Patchsee Intelligent Cable reviewed (and taken apart!)

When DHL left a "we missed you" slip on my door I was confused not only because I hadn't ordered anything but also because it had tracking info from Belgium. Then I saw the company name and realized that PatchSee had sent me the demo kit that I had applied for! Check out my quick review in the video below - feel free to let me know if you think this cable would be useful or not in your own environment!

Pros

  • Attractive look
  • High-quality build
  • Clever tracing system
  • Your friends don't have it

Cons

  • Colored plastic clips turn white
  • Impossible to repair/re-crimp
  • Pointless strain-relief spring
  • Expensive - $9.30 for 1.2m cable!

So, would I outfit my whole environment in PatchSee cables?  No probably not.  But, I would use them where I have lengths long enough to tangle if I move them a bunch.  If I had a server rack packed full of 1U servers that I swapped often it might be wise to use these to trace out.  One of my concerns, though, is that the process of plugging the LED light unit onto the cable could disrupt data transmission since it takes some force.  If I had a relay rack full of patch panels and switches this could get extremely expensive and usually patch panels are used for employee desk runs where a couple minutes of outage while manually tracing may be allowable.   Either way, PatchSee has created a cool product even if it is just a CAT6 cable with two fiber optic strands running through the insulation.

Using these cables is an expensive way to cable your environment and I don't totally agree with the design, but it's really nice to see a company that actually fulfills your request for a product sample.  Good on you PatchSee!

Author: Jon

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