Powerchimp Portable Charger

Photo answers review

Photo answers rating

It’s easy to forget to charge a mobile phone or other mobile device, and the idea behind Powerchimp is to provide portable power on the move when an electricity socket is not available. Its pocket size design means you can carry it around with you, or slip it into a small camera bag compartment. The Powerchimp comes with two rechargeable AA batteries that offer around 48 hours of power and you can even re-charge these batteries with the USB charging cable provided, or hook it up to the mains. There’s no need to worry about over-charging, either, as the Powerchimp is fitted with a safety feature to ensure expensive devices are not over powered.

Powerchimp comes in a choice of four colours in a well-made carry case. There’s a substantial amount of adaptors ready to plug into it; as recommended by power traveller, we pulled out the retractable USB charging cable first and charged it until the red light switched to green (approx 5 hours). We used the product to charge a phone that was running out of juice, pressing the main black button twice before the green flashing light indicated the re-charging process was underway. Just over an hour later, the phone had a full bar of battery power and the Powerchimp had automatically turned itself off. One feature that really impressed us was the flashlight on the front, activated by depressing the black button. The intensity of this small light was highly impressive and it would be extremely useful in a tent if you were struggling to find an item in the dark.

This is well-designed recharging device suitable for some compact cameras but it’s more focused towards other mobile devices. It’s an invaluable device on any expedition, so we award it five stars. It’s easy to use, fast and efficient but we recommend that you take another set of fully charged rechargeable batteries with you if electrical sockets are going to be hard to find.