ChargeTab emergency phone charger

Bigwig - January 23, 2021

Gear

I’m wondering if anyone has an opinion on the ChargeTab Emergency Phone Charger packs?  They are small, weatherproof, have a 2 year shelf life, and are made from recycled batteries. https://chargetab.com/

5  

Why?? I have numerous power banks, also usable as lights, which do the  same thing.

 

While I think that they can have their purpose, I don’t think I will be buying these for my BOB or main preps. 

In my BOB I would rather rely on a power bank and solar panel and with that I have potentially unlimited energy. If I threw a few of these in my BOB, I would only have a few charges and then be out of luck. 

While they advertise this as being an ecofriendly option because you are using recycled batteries, it still is using up plastic and metal for the casing, cable, and connector. And you use that once for maybe a portion of a charge and then it goes in a landfill for the next 100 years. 

I can see myself maybe having one or two of these in my car for an emergency phone call if my phone battery was dead and my car battery and cell phone charger in there was dead as well. Or possibly keep on in your wallet and be able to charge your phone if you are out skiing or something else for a day and need a bit more juice than your normal battery would last.

Cool idea, but not a product that I am going to go out and buy immediately. If they offered a rechargeable version that could be reused and give you just a bit extra juice, that would be something I probably would pick up and put in every bag, car, and have around.

 

Even though it weighs significantly more I carry a power bank with an integrated solar panel.  These seem to be one time use items?  My power bank can charge any usb or usb c item.  All of my preps can run off of usb and/or AA batteries and I have usb rechargeable AA batteries.  I guess these would be useful if you lived in Alaska during the winter?  And as said upthread my power bank has a light.  

 

Does the integrated solar panel work in your power bank? 

I had a power bank with solar built in and left it in the summer sun for like 5 days and it didn’t charge one bit.

I think I may have gotten a defective product, but just curious if others had ones that worked.

 

Yes, my old one has worked well for five years.  I can charge my iPad twice and my phone several times.