The benefits of armoring a charging cable with stainless steel should be self evident. Metal is strong, hefty, and looks really cool. But you’d probably assume that a metal-wrapped cable would be too stiff and inflexible to be practical. Well, you’d be wrong.
Having tried iClever’s unique metal Lightning cable, I can report that, yes, it is indeed wrapped in metal. However, the stainless steel coiling is bonded to what feels like a flexible rubber tube, which allows the cord to bend and coil just as freely as any standard cable I’ve ever owned. Unfortunately, the “turtlenecks” that merge the cable to the connectors at either end are very short, so I’m not sure they’ll hold up as well as Anker’s PowerLine cables over time if you unplug them frequently. That said, the 3' cable itself looks and feels nicer than any alternative I’ve ever come across.
Speaking of Anker, their 3' PowerLine II Dura cable costs $3 less than the equivalent metal iClever (not accounting for any sales), and includes a lifetime warranty, so that’s probably the smarter cable to purchase. But then again, the iClever is wrapped in freakin’ metal, and it looks cool as hell. Let someone borrow it, and you’ve got an instant conversation starter.