A portable battery charger is invaluable for a traveller, so Ryan has found the five best chargers available to double (or octuple) your battery life and more.
Smartphones always seem to go flat as soon as you really need them, so these devices can be lifesavers in those situations.
For the uninitiated, portable battery chargers (also known as power banks or battery packs) are rechargeable batteries enclosed within a case that you can use to charge your smartphone or tablet. Once fully charged, the devices can be left until they’re needed, and recharging them is as simple as recharging a phone or tablet.
Most battery chargers simply have a USB port on them, allowing you to charge any USB device, but some have phone-specific cords attached to them.
The capacity of battery chargers is measured in milliamp hours (mAh), which is the same unit of measurement used for smartphone and tablet batteries. The average smartphone has a battery capacity of roughly 2000mAh, while a tablet will be somewhere around 8000mAh. So if you were to buy a 10,000mAh battery charger, you could expect to fully charge a smartphone four times, or a tablet once, as the energy transfer isn’t 100 per cent efficient.
These five devices will provide you with enough power to get through your battery woes; no matter how many Watts you want.
The most useful key ring for the digital age: The Nipper
Crowd funded last year on crowd funding website Kickstarter, this nifty key ring allows you to use two AA batteries to recharge your smartphone. The Android version is available for pre order and the iPhone version is still in production.
For when you just need a little bit more juice: Cygnett ChargeUp Pocket
Small enough to fit in a pocket and with enough power for roughly one phone charge, this battery can be great for long flights or those days you forget to charge your smartphone overnight. Also available with a lightning adapter for iPhone users.
For long hauls, stopovers or iPad users: Sony 10000mAh Portable USB Power Bank
This power bank will recharge your smartphone about 4 times or your iPad once and will last for 1000 recharges.
For the outdoorsman: Oz Charge OC-JSP16
This battery charger might become your new best friend for camping trips. It boasts a 16,000mAh capacity battery, a torch (which will last up to 140 hours on a full charge), and the ability to jumpstart a car.
For anyone planning a very, very long camping trip: Primus Power Bank
Weighing in at 16kg and 44Ah (that’s right, amp hours, not milliamp hours) the heavyweight champion Primus Power Bank can charge smartphones, tablets, laptops, fridges and more. You can also connect a solar panel to this device if you’re thinking of extending that camping trip indefinitely.
Do you own a portable battery charger? Do you like the sound of any on this list?
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