips.
It's made of fireproof plastic and can accommodate any strip or surge protector up to 40cm long and 14cm wide, excellently hiding the inevitable chaos that happens around TVs and computers.
If you need a bigger one that also takes up less space, the company's cable bin, which looks more like your usual under-desk trash can and comes with an attractive wooden finish, is a great option to explore.
Other cord wraps we considered
We spent hours testing and researching when initially deciding what we believe to be the best cable management solutions available. Regardless of the subject area, we always consider a number of factors when recommending products - and apply the same process before adding a new product to our top 5 picks. We consider not only our own tests, but also consumer ratings, brand quality and value.
Across all of our roundups, there are also many products we test that don't make the final cut. However, since they might be the right fit for some people, we've listed them below.
How to choose a cable storage solution
With such a variety of cable management solutions available, how do you determine which one is best for you?
Here are a few things to consider when purchasing a cable storage product.
Where are the cables?
If the cables are mostly hidden by something, like behind a TV, then zip ties are probably the best option. These allow you to bundle the excess wires and get them out of sight. If you choose a reusable zip tie, you can easily undo the zip tie and re-tighten it after adding or removing a device if you need to change something.
If the cables are visible, zip ties probably won't do the trick. Instead, some cable ducts or sleeves are enough to keep the cables looking neat and tidy. If the cables run along a wall, hard plastic ducts may be your best bet, but if the cables need to move at all then sheathing is the choice.
If you have loose cables, such as B. Laptop chargers and accessories, then these benefit from a cable organizer. There are lots of fantastic ways to organize cords on the go, and we've got a few great ones on our list. If you're looking for more permanent storage, you can't go wrong with rubber bands and a shoe box.
How often do you have to remove the cables?
While we can all agree that there is something deeply satisfying about perfectly managed cables, it's important to think about how you use the cables and whether you need to remove them frequently.
A phone charger, for example, looks great when managed perfectly, but when you need to unplug it and carry it with you every few days, it's a no-brainer.
Conversely, a TV usually spends its entire life in one place, and tidying up the cables can really transform the look of a living room.
When you think about how you use your devices, you become aware of what is safe to store and what needs to be easily transported.
Hide or organize?
When it comes to storing loose cords, good organization can save countless hours of searching and untangling. However, when managing desk setup cables, sometimes a little hiding can make all the difference.
As mentioned earlier, you don't want to get into a situation where you have to remove a perfectly tidy cable, thereby undoing all your hard work. That's why we love products like the Bluelounge cable box. Instead of spending hours meticulously tidying up your power strip, you can just toss it in the box and put the lid on, out of sight and sense. Whenever you need to connect something new, it's as easy as removing the lid and plugging it in.
Different situations require different approaches. If you ask yourself these simple questions, you should be able to find the perfect cable storage solution in no time.
More about this story
Each product on this list has been thoroughly evaluated to ensure it performs exactly as a recommended selection should.
We've thought of everything and considered how each product will perform, whether it's being used to tame a desktop PC setup, a television system, or an overstuffed purse. This meant considering ease of use, portability, robustness and of course trying out the products for yourself. From there we then crossed our judgments with each individual price tag to make sure they also represent value for money.
As with any summary, it's not possible to provide a list that works for every type of user, but we draw on the experiences and opinions of the broader Pocket-lint team - and thoroughly assess the areas above - to guide our work do best in this regard.
What we always avoid when compiling these tips are unnecessary spec comparisons and marketing lines; We just want to provide an easy to understand summary that will give you an idea of how each product is used. Our judgments are brief, but this is for brevity only.
Written by Cam Bunton.
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