It seems that small portable power banks are all the rage these days and to an extent they should be. After all, they can be used to recharge one of your most useful assets during an emergency: the cell phone.
Now, I know there are people who say you shouldn’t rely on a cell phone and that’s true, assuming it’s the ONLY tool you have to perform the functions it can do. IMO, a cell phone should be one of many tools in your arsenal. Anyway, the point is that in order to keep the cell phone going when you need it the most, you’re going to want a power bank that you can take with you.
If you’re unaware, a power bank is simply a small device that can be used to charge USB electronics–most typically a cell phone–but in some cases it might be powerful enough to charge a tablet.
The Champ Bodyguard Battery
As for this Champ Bodyguard Battery, here’s the description from Amazon: “The Champ E-prep Bodyguard Battery with Rechargeable Power Bank is perfect emergency power supply. This power bank charges devices through a USB port and is perfect for giving juice back to a dead phone or tablet. It has High-efficiency output for fast charging with the capacity to completely charge a phone, giving 8 hours of phone calls. This power bank also comes with a built in flashlight to illuminate any dark place. It also has a siren to help alert nearby people for assistance…”
As you can read from the above, it’s more than a power bank and includes a handy light and siren too. Here’s my take…
Let me start with the siren: I wish they didn’t even bother. It’s virtually useless. I know they were trying to make this more of an emergency tool but the siren is simply not loud enough to draw real concern (in my opinion) from others. It was so obnoxious that I actually glued the switch in place with krazy glue. It’s much better now. 😉
The light, however, is a nice feature and is actually bright enough to see relatively well in a small dark room, such as a bathroom or closet. Outside it provides enough light to not trip over any rocks while walking around in the pitch dark but it’s no substitute for a quality flashlight.
Now, the actual point in the Champ Bodyguard Battery is the recharge capability. The battery has a capacity of 2200 mAh which is plenty to recharge a typical iPhone battery completely (an iPhone 4 battery is about 1400 mAh) assuming the Bodyguard battery is fully charged, of course. I should note that as power banks go this battery capacity is on the low end of the spectrum. You can get power banks that are significantly larger and for less money.
Ultimately, I wanted to like the Champ Bodyguard Battery because it does two important jobs for you in one relatively small package: recharge a cell phone and provide some lighting. The problem is that there are much less expensive options that perform both functions better. In fact, I can purchase an Anker Astro battery pack, a Cree flashlight, and a package of AA batteries for the flashlight and still have a bit left over. The choice, ultimately, is yours to make.
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