First look: Ultimate Addons phone holder

IT'S A funny old world, isn't it? I was in Split, in Croatia the other week, riding some mad Harley-Davidsons about the place and generally having a ball. On the last day though, I was out on a big touring bike, and had to make my own way back to the hotel for an earlier flight than everyone else. It would have been dead handy to have my iPhone on the handlebars for some quick navigation back - but I didn't have my usual holder with me. One of the lovely Harley folk sorted me out though, and mounted a big holder on the Road Glide for me - top work! It was an impressive piece of kit - a lot bigger than my usual one, and with a very good mount setup, easy touchscreen panel, and generally, a well thought-out item. It was black and greeny-blue, and had the logo 'Ultimate Addons' on there. You can just see it there on the left-hand handlebar.

After I left Split though, I didn't expect to see a mount like it again. It was probably a fancy limited-edition thing from Milwaukee, or California, and not for the likes of me. But bugger me if I didn't get one of those 'targetted ads' on social media somewhere a week or so ago, with that very holder on there. I clicked through (such a sucker), and found the webpage. Nicely done - oh, they have a UK phone number! Another click, and there's the address - Ullapool, in the proper Scottish Highlands. Weird or what??!!

I gave them a shout, and the very lovely Nanette filled me in - the firm had been based in the Midlands for a decade or so, but decided to move to Ullapool a couple of years ago. The quality of life up there outweighing the slightly trickier postal services and internet speeds...

Anyway. That's a long intro for a product (but what else would you be doing on a Thursday afternoon except stealing time from your boss online?) Fact is, I've managed to borrow another Ultimate Addons iPhone holder, and it's as good as I remember. There's a clever setup for connectors, where they fit inside the whole case, rather than poking through as on some others. That means you can use different wires with no worries (my other case doesn't allow 90° headphone cables for instance). That's what makes the case a bit bigger, but it's well worth that downside. The mount uses a special three-prong setup, and Ultimate Addons (UA) offers a wide range of mounts, from a RAM-style ball to handlebar clamps and the like. I've put a ball mount on the GSX-S750 handlebars, and a bar clamp on the Tracer 900, and they both work a treat, easy to use and solid enough. 

The case itself is super-tough, and very waterproof with three securing clips and two over-centred camming clamps, plus a lanyard attachment in case of a mis-mount leading to a dismount for your iDevice. It's also available to suit a load of phones, including Samsungs, and them other new phones which your kids all have.

The main case starts at £32 for a basic mount kit, with more involved setups and charging cables etc all available for a bit more. Check out the site here for more details on the setup for you.

Check out Ultimate Addons here. They have mounts for action cams, satnavs and the like, as well as mounts for bicycles and cars.