If you like to travel and haven’t discovered portable chargers yet – I highly recommend you get one! Portable chargers, also known as external batteries or power banks, easily fit into bags or pockets and allow you to charge your phone, tablets or mp3 players while you are on the move. It’s especially useful for smart phones that drain energy quickly.
I currently have two. My first is a 5000 mAh mobile power pack that I purchased from Amazon two years ago. It’s small and handy and charges my iPhone twice. I often keep this in my handbag with an extra cable just for daily use. It was quite helpful for travel, such as very long flights or even in hotel rooms when I couldn’t be bothered to dig out the plug adaptor. It’s easy to charge via a laptop or wall USB charger. Laptop charging is significantly slower than a wall charger.
Although it’s nice and small, just a little heavier than my iPhone, I felt I wanted something… beefier, and longer lasting. I had to keep re-charging the portable charger after charging my phone twice. It was fine for emergencies, but I was charging it up too often for my liking.
Which led me to my second purchase in June this year, the Poweradd Pilot 20000 mAh Portable Charger. Four times the juice!
I have this blue one, and it is available in black too. This is noticeably heavier than my first charger, however, it is also noticeably more useful! It does take a long time to charge, so it’s ideal to leave it plugged in to the wall overnight before you think you’ll need it. And after that, you won’t need to charge it for a very very long time. I’ve gotten at least six full charges for my iPhone on one full battery charge, and at least a couple of full iPad mini charges from a separate full battery charge. This thing is rarely drained.
It was very useful for my long flight from London to Thailand, and the long train ride from Chiangmai to Bangkok, and many other long journeys when my iPhone and iPad both ran out of power. I just made sure this was in my handbag that I kept with me. It was also handy when I was sharing a hotel room with two friends and plug sockets were limited. I quite often choose to charge my phone or tablet straight from this rather than a wall plug. And unlike my first charger, I don’t often worry it it’s running out of charge.
I do like gadgets, and these portable chargers are certainly useful for day-to-day use or traveling. I always keep one of my portable chargers with me for any long journeys, and I intend to keep doing so!
TWO SHOES TRAVEL 