Tested: Mobnetic Pro 90

Holding mobile devices in place during rough off-road travel is a challenge for most cradles and the last thing you want is your digital map under your pedals, or out of reach under your seat.

The issue was particularly relevant to Gold Coast, Queensland-based off-road racer Chris Rosch, who encountered the problem more than once when competing in events like the Finke Desert Rally.

After researching available options, he recently became the Australian agent for American-made Mob Amor devices, which are designed to hold smart phones and tablets of all sizes in place under the toughest conditions.

While the company’s range includes products to attach your device to any fixed item like a roll-over cage, the one expected to be most popular with Australian off-road travellers is Mobnetic Pro 90, which uses a magnetic connection to hold your phone to a dashboard, console or windscreen base.

Fitting the device is simple: clean the donor surface with the supplied cloth; press the magnetic base onto the area with hard pressure for one minute; then allow to set overnight. You then repeat a similar process to attach the thin steel baseplate to the back of your phone or tablet.

In my case, because my iPhone moves from vehicle to vehicle and has to slip into a slim cradle that’s connected to an external antenna, I elected to attach the phone’s base plate to the back of a plastic phone case.

It worked just as well and the phone has been mounted rock-solid to the vehicle’s console ever since.

The beauty of the Mobnetic Pro 90 mount is that you can attach and angle the phone as you wish, as its base articulates through 90 degrees. So, you or your passenger could theoretically have hands-free Facetime conversations without removing the phone from its base.

The other advantage is that when you drop into the shops or the ‘servo’, you can easily grab your phone and take it with you without any complicated dismounting from a conventional cradle.

Finally, if you update or change your phone, you don’t need to buy a whole new cradle or mount – just a new steel base plate for the back of your new phone.

Quite seriously, this is one of the best mobile phone devices I have ever used.

As well as phone magnets, the Mob Amor range includes mounts for a wide range of products, including tablets and rear-view mirrors – all designed with rugged off-road use in mind.

The full range is available through the Facebook page of Mob Armor Australia, or through most TJM and ARB stores, rally specialists Brown Davis and some smaller independent stores.  Pricing starts at $99 for the Mobnetic Pro 90.