In case you have never heard of Quad Lock, they make Smartphone cases with a patented locking system for easy and secure mounting.
The Quad Lock mountings could be on a running armband or bike handle bar or car suction cup mount or ball adapter (etc) but they all have these 4 locking tabs (hence the name Quad Lock). Then on the Quad Lock smartphone case, there is a matching locking recess. By pushing the smartphone case onto any of the mounts such that the locking tabs fit into the recess, and followed by a twisting action, the smartphone case becomes locked in and held in place. The quick release tab allows the smartphone case to be 'unlocked' and removed from the mount.
What about tablets or iPads?
For people who use an iPad and want to use this Quad Lock system, Quad Lock has a Universal Adapter that can be attached to the back of the iPad directly or to the back of an iPad case. So we tried that on our iPad Cooling Case. The Universal Adapter can be secured on the iPad Case with specially cut out 3M double sided tape on its back. But the important thing to note is that the surface needs to be smooth and non-textured. It can be plastic or metal and not rubber or rubber like. This is to ensure that the 3M tape will stick on properly.
As our iPad Cooling Case does have a slightly textured surface and not smooth, there is a risk that the adhesive will not stick on 100%. From our initial use and testing (using just the adhesive), it felt pretty secure. But we did not run any tests for an extended period so we don't know how long the adhesive will actually last. Check out the demo video below where we secured the iPad Cooling Case with the Universal Adapter to a Quad Lock mount with ball adapter.
Here comes the added twist
On the other hand, we do have the 4 holes on our Cooling Case and we thought we might try a little hack to better integrate the Universal Adapter. This little hack is basically drilling 4 (6mm) holes on the Universal Adapter at the exact locations as the AMPS pattern (38mm x 30mm). Then we can secure the Universal Adapter onto the iPad Cooling Case using M4 screws.
So now with the Universal Adapter secured using screws instead of the 3M adhesive, there are a few advantages to it:
1. The iPad Cooling Case can work with the Quad Lock system and can be secured onto Quad Lock mounts. In our example (see videos), we use it with the Quad Lock ball adapter and the RAM suction cup mount.
2. Securing with the screw would be more secure than the adhesive.
3. The Universal Adapter can be removed if not needed and placed back again when needed, all without having to rip off the adhesive.
The only big disclaimer is that once we modify (drill holes into) the Universal Adapter, the (Quad Lock) warranty becomes void. So this is a bit of risk we take.
Overall, we think this is a pretty cool hack (at least in our opinion). For people who like or already use the Quad Lock ecosystem, hopefully this is helpful for you. For those who are hearing of Quad Lock for the first time, you should go check them out too.
Lastly, here's another demo of the ease of using the iPad Cooling Case with a modified Universal Adapter:
1 comment
I use an iPad Air as the Mini is too small for ageing eyes. Are you likely to bring out an Air sleeve that would fit your fan base. I do use the Mini as a backup, and having the ability to change them over on the fly (pun intended) would make my decision on whether to buy your mount a no brainer. Currently use a basic leg strap that fits both but about to buy my own airplane so I want a mount that would live permanently in the airplane with power to it. Thanks.