Putting aside the undeniable fact that cables shouldn’t actually exist in what is meant to be a wireless world, one of the most frustrating things about cables is their length.
Cable manufacturers revel in how long they can make these digital snakes. Who on earth needs a 10-metre USB cable, or even a 2m HDMI cable?
You can buy a 3m (10ft) Lightning charging cable. What maniac needs that?
There are cables that come with some gadgets that Tarzan could have swung around in the jungle. These exist purely to trip up unsuspecting visitors and abuse domestic aesthetics.
These seemingly endless cables form ugly twisting knots of frustration behind our desks, TVs and games consoles.
And the longer the cable, the worse the performance - ok, it might be a minor reduction of signal strength between a 1m and a 5m cable, but it’s still an unnecessary one.
Power leads are another cable that mostly come in metres of stupidity. If you need 5m of cable, why not just install another power socket where you need it? Hide the power cables in your walls or behind skirting boards instead.
Here we celebrate short cables, and urge everyone to embrace tidier desks, TVs and PCs.
Best Short Micro USB Cable
- $6.99
Micro USB is an incredibly common and fist-shakingly frustrating USB connector - in that you have to put it in the right way, and it’s so small (Micro) that it takes a while to work out which way is up and which is down.
It’s super common for older phones, speakers, power banks and other gadgets. As a charging cable, you might need only a short length, and this Anker Micro USB cable is just 4in long. It comes in a pack of two, and it’s always useful to have a spare, right?
Best short Lightning Cable
- $6.99
Apple ships its products with about a metre of Lightning cable, but the distance from my power socket to the kitchen top is a lot less than that, and I suspect the same is true for just about everybody.
This AmazonBasics cable comes in various colours (Black, White, Red and Blue) and lengths (4in, 3ft, 6ft and 10ft).
Obviously, we prefer the 4in version, although we’re not that bothered by the colour. Oh ok, we like the white one.
Best short Lightning Cable (USB-C)
- $14.99
Eventually Apple will replace its Lightning connector with the more universal USB-C it uses on its high-end iPads and laptops.
Until, then, you may require a USB-C to Lightning cable, and a short one at that.
The Pengo USB-C to Lightning cable measures just 20cm. Sweet.
Best short HDMI Cable
- $13.99
Got a TV? Then you’ve almost certainly using HDMI to connect it to your other devices – which are probably not more than a foot or two from the telly. Measure it, though, as you might, gasp, need a slightly longer cable.
This one is a mere 1ft long – love it!
Best short DisplayPort Cable
- $13.99
DisplayPort is much more able than HDMI, with much faster delivery speeds. But it’s mostly a PC thing, rather than HDMI, which is the standard on most TVs.
As it connects your PC to an external display, the chances are you don’t need 2m of cable. This StarTech cable is a mere 1ft long, which is perfect for many PC or docking station to monitor connections.
Best short USB-C Cable
- $7.99
USB-C cable is so much better than oldies like USB-A or Micro USB. It can faster speeds and is reversible, so you can plug it in either side up - what a joy!
AmazonBasics have USB-C cables in various lengths – up to nearly 3m – but this one is just 15cm, which we think is all you need for basic charging.
If you need a short USB-A to USB-C cable, Swedish cable manufacturer - yes, it’s not all Abba and Volvo – Volutz makes these in various lengths, from as short as 0.3m.
Best short Thunderbolt 3 Cable
- $27.69
Thunderbolt 3 cables are either Active or Passive. It’s likely that your device was supplied with a low-cost passive cable, and these have cable-length performance limitations.
If you want the maximum bandwidth from your 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable, a passive one should be no longer than 0.7m. An active T3 cable can hold that 40Gbps at up to 2m in length, but are a lot more expensive. For 20Gbps T3, the max passive cable length should be 2m.
StarTech makes a 40Gbps T3 cable at the required 0.5m length, and in other lengths too, should you need them.
Best short Ethernet cable
- $3.99
I can understand the need for very long Ethernet cables, when you need to string a decent wired Internet connection to distant devices. High-speed Cat6 Ethernet has a Usain Bolt sprinting maximum length of 100m.
You might be better off using a Powerline adapter, however.
But there’s little need for a metre of cable when you just need to connect your router to the computer that’s sitting right next to it.
This Cat6 Ethernet cable from Monoprice is a foot long, and all the better for its shortness.
Best short Power Figure 8 (2-pin) cord
Power cables don't need to be longer than a fully grown python either.
A common power cord type is the Figure 8, named after the 2-pin connector end that looks a bit like the number 8.
Make sure you get the correct plug end for your country, of course. Although having one for each place you visit might mean you don't need to bring a travel adapter.
For the UK, this 50cm Figure 8 power lead is nicely short.
In the US, try the Inzacle 12in Figure 8 power cord.
Best short Kettle (C13) Power Cord
In the UK, there’s a 50cm length from Kenable.
In the US, Amazon Basics has a 1ft C13 power cord, and many other lengths to choose from.
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