I may be a bit late to the party, but as I'm slowly upgrading technologies and devices in my household, I'm finally starting to get enough things which support both USB C and "Fast Charging" or PD technology.
Recently I knew I would need to charge one of my devices while away from home, but I didn't want to reach behind the desk to unplug the official charging brick (with non-removable cable) that came with it. So instead I brought a 65w GaN brick and a USB C cable which I've been happily using for a couple years mostly to connect game controllers to my PC. Later that day when my device started warning me that the battery was low, I confidently plugged everything in to let it start charging, only to realize that the device was draining faster than it was charging! Apparently my favorite USB C cable I've been happily using isn't PD capable so it was trickling power to the device at a rate I assume to be somewhere around 5w.
My go-to source for cables is usually MonoPrice, but I think I'd like a cable that has a little LED display in it that shows you the wattage negotiated through PD, and MonoPrice doesn't seem to have any with that feature. So I went looking on Amazon but I can't be sure what are the good quality cables amidst all the unheard of brands made up of seemingly random letters.
Unfortunately I just can't trust Amazon reviews anymore and I would feel much more comfortable getting a recommendation from someone I know is a real person who has personal experience with the cables they recommend.
So I'd be glad to hear recommendations for good quality cables capable of charging power hungry devices. And also feel free to challenge my assumption that the LED screen would be nice to have. If you have experience with a cable that has an LED screen and you think it's a terrible idea, please tell me why you think so, and feel free to recommend a cable without a screen (though in that case I'd be inclined to just go with MonoPrice).
They don't have to be from Amazon, but they do need to be available in the USA.
In summary, here's what I'm looking for in a USB-C cable:
- Good quality & durable
- 2-3 meters long (~6-10ft)
- PD capable of at least 45w
- LED screen showing current wattage
- Good balance between affordability and future-proof
On that last bullet point, what I mean is that I'm seeing some cables are advertising themselves as being capable of up to 240w. I think the most power hungry USB C device in my household right now can only accept up to 45w, and I think the most powerful charging brick I have supplies only 65w. So I don't really need, nor could I use, 240w right now. However, if getting a 100w or 240w cable doesn't significantly increase the cost then I'd be happy to buy one so I can take advantage of it in the future when I inevitably get even more power hungry devices in the future. But if, for example, a 240w cable is going to be twice the price of a 100w cable then I'd prefer to get a 100w cable or two instead.
And one last point of consideration: While it would be nice if I could also use the cable for transferring files quickly, my current focus is primarily on fast power delivery. So if the savings are significant, I'd rather have (for example) a 100w PD cable that is only capable of USB 2.0 speeds than pay three times more for a 100w cable capable of the latest USB 3+ speeds.
