These retractable USB-C cables replaced everything else in my bag
I have a cable problem. Iâm the guy with a giant box (three, actually) of ancient power cables that connect to nothing, just in case a time traveler appears with my hard drive from 2006 and demands I plug it in. I have approximately a thousand Lightning cables, even though the only Lightning-charging device I […]
![These retractable USB-C cables replaced everything else in my bag](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Baseus_Free2Draw_Mini_Retractable_USB-C_Cable_100W_Blue_4_1200x.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,23.821989528796,100,52.356020942408)
![](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Baseus_Free2Draw_Mini_Retractable_USB-C_Cable_100W_Blue_4_1200x.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100)
I have a cable problem. Iâm the guy with a giant box (three, actually) of ancient power cables that connect to nothing, just in case a time traveler appears with my hard drive from 2006 and demands I plug it in. I have approximately a thousand Lightning cables, even though the only Lightning-charging device I have left is my AirPods. (Which I charge wirelessly anyway.) I have a bunch of fancy braided USB-C cables, which I bought just so Iâd know who was absconding with my chargers at family gatherings. When I travel, I have a case roughly the size of a family-sized Doritoâs bag just for cables and chargers.
A couple of weeks and a few trips ago, though, I replaced all those cables with just two. Theyâre retractable USB-C cables, made by a company called Baseus. In case youâre wondering, itâs a China-based company founded in 2009. Apparently, the name is a shortening of the phrase âbase on user.â Which, sure. The company has been growing in China for years, but only relatively recently started selling in the US through a warehouse and storefront in Ohio. Like Anker, Ugreen, and other China-based brands you probably discovered on Amazon, Baseus sells what appears to …