Hands on: Nomad's stainless steel MagSafe Mount to hold your puck

The MagSafe Dock CNC'd from a single piece of stainless steel metal and then painted for a satin, silver-like non-glossy finish. Inside is a layer of micro-suction foam that securely keeps hold of the MagSafe puck in place as you lift your phone but is easy to remove to take the puck with you for travel.

MagSafe is a new connectivity standard baked into the entire iPhone 12 line and can be used to attach wallets, connect to various accessories, or used to charge your phone. As it connects magnetically, it typically requires two hands to detach — a problem Nomad aims to solve.

Testing the MagSafe Mount

We've been using the Nomad MagSafe Mount for a few days now and are slightly torn.

On the one hand, the MagSafe Mount is indispensable. Without it, your MagSafe puck will move around your desk or nightstand. What's more, when not in use, it tends to fall to the floor.

The MagSafe Mount does what it sets out to do. We love that it is easy to free your MagSafe puck when you want to take it with you, something other holders don't always consider.

While the mount fixes these problems, it creates an issue on its own. Since it is holding your puck, you can't easily use your phone while charging now. You are left choosing between a freely moving puck and holding your phone while charging.

This isn't a catastrophic issue, and it depends on where you plan to place the MagSafe Mount and if you tend to hold your phone while charging. The MagSafe Mount is fantastic on our desk because we don't often plug it in while using it. MagSafe charges fast enough, and we pick it up when we need it, but otherwise, we can interact with our phone while it sits on top of the charger.

In bed, though, it's the end of the day, and we do have a propensity for lying there, using our phone, and charging at the same time. In that scenario, Nomad's MagSafe Mount isn't ideal.

We haven't been using the MagSafe too long as of yet, but we have started to notice some wear on our MagSafe cable, giving us a little pause as to how the cable will hold up over time. The overmold has a sharp crease from the tight fit and the lip of the metal puck shows some wear marks from where it makes contact with the MagSafe Mount during insertion and removal.

A solid product, literally

The MagSafe Mount from Nomad is a well-designed product that does solve one of MagSafe most annoying problems. Yet, it may not be the solution everyone is looking for.

We love the look, feel, and unique cord management of the device but still realize that we're in the early days of MagSafe, and this is just one of the first devices to come to market. As time goes on, we will likely see many iterations on this product and new ones from Nomad itself.

If you're looking for a solution now and don't mind the semi-permanent placement of your MagSafe puck, there are only a couple more premium options available. Its fit and finish are nearly unrivaled in the MagSafe space, where we've seen primarily loads of silicone or plastic shells.

You can pick up the new Nomad MagSafe Mount from the company directly for $49.99.