[This review is being posted on JAMM and JAIB]
Ok, so how come I ‘ve never heard of Rivet before? Seriously. Before 2009 I thought you either had to put your phone in a case, attach a lanyard, or leave it naked. I didn ‘t know you could take little pins, secure them to your device with industrial strength tape, and then fasten them to your person with stainless steel clips. Did you know that?
It ‘s riveting, I know! Hit the jump for more thoughts and more pics!
The Rivet Clip is really a two-part system : pins are attached to devices, clips hold the pins to clothing or wherever you want to hold a device. If that still sounds confusing, let me just start with the pins.
The Pin Kit
Each of the pins is is small “ probably about the size of my thumbnail. There are three types, as shown below.
The Fixed and Universal pins are attached to devices by a thin piece of industrial adhesive (3M VHB) “ I don ‘t really know where else it ‘s used, but I will attest to its strength. I was also told by a Rivet representative that the adhesive will stick even in -40 and 400 Fahrenheit temperatures. Now, I don ‘t normally care about effective temperature ratings, but if I ‘m going to hold my device to my belt with a piece of tape then I want to make sure it won ‘t just freeze and fall of during winter. So far, it seems to be doing its job very well. I pulled at it from every direction and even tried to pry it off with a nail. I hurt my nail and the pin just laughed at me. The only difference between these two adhesive pins is the universal ‘s rivet can move. It can stay vertical or it can be switched to a horizontal picture.
You ‘ll really want to make sure you install these adhesive pins correctly, since they aren ‘t re-usable. Just use rubbing alcohol on the surface you ‘re going to apply the pin to, then stick it on and hold for 30 seconds. Once it ‘s on, it ‘ll stay on. I ‘ve had a pin on my iPhone for about three weeks now and I ‘ve thrashed the thing and it hasn ‘t come off (so far, anyway).
To remove the pin you ‘ll need to use a knife dipped in rubbing alcohol “ just slice in a circle until you ‘ve cut all the way through the adhesive, then pull the pin off gently. I was being very careful when testing this, so it took me about three minutes to get the pin completely off.
The Multi pin doesn ‘t use any adhesive to attach to a device. It comes with those thin little lanyard straps that you so often see for cellphone charms or for camera wrist straps. It ‘s also got a key ring, so I ‘ve actually decided to use it for my keys and Leatherman and it ‘s working out very well.
So those are the three pin types, and you ‘ll get at least one pin whenever you buy a Rivet Clip (covered next paragraph). However, they ‘re all available in one package: the Pin Kit “ in case you want all the options for your clip. One flaw I find in Rivet ‘s current line-up is that there ‘s no way to buy additional adhesives for the universal or fixed pins. The moment you attach a pin there is no way to re-use the adhesive, so you just have to buy more. Rivet said they ‘re looking into possibly providing a way to buy the adhesives, but it ‘s not a guarantee at this time. 🙁
The Clips
Anybody who is anybody knows that pins are useless unless you have something to attach them to. The two clips I received for review are the Shift and the Kingpin.
Shift “ Belt Clip
The Shift is quite possibly the coolest belt clip I ‘ve ever seen. It looks sleek and hi-tech and isn ‘t one of those bulgy plastic ultra clips. Just like the other Rivet products, this Shift is composed of stainless steel.
Simply attach the Shift to your belt (or to your car ‘s dashboard with the included adhesive) and click the pin into place through the top. The pin will click into place and stay secured until you press a small button on the left side of the Shift. Instead of having to pull the device out the way it came in, you just push that button and the pin will fall right out the bottom. This all makes for a very smooth little motion when you need to remove your device, but it ‘s also secure enough that you won ‘t accidentally press the button and send your device to the floor.
This is by far my favourite means of carrying my iPhone around. I really like carrying a phone around on my belt, but it ‘s usually a really bulky affair and not exactly the most fashionable thing you can lug around. The Shift ‘s sleek industrial look matches the iPhone perfectly, and I barely even realize my phone is on my belt. It ‘s ridiculously easy to put the iPhone in (not to mention that satisfying *click*), and there ‘s no fiddling with tight switches or correct angles when I need to answer the phone.
Kingpin “ Chain
The Kingpin can also attach to a belt, but I treat it like more of a stainless steel lanyard than anything else. You can attach the long chain to a belt loop and it can save your phone if it decides to go bungee jumping from your person.
The pin attaches to a small clip on the end of the chain. You just pull the top half of the clip back and slide the pin in “ repeat to release. I found the length of the chain to be just fine for pulling the iPhone out to check an SMS, but detaching the phone from the Kingpin for a call is a different story altogether. It ‘s not really that hard to do, but it requires a lot more fiddling than I feel is practical “ but I really, really like the look of the chain, so I ended up using it for my keys instead.
Conclusion
Truth be told, I was really sceptical when I first laid eyes on the Rivet Clips, but I ‘ve turned into a real fan. I can ‘t believe I ‘d never heard of these things before! You can fit the system on any phone out there that a pin can attach to, so these Rivet accessories aren ‘t product specific. Some phones are too heavy for the pins, but it ‘s rare to find an accessory that you can buy for one device that can fit your next one as well. Whatever the next-gen iPhone is, I hope it ‘s flat enough to accommodate a fixed pin somewhere.
What I liked:
- beautiful stainless steel design, great build quality
- unique concept : pins on a device?!
- flexible system fits on variety of devices
What could use improvement:
- way to buy more adhesive “ buying a pin kit just for adhesives is just too expensive
You can pick up Rivet Clips of your own at Rivetnow.com (links below, too):
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
TAGS:
