Let me start off by saying I 100% unequivocally despise social media ads. I hate how social networks have devolved into captive marketing platforms. I hate it. I really do. So when I say I got suckered into a social media ad and that I actually like the product, ugh. It pains me to have typed that out. At any rate, after ignoring the Quad Lock® ads that I kept seeing on Instagram I finally gave in and checked out their website (making sure to just go to their site directly and not give Zuck the satisfaction of having through-clicked on a Meta ad).
Truth be told I’ve been on the hunt for a new cell-phone mounting system for a while. My previous one was janky, cheap, poorly made, crappy, deplorable, and just downright frustrating to use at times. At first I was excited because it had built-in wireless charging and was spring-loaded meaning I could use it one-handed. Sadly the wireless charger died within the first year — and even when it did work it barely kept up with my iPhone 11 Pro. Also quite sad was the spring-loaded grip. It often refused to lock open when I removed my phone and sometimes jammed and refused to lock close thus allowing my phone to fall to the floor — often out of reach. Needless to say, this upgrade has been a long time coming.
It was an “up-sell” add-on when I got my last phone.
Not worth the money at all
Before setting out on a search for a new cell-phone mounting system I wanted to make sure my needs were going to be satisfied. Nothing worse than buying something you think will solve your problems only to find out it created new ones. As such, I made a list of a few priorities:
- First: Had to mechanically secure – no magnets, no pinching arms
- Second: Had to be adjustable
- Third: Had to hold up to the rigors of sustained off-pavement travel
- Fourth: Had to be part of an ecosystem with multiple mounting options for multiple vehicles
The number one brand on my list for a long time was RAM Mounts. I know tons of people who have them, I sold and installed them for a while, and they have pretty much been the GOAT — err Ram? — for a very long time. Most other companies, such as Bulletpoint, are some derivation of the RAM Mount system just with their own spin on it. Sadly none of them checked all my boxes.
The “ball-and-socket” would always work loose and the holder would droop down
Combined with weak jaws, that meant the phone would just dump out onto the floor
The first drawback to RAM Mounts for me was their actual cell phone mount itself. On one had it was nice that they were universal and allowed you to use whatever case you wanted. Every iPhone I’ve ever owned has lived inside an Otterbox Defender Case. Side note: I even went so far as to zip-tie the Otterbox belt-clip to a Bracketron dash-bracket (sadly that bracket has been discontinued which sucks because I have one bracket and two Jeeps). Anyway, my main issue with the RAM Mount phone holders is that both the X-Grip and the Quick-Grip mounts can be fickle to use one-handed.
In contrast, what I like about the Quad Lock mount is that it is a positive mechanical lock. No pinchers or cradles just “holding” the phone. When you twist the phone onto the lock you get an affirmative “click” and nothing sort of hitting the unlock tab will release the phone. Which makes sense when talking about a phone mount popular with motorcyclists.
As far as putting together the mount itself, I first checked out their generic “kits” for 4×4’s and trucks. Once you decide on magnetic or standard (spoiler alert, I went with non-magnetic) you only have three options as far as the mount itself: suction, vent, or adhesive. To be honest I was a little disappointed by those options. I can’t see either of those three options holding up for the time of overland adventure travel I do. Maybe for a daily-driver they’d be fine. But not for what **I** do.
I’d skip the vibration dampener though
If you want raw parts, they are available a-la-cart on a different page
I then saw the “Build you own” option and then got excited. Under their 360™ system you can choose your own case just like with the basic kits, but when it comes to the mounts you have a lot more options. You can choose the head (standard or magnetic, and wireless or non-wireless in each variant) and then how you want to attach that head to the vehicle. For my setup I went with the vibration dampener with a short adjustable arm and the flat rectangular base. The baseplate uses the industry-standard AMPS hole pattern that pretty much every major manufacturer uses (RAM, Bulletpoint, Bracketron, etc) uses so I knew their baseplate would mount to the existing bracket in my Jeep. I also new it could be mounted to anything else I might want to use — such as the RubiGrind dash plate from Bulletpoint.
Before wrapping this review up with my final thoughts, I need to make another confession. I often ignore things like “customers who bought this also bought…” or “suggested products include.” Having been a marketing guy for a while I know that’s often just a quick grab for an up-sale. But when I saw that Quad Lock has a self-stick that doubles as a tripod I knew I needed one. Not so much for the self-stick mode, but more so the tripod stand. So when all was said and done, the above 360™ parts and the self-stick found their way to the shopping cart.
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned in the title of this article, this is not a sponsored review. I found the Quad Lock® products on my own and bought them with my own money at full retail no less. I figured the risk was worth the chance and I am very happy. I think the only thing I would recommend passing on is the vibration dampener. My Jeep shakes and rattles so much the head doesn’t seem to do much good. Also, given the cantilevered nature of the arm hanging off the rather flimsy Bracketron dash bracket the whole thing vibrates going down the road. That is honestly my only regret.
Beyond that, the system mounted into the Jeep nicely. The kit came with all the necessary tools and hardware — with the exception of mounting the flat base to the dash bracket. Given how many mounting options are out there it’s no surprise they leave that hardware out. That said, I will tell you ahead of time, if you order the same four-hole base I got, it uses M5 countersunk hardware (the tapered ones). That is one piece of information that is lacking on the “build it yourself” page but is listed on the base’s product page.
It works as a nice target and for one handed lock/unlock
Much more secure than any other mount I’ve used, or even seen
In the future I’m sure I’ll either be spec’ing out another full 360™ kit or at the very list just hitting the a-la-cart page for all 360™ parts to put together my own kit. I like that they list out all the parts including spare/replacement parts.
In short, if you’re looking for a new cellphone case and mounting system for your adventure vehicle, I highly recommend checking out the Quad Lock® system. Also, since they use industry-standard things like the AMPS mounting holes and 1″ ball-and-socket system it would work with most common/popular systems out there like RAM or Bulletpoint (which, if I’m honest, I’m already exploring what type of Frankenstein system I can cobble together for my other Jeep).
Disclaimer: This is an unsponsored product review. No affiliation with any mentioned company is expressed or implied and the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are those of the author himself. All products mentioned are the sole property of their respective owners. No defamation of any mentioned brand is intended or implied. Each company mentioned is good at what they do and each has their advantages and disadvantages. There is no one-size-fits-all magic solution for anyone and everyone so the best we can do is figure out what works for us.
