JOBY - GripTight Mount PRO Holder for Smartphone

I bought this in hopes that it would reliably and securely hold my $1k cell phone on a stick held out at about 3 ft. away. I have an OtterBox on my phone and this holder is just not designed to hold anything more than the bare phone. I just will not trust my phone being held at that distance with this holder. NOTE: The holder is extremely well made and very positive for a bare skinny phone, I just find it hard to believe that the designers would ignore the fact that most people have some sort of protective case on their phones and not allow for this added thickness. NOT rocket science guys!

I needed a phone mount to attach to my tripod so I can make mini videos for my online business. I usually read reviews before buying products like this, but I didn't this time. I just went into Best Buy and purchased it. I have to say that I am happy with the quality of this little gadget. It attaches securely to my tripod, and the phone mechanisms adjust easily and securely to my phone. There are two screws to stabilize the phone, one for up and down angle and one to tighten the phone into the phone grip - Both are made well and secure the phone so I don't have to worry about my phone falling off the mount. The rotation option is great too because I prefer to have my phone in an upright position when making a video. I think that this was a good purchase for me and am very happy with it.

This is a good product, overall, and does what we need it to do. The only negative I’ve found is the mechanism for opening, closing the phone clamp, and rotating it (0-90 degrees, ie for landscape or portrait orientation) - Although a fairly simple mechanism, it is a little fiddly to use, as any movement requires some force, due to “tightness” of the assembly. On our product, based on the ease of adjustment, it was difficult to tell whether the release bolt was in locked or unlocked state. Once you’re aware of this minor challenge, it’s fine. It might even deserve a five star rating! Although, I’m not acquainted with competing products, I would say that this is a quality product, and a very good buy.

The knob mechanism for tightening the grip in place is the same knob that allows you to swivel from vertical to horizontal. Therefore, if you have it in place and want to swivel the position, the entire phone comes loose and will easily (if not surely) fall to the ground while you are merely trying to change it's orientation. Such an incredibly poor design choice. It's a shame because the materials are all very sturdy and it otherwise does seem fairly pro. But I will not risk having my phone crash the ground. I've seen far cheaper phone holders with better design.

The Joby TightGrip PRO is definitely a smartphone grip for anyone who uses their device to shoot pictures, vlog, etc. The fact that it’s made of metal and not from cheap plastic and cheap springs makes the few added dollars worth it. Since using it, I’ve not once worried about my phone coming out. Even better, you can maneuver the unit in different angles without doing anything crazy with your hand or tripod. I’m seriously considering buying a second one just as a backup.

I needed something that would hold my phone on a tripod so I could do Facebook Live videos. This worked great for what I needed it to do. The photo that BestBuy has on their site is not what you will get when you purchase this. The photo shows a section on the bottom that swivels and extends the hold higher up. This DOES NOT come with it. I took a look on the manufacturers website and that part costs another $49. You really need that part if you want it to hold your camera in a vertical postion and still clear the tripod head other then that it worked fine.

I can be certain when I buy Joby products, I will get a quality item. I have the small gorilla pod and this works fine on it. Like I mentioned, its heavy so keep that in mind when putting it on a small tripod with your phone. The original clamp that came with my gorilla pod was easy to use since you just pull it open, but this is nice if you want to put your phone in portrait mode. Also it takes one screw to be able to rotate and open it, which makes it quick to use, but if you just want to rotate it, you must be aware of your device coming out. Works nice on a full size tripod as well.

I bought this holder as a gift for my younger sister, she's a personal trainer and post workout videos for her clients. She's made great use of this holder as it allows the phone to be placed at any angle. I ordered a second one a few months later for myself, great to use with any tripod to take pics or video. I also use it to watch videos on my phone while I lay in bed. I would definetly recommend this holder, especially if you already have a tripod.