Are juice packs necessary

[pc747]

I did a write up a week ago about the zero lemon case and though I ended up shedding the case I decided to carry around the juice pack with me. While at the gym doing some cardio on the treadmill I wanted to juice up my device as I planned on going to the local sports bar after my workout. Between how much time it took to go from 69-71 (30 mins though I was watching a youtube video while listening via bt headphones) and having to remember to grab it I begin to wonder was it really worth it. The chances I really need to use my juice pack is a small percentage and the time it takes to get 2% of battery life I can about fully charge plugging it in to the cigarette lighter in my car. So with companies advertising as high as 24000 mAh juice packs my question is are they really worth the investment?
How many of you own some sort of juice pack and how often do you use them?

 

[Jeffrey]

I use my motorcycle 90% of the time and nothing to plug into. I always carry my juicer especially when out for most of the day.

 

[Dusty]

There's a website called wirecutter that does a great ongoing review of stuff like this.
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-battery-pack-travel/

I use a 12000mAh Anker that can charge my MotoX 10%-90% in under an hour. I think battery packs are totally worth it. I usually keep a "Man" bag ready to go if I know I'm going to be traveling or away from a wall socket. I keep a good camera and a battery pack in it always. At the beach it's nice to use a tablet, stream music and surfing the web ALL DAY and still have 30% left in the battery pack and all of my gadgets are still fully charged.You don't even have to think about a wall plug for at least a day and a half if you have a good battery pack. Just make sure you have one that puts out over 2A and your stuff will charge just as fast as the wall outlet. Too many pluses. It's good to have one handy. It's not so much that you need it often... but when you do need it it's worth it's weight in gold. Kind of like having a generator for your house. Besides that, a good one only costs $30-$40.

 

[dezymond]

I rarely use my juicepacks. Ones like a tube styled one with a flashlight and that one usually stays home. I keep a credit card sized juicepack in the car and have used that maybe once while I was at a dinner, though I think the car charger was enough at that point I just wanted to be sure.

All in all I have so many different ways to access a power source that having these juice packs is unnecessary, and not to mention I have spare batteries for my s4.

I did get both my juicepacks for free though so I'm not complaining.

 

[Mustang02]

I've used mine about 5 times. With the battery in the maxx I can easily push 3 days hiking by using airplane mode.

 

[BHuber09]

I've used mine about 5 times. With the battery in the maxx I can easily push 3 days hiking by using airplane mode.

I had one as well (solar charger too!) And absolutely loved it, it charged fast and was large enough to take me from 0-100 while still keeping a smaller size. Unfortunately I lost it on the trail of a really long backpacking trip. Although I'm generally can get to a charger before my battery dies on trips such as this I think they are nice..

However.. I would rather carry around 4 extra batteries than a juice pack and have to plug my phone into. But this only works if you have a removable battery. Just my 2 cents

Note'd

 

[swc2001]

I use my motorcycle 90% of the time and nothing to plug into. I always carry my juicer especially when out for most of the day.

a fellow rider huh! I also ride 90% of the time to even higher. Shoot back in the day All I owned was a motorcycle for four years. I ride an R1 and my wife has an R6 what do you ride?

I wondered if one of those might be handy for a long trip. I thought about getting one of the solar ones. Does anyone know a good brand for that?

 

[johnomaz]

I have a 10,000mAh Anker pack that I don't use often. I bought it becuase it was on sale....a really good sale, for when my family is in the car and my kids are using tablets in the back seat. I usually keep it at work so if I find myself using my personal phone a ton I'll charge it like that. Its easier than buying another charger or trying to find a plug somewhere else.

Its handy but necessary, no. I'm not tied to my phone like some people are. Its mostly there for emergencies.

 

[combatmedic870]

I have a little 3000mah pack that charges at 2.1 that i use quite often. I keep it in my messenger bag with a little 6 inch usb 3 cord. Plug in to top off all the time.

 

[IIGood]

Ordinarily, I'm rarely out of reach of a charger if it's needed. I've got my dock and regular charger cable at home, I have a car charger, and I have a cable at work. I can typically go a normal day without having to recharge my phone...if I really wanted to, it could even go 2 days before I recharge.

But my girlfriend and I have been going camping more lately and we can't always get a site that has an electric hookup. So I just bought an 11200 mAh "juicer" for $32.99 that should fit the bill for our phones for a weekend. When camping, we'll park the vehicle and usually won't drive it for the weekend so I don't really feel comfortable just recharging a phone from the car's battery...I'll only do that while the car is running.

It does depend on the situation from person to person, so they are handy when necessary. I just don't ever see myself needing one in a day-to-day situation.

 

[scottysize]

I have the New Trent 9900 and I carry it with me all the time. I rarely use it, but when I need it, it's there. The main thing I like about it is the battery holds it's charge. This thing is about 3 years old and still has plenty of power after sitting months without use. I don't think I've charged it up more than 10 times over it's life, so that tells you how little I use it, but I do use it to charge all sorts of things. I've use it to charge my Bluetooth keyboard to my iPad when it runs down. I've charged my iPad, and of course my phone. I find myself using it to charge my phone in the car instead of the car charger. It's easier to find a good phone position using the external battery to charge instead of fighting the stupid charging cord.

 

[xeene]

Having droid maxx I've never even considered a juice pack.