Why everyone needs a functional and comfortable phone strap or phone lanyard
Europe in summer - in the tourist centres - and it seemed like every fellow tourist had their phone dangling from their wrist or across their body with a phone strap or phone lanyard.
Not some flimsy decorative phone charm. But something a bit rugged.
Proper phone bracelets and cross body phone lanyards or phone straps with strong tethers immediately seemed like a good idea. I wondered why I had not seen them before? Perhaps because I haven't followed social media in recent years.The only version I had seen around Wellington were decorative phone charms on thin threads hooked through a button hole on the side of a phone case. Looking like they'd easily wear and snap off at any point.
The phone straps being used in Europe were practical....
Top reasons why phone straps are a smart practical idea - and a must have when you are on vacation
Hands free convenience.
Your phone is (probably) your most used day to day tool, something you are constantly reaching for, especially if you are taking photos on holiday. And a phone bracelet lets you keep it close without constantly digging through your bag. It's simply more convenient to let it dangle from your wrist for a moment on the bracelet, rather than put in your bag and then find it again from the depths of you handbag or backpack.
Reduce the risk of phone snatching.
A phone bracelet or strap reduces the risk of your phone being snatched. Coming from New Zealand, this was not something I'd worried about until I got to Europe and saw warnings about phone snatching. Yip, we're probably all aware not to have your phone in your pocket in a crowded place in case you get pick pocketed. But phone snatching is about stealing your phone out of your hand while it is unlocked, so the criminals can potentially deactivate phone tracking features or change your security settings, get into your emails and much more before the home screen locks again.
The Economist estimates that 70,000 phones were stolen in London, and 40,000 in Paris, in 2024. You can read about what's going on here and the steady rise in incidents of phone snatching occurring.
Given how much we all depend on our phones, the inconvenience of having one stolen has to be as bad or worse than having your wallet stolen. Not something I want to be dealing with ever, but particularly not when travelling solo overseas.
Having your phone on a sturdy phone strap or lanyard with a decent strength tether makes it just that much harder for someone to actually grab your phone and speed off.
Stop worrying about you (or your kids) dropping your phone
The number of times I have reached my phone out a window, over water, over a cliff....and the number of times I have seen my kid do these things...every time thinking "don't drop it"....
Having your phone on a decent strength phone bracelet, lanyard or strap gives you a back up safety tool. If the phone does slip out of your hand (or your kids hand) it should just end up hanging from the wrist...
State Insurance reports that dropped and lost phones are amongst the most claimed for contents insurance items. And some cheaper contents policies do not cover damage from dropping your cell phone, or will only provide partial cover.
Even if you are covered, there is that huge hassle factor of having to make the insurance application and re-establish everything on to your new phone.
No pockets, no problem
As annoying as it is, so many pieces of clothing still don't have decent pockets. With a phone bracelet or phone lanyard - no pocket, no problem.
Avoid the hassle of carrying a handbag
Now my phone is on a phone bracelet or phone lanyard, and my credit card (and the rest of my day to day tools are on my phone) I'm increasingly finding I don't actually need a handbag. Yip, useful sometimes, but easier not to for quick errands or when I need to carry things or just would want to put it down anyway - like when running around at the park with the kids.
You don't need to buy a new phone case to attach a phone strap or lanyard
There are plenty of options on the market that come with universal tethers that work with most phone cases. Learn about universal tethers and how to fit one to your existing phone case here.
Cadiz offers phone bracelets and lanyards with universal tethers, and you can go to our product collections by clicking on the links.