Quad Lock: Quadruple the Security

 

This actually happened to me not too long ago – I was cycling along the West Coast stretch with my phone securely clipped onto my bike mount, or so I had thought. Moments later, I traversed a particularly rough section of road that had been ravaged by monstrous heavy duty vehicles that frequent this route every morning. In a blink of an eye, my phone had vanished. I had to backtrack, against the traffic —thankfully minimal in the wee hours of the morning— to retrieve my phone that was left behind.

Times like these remind us of our growing dependence on technology (sadly), and the importance of keeping it safe and within reach. GPS navigation has undoubtedly saved many of us from aimlessly wandering the streets and roads like lost sheep. Whether we’re driving a car, riding a bicycle, going for a jog, or even just walking, we often find ourselves relying on our phones to get us to places, track our journeys – the list goes on. This desire for accessibility, coupled with safety concerns, especially on bikes, is what drove Melbourne based designer Chris Peters to develop Quad Lock, a mounting system that keeps your smartphone securely attached to a wide variety of surfaces.

Quad Lock’s original focus was on bicycles, first conceptualised by Chris after noticing that most mounts being sold in the market at that time were quite unreliable, as I too, came to learn the hard way across that West Coast stretch. The first noticeable difference about Quad Lock is that it is a case-based system, a departure from bulkier mounts at that time. This means that half the mount is built into the rear of a slim, protective phone case, itself offering great every-day protection for your phone. This also halves the bulkiness of the mount itself.

That said, Quad Lock’s main feature is the extra degree of security that its mounts offer. To prevent phones from being accidentally dislodged from mounts, Quad Lock features a dual-stage locking mechanism that securely locks your phone to the mount. Once your phone is locked in, it is virtually impossible to have it accidentally released. However, removing your phone from the mount is also extremely simple, thanks to its quick release system.

As a testament to its reliability, Quad Lock has been heavily backed ever since its Kickstarter project was launched back in December 2011. Its funding goal was smashed within the first two weeks, with the product receiving rave reviews from the cycling industry. Its popularity continued beyond Kickstarter, and today, Quad Lock products have been shipped to over 4,000 cities in more than 100 countries, and the company continues to receive messages from grateful users whose phones had remained intact despite a bad fall.

Following its success in the bike industry, Quad Lock has also come up with mounts for cars, sports armbands, walls, belts, and even tripods – suiting a wide range of every-day applications. How do these new additions fare?

The running kit is a light, compact band whose elasticity and adjustability ensure a snug fit around your arms. Its comfortable fabric also prevents the band from eating into your skin. What I really like about the running kit is the ease with which I am able to detach my phone from the mount whenever I choose to; it’s securely in place otherwise. This, in my opinion, is particularly useful in the event of an emergency – it definitely beats having to unzip your pouch and fumble to get your phone out.

There was a slight scare whilst I was testing out the car mount, but on hindsight, that was solid proof of its adhesiveness. The mount itself worked like a charm – it is stuck onto a plastic lid using a suction cup system, and the lid is then pasted onto the windscreen with an extremely strong adhesive. The car mount both looked and felt unshakeable, and, as promised, it was vibration free. We tried removing the mount, and despite the fact that it was pasted on with minimal force, it proved to be an extremely difficult task. Phew!

The most versatile of them all, I feel, is the wall mount. It is a small, inconspicuous gadget that comes with a strong piece of 3M VHB tape that provides a very strong bond when it is adhered to flat, nonporous surfaces. I can already speculate a few great locations for the wall mount – in the kitchen if you’re trying to follow a recipe; in the bathroom when you’re catching up on a show whilst having a nice bath, the list goes on. Just be careful about where you decide to stick them; although you can remove them with heat, I imagine it would be pretty troublesome to have to replace the adhesives.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a cyclist, or just a pedestrian, commuting outside, or just staying indoors; extra security is always welcome, and the Quad Lock might just be your solution.

If you’re interested in buying on of these sturdy mounts, now’s the perfect time: they are currently available at a 10% discount! Simply enter the promo code “QUADLOCK10OFF” when you’re checking out from our e-store, which can be accessed here:

https://store.togoparts.com/search.php?search_query=quad+lock