Finally boarding that 11-hour flight after running around trying to get to the airport in time without forgetting anything is a moment of pure peaceful zen. All the stress and bureaucracy you’ve been fighting through to get to your seat on the airplane, your own personal space to relax, is finished, and you can dive into the books and movies you brought to enjoy.
You grab your Kindle to tuck into that new book you were looking forward to, only to see you forgot to charge it. No problem! You pull out your freshly charged phone, loaded with movies for the flight, only to have it flash “3% battery remaining” at you in red. The power must have gone out last night!
Suddenly you have an interminably long flight ahead of you with all of your entertainment plucked right out from your fingers. What are you going to do? Stare at the bouncing hair of the grandmother in the seat in front of you for 11 hours?
That’s when you pull out your Powerstation and click the button on the side. All four lights turn on, letting you know there are four full charges left, more than enough to get you through the flight. You start charging your phone up and dig into your first film. Once it’s charged, you switch it over to start charging your Kindle and finish your movie. Soon all the pain of a long flight is a distant memory as you are learning new things and laughing through the flight.
There are dozens of portable batteries out there, and most of them are horrible. Some only work for one device, and you need to buy a new one every time you get a new phone. The Mophie Powerstation, though, can be used with any USB-chargeable device (which should be everything). On top of that, this tiny battery is built like a tank. It’s smaller than your phone, ultralight, and the sides are made of metal. It feels incredibly durable, and slips right into your coat pocket, where you can forget about it until you need it, still full of electricity for your hungry, hungry phone.
Everyday usage
I was resistant about getting one of these for a long time, just chalking up short battery life to one of the downsides of travel. This changes everything. The Powerstation has a permanent home in my jacket pocket now, ready for those unexpected times someone’s phone runs out of charge. It’s saved the day plenty of times already, and has quickly become an essential.
Budget alternative
There are a lot of sketchy battery backups out there that die quickly, don’t hold much charge, and feel like they are going to fall apart at any second. When what’s inside is pure electricity, that kind of thing scares me.
That said, if you don’t have the budget for the Powerstation, Anker makes a decent alternative. It is bulkier and can charge two devices at once, but the case is made of thin plastic. While the capacity is listed as twice the Powerstation, I only got about 5 full charges out of it compared to 4 from the Powerstation.
If you are looking to add a battery backup to your arsenal and don’t have the budget, this is a decent alternative that doesn’t seem like it will fall apart quickly. As mine is always in my coat pocket, potentially getting knocked around, I much prefer the slim, durable tank that is the Powerstation.
In conclusion
If you don’t have the budget, the Anker Astro will get you battery backup on the cheap. If you can afford it, however, I highly recommend that Mophie Powerstation. It’s powerful, tiny, and will last you many gadgets and emergencies to come.
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