Hands-on review: The Belkin DuraTek Plus charging cable will outlast your device

Charging cables have one job – and they're notorious for being bad at it.

Stock and off-brand charging cables fraying and breaking after prolonged use is an experience anyone can relate to.

As the lifespan of your cable visibly shortens, the anxiety levels you get while waiting for the 'charging' sign to on after plugging a device in builds.

Several companies have tried to cash in on the unreliability of stock cables by reinforcing parts of the cable such as the cord and the plugs with tougher materials or better designs.

Popular accessories manufacturer Belkin recently released its second shot at bettering the cable: the Belkin DuraTek Plus.

Here's our take on whether it succeeded.

The DuraTek Plus comes in two colours: black and white.

For the Plus, Belkin shunned the gold and rose gold options it made available in its previous DuraTek MIXIT ranges.

It seems to be going for the 'rugged urban wanderer' aesthetic with nylon braided cables and a leather strap that attaches to the cable.

The head of the cable has a subtly marbled, textured look, which brings camouflage prints to mind.

It's a nice detail that makes what could have been a plasticky part of the cable more polished.

In use, the colours blend with most environments in a no-nonsense, here-to-do-its-job way, and the leather strap adds a nice touch without being too attention-grabbing.

The DuraTek Plus is available in three lengths: 4 feet, 6 feet, and 10 feet.

With the 4 feet option, I finally have a charging cable that comfortably reaches my bed from the wall plug.

The leather strap is great for keeping the long cable organised when moving it around as opposed to devolving into a long, tangled mess.

Having it attached as part of the cable also meant that I didn't misplace it and never use it again.

The DuraTek range is focused on durability and does so by strengthening three parts of the cable's construction.

The outer jacket of the cable cord is double-braided nylon, much less fragile than the rubber used in stock cables.

The point where the cable joins the connector head is made of flexible TPE and elongated, making this key stress point much more strain-resistant.

Finally, the cords are insulated with aramid, a material used to reinforce protective clothing. This protects the wires when they flex and bend inside the cable.

For those firmly in the Apple camp, the DuraTek Plus has Apple MFi certification, which means it has been put through Apple's compliance tests to ensure they are safe to use with your pricey iDevice.

The cable also comes with a five-year warranty – a lifetime in a technology cycle and likely to outlive your devices.

The Belkin DuraTek Plus is a great pick for a long-lasting charging cable that's an investment.

The price point is a little bit on the expensive side but compared to other manufacturers offering comparable products, Belkin's long warranty, timeless design, and MFi certification taken together edges it out slightly ahead of the competition.