Panavise 15504 PortaGrip car mount keeps a fierce grip on phones

The Panavise 15504 PortaGrip holds smartphones to windshields with a strong grip.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Standing out as the 800 pound gorilla among smartphone mounts for cars, the Panavise 15504 PortaGrip feels like it’s been spending evenings and weekends at the gym. The thick pieces of this mount look like they could support a whole car, let alone a smartphone. The screws and hinges move as if manufactured to military spec.

I had no fears that this mount would fall apart while cradling my precious smartphone.

This suction cup mount, designed to stick to a car’s windshield while keeping a smartphone visible to the driver, uses multiple pivot points on its arm and a ratcheting clamp to hold smartphones in place.

However, it lacks any sort of power pass-through, USB ports, or channels to run a phone charging cable down to a car’s 12 volt power point.

Suction with a twist The sucker end uses a twist switch to increase suction, rather than a lever like many other windshield mounts. Placing the suction cup against the windshield of a car, I twisted the switch and the suction locked it in place. In fact, it became so strongly locked that as I pulled on it to test its hold, the entire car rocked on its suspension.

I like this suction mechanism, as it feels solid, locks well, and Panavise includes helpful engravings in the plastic showing the lock and unlock positio… [Read more]