Hands up.
Who here has dropped their phone or got their phone stolen whilst travelling?
Hands up from me that I’ve dropped my phone but thankfully I’ve not had my phone stolen but there have been attempts to.
While I’m travelling, I’m always conscious that my most precious commodity on me could be at risk of being damaged or stolen. Cue buying loads of heavy duty zipper pocket shorts or trousers that probably wouldn’t be seen on the latest runway fashions. But it still doesn’t stop me from fumbling my phone out of my clumsy hands despite the many bulky hand grips that I install on it.
I have looked into gadgets that could secure my phone but again, it’s too fiddly and makes my phone bigger than it needs to be. Is there a gadget out there that can help secure my phone and stop it from being damaged? (Many people cringe at the thought of a screen being smashed against a cobblestone stone floor).
Here’s a contender for the crown: The YoYo Grip.
Introducing the YoYo Grip
This literally up cycled product, the YoYo Grip is a super-stretchy phone harness that’s made from up cycled bike butyl rubber inner tubes. The brainchild of J E James and HaveBike along with Oasis Studios UK, have launched this on Kickstarter on 1st May 2020 to offer an environmentally friendly product to save the inner tubes from landfill to become eco-friendly phone savers.
It reports that:
- using its unique cut out shape, the YoYo Grip fits most phones without blocking the camera, flash or charging port
- the utility clip and elasticated cord can be clipped to a bag, belt or jacket – or looped around your wrist for safety when you’re trying to get that perfect shot.
- its packaging is also made from recycled cardboard and is 100% plastic free.
Sounds good, right?
I was lucky enough to receive one in the post in the last week to try it out give you my review what I think about the YoYo Grip and take it for a ride (bike pun, you see!).
The YoYo Grip Review
‘Thwack’
That was the sound of a package being delivered through my letterbox. To my pleasant surprise, the YoYo Grip has arrived. I didn’t immediately think it was it as the packaging was plain but the touch felt it was environmentally friendly which was good enough for me. When I opened it, I immediately saw the YoYo Grips and I couldn’t wait to try it out.
But what stopped me first was the amazing recycled sheet of paper that came with it, including instructions on how to put on the YoYo Grip on your phone but also about the environmental stats about the phone and what impact we are having on the world. Here’s a few examples:
- 95% of your mobile’s carbon footprint is from mining the materials to create it
- 13 tons of water is needed to make a smartphone (2 large elephants)
- Of the 17 rare Earth metals, 16 can be found in a smartphone
Also, there are some stats which explains why having a secure harness, like the YoYo Grip might be for you:
- In the UK alone, a whopping 67,000 smartphones are stolen per year (that’s 183 per day)
- Almost half of all adults have smashed a phone screen in their life
- 1 in 5 broke in the first month (not me!)
- 1 in 5 damaged trying to take a selfie (not me, but had a few close calls!)
- 1 in 4 cracked on a night out (yes, that fateful new year’s eve night out)
- 1 in 10 dropped down the toilet (why would anyone check their phone while on a bog?!)
With those stats in mind, I was more than determined to try out the YoYo Grip and see if it will become a RexyEdventures staple.
Selecting the orange coloured cord, I followed the simple instructions to put on the harness on my iPhone 11. It was easy and quick to do to set up and attach on a belt loop on my jeans. Check out my video here:
Here’s my takeaways:
1) The YoYo Grip did not block any key features of my phone including the dual camera, flash and the charging port.
2) In turn, the rubber feel, with the phone in my hand, actually became a bit of a hand grip
3) It was a little fiddly trying to attach the hook onto my belt loop and I thought the clip could have been a little bigger. But then i realised I could thread the cord through my loop and attach the clip onto the cord to create a secured fastening.
4) I did the test to drop my phone and it dropped to a height of my calves which was perfect! To be honest, I had so much fun doing it – doing the pendulum, spinning it around and more. Yes, I do like to live dangerously.
5) I could take a selfie but only just with the cord from my belt loop. But on my wrist, it was perfect.
6) Using the phone – initially you will need to adjust the corner grips to suit where you place your finger/thumb – e.g. pressing the back button, but once you have done so, it worked like a charm.
7) One of my favourite things about it is that I often leave my phone out on the sofa which after a while might disappear down the sides. This helps me to find it quickly and easily!
8) I took this in my walk one day and didn’t feel the need to keep checking my pocket for my phone
9) The cord comes in a variety of bright colours and I loved the orange, purple and charcoal. I could even accessorise to match my clothes!
All in all, I was very happy with the YoYo Grip in terms of its functionality, look, ease of set up and packaging. A quick and light product to take in my carry on luggage or in my pocket wherever I go. If I could just have the clip to be a teeny weeny bigger than I can clip on to my trousers to my heart’s delight!
Let’s just see where the YoYo Grip will go with me in my next destination, but all I know is that wherever I go, my phone will be safe from pickpockets, not at risk from being damaged or cracked, and a fabulous fashion accessory to whatever I wear!
(It would have been perfect for my last international trip to South Africa: RexyEdventures in South Africa
9.5 out of 10 from me, mwah!
Find out more about the YoYo Grip
Website: https://yoyogrip.com/
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below!
