Krafted’s Swiss army tool for may be great solution to a somewhat outdated problem
The Krafted Connex is exactly what it looks like. It takes a lot out of the Swiss Army knife playbook and offers a variety of charging/cabling solutions in a small, compact package. It’s a really well-put-together little tool.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great design Solid materials Sound concept | Outdated port options Unclear in/out uses |
We love our little gadgets here at Hubbley, but it’s tricky to get excited about a cable.A cable / Swiss Army knife combo, however..
The Krafted Connex is exactly what it looks like on the surface. It takes a lot out of the old Swiss Army knife playbook and offers a variety of charging/cabling solutions in a small, compact package. It’s a really well-put-together little tool. In one compact package, it offers connectivity for USB-A, micro USB, USB-C, and two Lightning cable options. This means that if you run the USB-A into a regular power supply or device capable of charging, you can connect to other devices using any of the aforementioned. Now, in 2024 some of these connections are a little outdated. Lightning isn’t long for this world after Apple’s latest transition, and I honestly can’t tell you the last time I used micro USB. So yeah, it’s a little out of date, but a degree of variety is nice.
It’s a wonderfully made and designed product. The outer plastic on either side has a nice, clean finish with slick, minimal branding. There are small etched logos illustrating which direction the cables swing out, not that I remembered to check before trying, and each of these bumpers is adhered to a thin slice of metal. Between all of that are the adapters which swing out nice and smooth. It feels sturdy and well-finished in the hand.
Now, I mentioned the selection of adapters a little earlier and how some are perhaps a little dated. We’re looking down the barrel of 2025 as I write this review and out of 5 adapters only the one USB-C is a bit of a shame. What is nice though is how they’ve designed the casing around them. They have a rubber casing that is etched near the base, which means they’re nice and solid but have enough flexibility to bend and twist if needed.
A final thing worth noting is that there was a little bit of confusion understanding what ports work with each other and when. For example, I tried plugging the USB-C into my docking station to charge my AirPods, and this just didn’t work. I don’t really know why. Then I plugged in the USB-A to charge via Lightning, that worked fine. A bit weird, I thought.
Conclusion
The Krafted Connex is a great little tool, really well executed. Unfortunately, the one I used just felt a little late to the game. More than half the ports available are on their way out on most modern devices, and even if they weren’t, it isn’t always totally clear which of these options work in which direction or why. I find myself thinking that if this was freshened up with more USB-C options, then it would be a perfect bit of kit, but in this hypothetical scenario…would I still need it? Everyone moving towards USB-C is slowly bringing us closer to the ideal ‘Universal’ solution. And in that world, it’s hard to see where the Krafted Connex is needed.
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