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iPhone-size power pack will jump-start your car [Reviews]

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JumPack
Give your phone a jump-start with the JumPack.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

JumPack Power Pack CPP 8000 by Cobra

If you’re anything like me, you carry a ton of gadgets. Keeping them all charged is a juggling act and, inevitably, there’s always one device I’ve neglected to keep juiced.

Coming to my rescue though, Cobra sent over a JumPack Power Pack to charge up all my devices. Plus, it comes with an extra trick up its sleeve.

Check out the full video review below.

This power pack goes to 11 (thousand mAh) for serious juice

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Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

There is a ton of competition in the external battery pack space. You can get a ruggedized brick for your Xtreme adventures, a cute little pocket-sized charger for a quick hit of juice in the car or on the go, and even an iPhone-wrapping battery pack that gives you even more storage space than you might need.

I live a portable, electronic-powered life, carrying iPhones, iPads, e-Readers, and portable gaming devices with me at all times. Most of these things are power-hungry, forcing me to keep my eye open for wall plugs, or to carry external power packs that can handle the energy load.

So what does a battery pack need to do to set itself apart from the crowd, claiming the scarce space in my backpack or messenger bag? It has to be quick to charge, easy to use, small, light and pretty to look at, for starters. And it really should have a lot of spare power to keep all my devices rolling.

This Halo portable charger looks good, works even better

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Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

The portable battery from Halo is perfect for those times when I want to go stealth, keeping my iPhone 5 as free of those bulky, heavy battery cases as possible.

Between running levels of Hodappy Bird and checking Twitter for any vanity retweets, slapping photos of my meals up on Instagram and surreptitiously reading Facebook posts from ex-girlfriends, I am a battery killer.

With the Halo charger available, I found myself grabbing it and a lightning cable on my way out the door all the time, whether heading to the coffee shop or just for a quick bike ride along the Coastal Trail in Anchorage. It’s a perfect way to ensure I have the power I need on demand without strapping my iPhone into some fat case like the Mophie.