Over the last couple months I’ve had an opportunity to test out the PowerIT Portable Jump Starter Kit from Impecca. I like this device, but it does have a few downfalls.
USB Charging
This is the feature I used most with this device. I used it when away from home and nowhere near a power outlet. Charging my iPhone 6 Plus I’ve gotten two-and-a-half full charges which is about the same amount I get from any other portable charger–and most are are about half the size of this thing. That is one of the downfalls as I feel with the size of this thing should get you at least five full charges.
I used it when on family vacation at Disneyland and it comes in handy. We just put it in the front pocket of the backpack and when we needed a smartphone charged we just popped it in there with it. I wish it had two USB Charging ports so I could charge mine as well as my wife’s at the same time.
Device Charging Tips
This portable charger comes with several different tips to charge things such as laptops with a selectable power output of 12V, 16V, 19V. It comes with pretty much every charging tip known to man except those for any Apple laptop or a Surface Tablet which are of course what I own so I was unable to test this feature. But based on the two-and-a-half charges for an iPhone 6 Plus I am pretty sure a laptop battery you would be lucky if you got half of a full battery charge.
Flash Light
This device has a pretty bright flashlight on it. For my test I fully charged it then disconnected it from power and turned on the flashlight and just left it on until it died. I timed it at 5 hours and 27 minutes which is pretty good compared to any huge flashlight I’ve used that die usually within one hour.
You can set it just as a steady beam or you can turn on as a strobe light which would be good if broken down on the side of the road at night you can put like 50-100 feet behind car to warn others.
In my test no matter if you use steady beam or strobe you get about the same amount of usage.
Car Jumper Cables
This is really the main purpose of this device. The reason you would buy or carry this rather than a much smaller portable charger is that this one can also be used to jump start your car. It has a pair of detachable jump start cables. I assume this functionality works as advertised, but I did not test it out. I have a large family and drive a minivan. I wasn’t willing to drain my battery just to test this feature out because if it didn’t work we wouldn’t have a functioning vehicle.
Charging
You can recharge the PowerIT unit in your house as well as your car since it comes with a cigarette lighter adapter. It takes about 2 hours to charge in your home and a lot longer in the car.
Verdict
At the price tag of $70 US this is a pretty good safety device to keep in your car just in case, or can use as a every day portable battery. It’s only a little more expensive then some of the portable batteries on the market that only function to charge a USB-connected mobile device. If you don’t need or want the jump starter capability, though, you may prefer a smaller / lighter portable charger.
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Seems like there are more things wrong with the device than right.
FYI – disconnect your battery and start with this device. No need to run down your battery. Review is USELESS without this test. And, how many times can start your car?