I did not expect much. I have a drawer full of phone holders that cracked, slipped, or covered the one button I needed.
So when I first saw this bendy little octopus thing, I rolled my eyes. It takes something genuinely different and useful to get my attention, and most gadgets are just meh to me.
Then I saw Tenikle on Shark Tank, ordered one to prove myself right, and now I honestly wonder how I ever lived without it.
What Tenikle Actually Is
Tenikle is a phone and tablet mount that attaches to almost anything using bendy, positionable legs and strong suction cups.
It is like a tripod and a twist tie had a baby, and the baby looks like an octopus.
It holds phones, cameras, tablets and more, so you can firmly mount your device virtually anywhere. It gets you hands free in seconds, and it rotates in every direction, so you are not stuck choosing between portrait and landscape. No matter how awkward the surface is, you can tweak the screen to any angle you want.
Three small things I appreciate more than I expected:
It will not cover your audio
It will not block any of your buttons or plugs
It never covers either camera
How It Works
Tenikle mounts onto just about any surface with its ultra strong suction cups and bendable grippy legs.
Smooth surfaces are the easy case. You press it on and it mounts instantly. For crooked or irregularly shaped surfaces, you just bend the legs and get a strong grip in seconds.
The flexible phone mount is what makes it feel adaptable rather than fiddly. It bends and twists in any direction, so your device is infinitely positionable and still sturdy.
It also requires zero setup, which is rare for anything with the word tech attached to it. You use it right out of the box with virtually any camera, phone or tablet in your house, and it can hold up to 100 times its own weight.
The Ways I Actually Use It
I use Tenikle every day, and the list keeps growing.
It suctions onto a smooth surface so I can film video, video chat with family, or prop up an instructional video while I fix something around the house.
No smooth surface is not a dead end. The long arms wrap securely around almost anything: poles, branches, doorknobs, fence posts, you name it.
So I can still film footage, capture a time lapse, follow instructions, or take a call on my device wherever I happen to be standing.
The part I did not anticipate is that it does the job of a tripod, a selfie stick and a computer mount, and it fits in my pocket.
I no longer haul a heavy tripod around. Tenikle works just as well for what I need, and because it is easy to bring along, I actually have it with me when it matters.
Travel is where it earns its keep. Plane, train, boat, car, surfboard, bike, it comes along and films the journey.
It is handy for workouts too. Filming yourself, checking your form, or following along with a workout video, you get the angle you want instead of the angle the couch allows.
And for busy parents it is close to a lifesaver. It lets your phone stand in as a baby monitor, it simplifies traveling, and it keeps kids entertained wherever they are.
Why It Beats The Tripod I Already Owned
Tripods, selfie sticks and computer mounts each do one job, which leaves you with two annoying options: not having the mount you need, or carrying several mounts around.
Some mounts only fit one device. Some are expensive, easily broken, or too bulky to bother with. Others cover your camera, muffle your audio, or block your charging cord. Most are limited in the angles they hold and the surfaces they stick to.
Tenikle does not have those limits. It mounts virtually anywhere at any angle in seconds, it is waterproof, it is durable, and it is patented.
How Tenikle Won On Shark Tank
The backstory is almost as interesting as the gadget.
Hans Dose was at the end of his rope when he appeared on Season 13 of Shark Tank. He had $39 in his bank account, he was $270,000 in debt, and he was living in an RV with his wife.
Daymond John had been in a similar spot himself, so he partnered with Hans and invested $200,000 for 30% of the company.
When the episode aired, Tenikle sold out online within 5 minutes and became the number one product in the phone mount category.
Where To Get Tenikle
As of this writing, Tenikle is not yet available in stores, and its viral popularity has made it hard to find online as well.
Since 97% of U.S. homes have at least one cell phone, there are a lot of people competing for the ones that are in stock.
I would check the official site for the current price and availability. Last time I looked, they were running special discounts, but stock is the real question.
Questions I Had Before Buying
Does it only work on glass and other smooth surfaces? No. Smooth surfaces suction instantly, and for crooked or irregular surfaces you bend the legs around them instead.
Will it cover my camera or speakers? No. It does not cover either camera, it does not block your buttons or plugs, and it does not sit over your audio.
How much can it hold? Up to 100 times its own weight, and it works with phones, cameras and tablets.
Is there any setup or app? None. It works right out of the box with virtually any device you already own.
Can I buy it in a store? Not as of this writing. It is not yet in stores, so the official site is the place to check.
What does it cost? The price shifts with whatever promotion is running, so check the official site for the current price.
My Verdict
Tenikle is one of the more genius little inventions I have bought, and easily the one I expected the least from. It is like your phone case or your power bank. Once you have it, you wonder how you managed without it.
The honest limitation: it keeps selling out. That is not a sales line, it is the actual hassle. If it is in stock on the day you look, that is the day to decide, because I have seen it go unavailable more than once.
Anyone with a phone, camera or tablet will get more than their money’s worth out of it.
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