This $7 cable is secretly the most useful thing in my tech bag

Vafoton PD 240W short USB-C cable

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Vafoton’s palm-sized cable is available for $6.80.
• It’s compatible with Thunderbolt 4, 240W power and 40Gbps data transfer.
• The cable might be a little too short for some users.

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Your day can be derailed by not having the right cable. I know, because it happened to me last year. I found myself in a rental car that didn’t support wireless Apple CarPlay, so my options were to listen to the radio for nine hours, or buy a crazy overpriced (but cheaply made) cable from a gas station. 

Also: If your USB-C device isn’t charging, I always consider this quick fix first

I was forced to do the second option. $30 later (yes, really) I was able to listen to my audiobook again. After this experience, I vowed to add a decent USC-C keychain cable to my carry. It had to be cheap (because of their tendency to get lost) but handle fast charging, high-speed data, and up to 8K video. 

I tested a bunch of cables, and the Vafoton PD 240W short USB-C cable came out on top. 

First off, this cable does everything it says it on the spec sheet. It actually carries 240W of power, which is saying something, as you’d be amazed how may I came across make that claim but in practice are limited to 100W, or even 60W. In my testing, however, I confirmed it can carry data at 40Gbps and video at 8K 60Hz, and is compatible with Thunderbolt 4 standards.   

Also: I tested a solid-state portable battery for a week – now lithium-ion feels old school

The cable is also E-Marker chipped to ensure that it’s correctly identified by devices using it, which is vital for such high-speed cables.

The cable measures 5.1-inches unfolded, is coated in a soft yet durable TPU, and packs away into the keychain adapter neatly. Is this too short? Not for most applications I use it for, but sometimes I did have to put my iPhone into some strange orientations to make it work. Something to keep in mind if you have a specific use case for this cable. 

The keychain adapter also does a great job of keeping the cable secure until needed.  A problem with a lot of these keychain cables is that they fall out of the adapter too readily and are easily lost. I had no such problems with this cable.

The cable is also tough. I’ve had a couple of these on keychains and my backpack for a few weeks and they’ve been used and abused quite a bit. Pockets are a tough environment for anything, and while hanging on my backpack, it has seen rain, snow, and a lot of sand and dust, and it still looks and works like new.  

ZDNET’s buying advice

The best part is that the Vafoton PD 240W short USB-C cable is currently less than $7. Buy two, and keep one on your keys and one on your laptop bag, or buy three, and give one to that friend or family member who is always asking for a cable.  

It’s a great cable, both in that it does everything that it says, and that it is very well specced in terms of power and data transfer. For the price, it’s hard to beat!