The velcro ties everyone raves about actually damaged one of my cables

I kept seeing people swear by those reusable velcro cable ties for desk setups. Figured I'd grab a pack of 50 for $8 on Amazon and finally tame the rat nest behind my TV. After 3 months, I went to reroute everything and found the velcro had worn through the rubber coating on my HDMI cable. The little fabric hooks just ground it down from all the slight movement when I cleaned. Found a cable management forum post from 2019 that showed the same issue with nylon sleeves. Am I the only one who thinks plain old zip ties with a little slack are still the better option for permanent setups?

2 comments

2 Comments

skylerc861mo ago

That whole thing tracks with how cheap gear works out in the long run. Everyone grabs the $8 pack of anything and ignores that the material quality is the real story. @ruby_sanchez45 brings up a good point about the two types, but even the soft stuff fails if you're like me and just wrap it tight and forget it. Same deal with those velcro straps on power strips or the rubber bands on broccoli, they all dry out, fray, or transfer their cheapness onto whatever they touch. Zip ties are boring but they don't lie, they just sit there and hold. Permanent setup means permanent hardware, not convenient BS.

ruby_sanchez451mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, are you sure you were using the kind that's the soft fuzzy fabric? Because there's two different types of velcro cable ties, and the cheap ones with the rough scratchy side can definitely eat through rubber over time. The softer fabric style is what most people recommend for cables, but even those can wear down if they're too tight and the cable moves around a lot. I've got a few of the fuzzy ones on my charging cables and they've been fine for over a year, but I make sure to leave them loose enough that the cable can breathe a bit. Zip ties work great for permanent stuff but if you ever need to swap a cable out, you're stuck cutting them off and starting over.