Best Portable Power Units to Use in College
Bed sheets? Check. Clothes? Check. Textbooks and laptop? Check. Portable power units? Well… not yet.
Fall semester has just started, and you’ve managed to get moved in and turn in the first few assignments. But did you know that portable power units could make your semester much easier while also easing some of the stress you might be feeling?
Portable power units can help you work longer, stay safe, and make the most of limited space in your apartment or dorm, and give you power where you need it. And these products are more affordable than you might think. So here are our recs for you college students in need of more portable power.
Best Power Units for Your Car
If you’ve moved away from home for college, it’s important to make sure that your car is kept in good condition. But even when you do your best to take care of your car, you can still run into problems. Your battery might die, the tires might go flat, or you might end up stranded without backup power to contact someone for help. So if, or maybe when, you find yourself having car troubles, we’ve got you covered with this package of portable power units.
Lion Cub JC
Remember the days when your parents drove you everywhere and you were embarrassed that you couldn’t just take yourself places? Turns out, those were the easy days. Now it’s your job to prep your car for emergencies.
But that’s what the Lion Cub JC is for - to help you be so ready for emergencies, it will feel like your parents prepped it for you. (Instructions on how to change a tire not included.)
The Lion Cub JC is a portable jump starter, and it’s pretty tiny - only about 5 pounds - but it can easily jump start your car. The Lion Cub JC comes with jumper cables and USB outputs to make it extra versatile. But that’s not even the best part.
The Lion Cub JC doubles as an air compressor, so you can take care of any tire with low air. It also acts as a portable battery for your USB devices and has a built-in flashlight in case you run into car troubles at night. The Cub JC costs $149, and the sense of security that comes with it is invaluable.
Best Portable Power to Take on Campus
As a college student, you probably spend a lot of time on campus - going to class, studying, maybe even working. And, as you certainly know, every other student is doing the same thing, which means that when you need to charge your phone or laptop on campus, it can be pretty hard to find an available outlet. Luckily, you can skip that problem when you use portable power units.
Lion Cub GO
The Lion Cub GO is a handy battery to have in college. It’s super lightweight - only 3 pounds - and is about 12 inches long, so it fits easily into your backpack and won’t weigh you down all day. Don’t let the size fool you. This lithium battery is the strongest battery allowed on airplanes, so it won’t let you down when you need it.
The Cub GO has one AC output, one 12 Volt output, and two USB outputs, so when you go to the library to study and find every single outlet is already taken, you won’t mind. You can sit anywhere and use it to charge your phone, tablet, laptop, gaming device and more. It’s also capable of holding unused charge for 6 months or more, so it’s always ready to go.
Another handy feature of the Lion Cub GO is the built-in flashlight. This is especially useful if you walk to and from campus early in the morning or late at night. The extra light will help keep you safe as you walk home.
It costs $175 to purchase, but with the versatile outputs, long-term power, and added flashlight, the Lion Cub GO will be your go-to portable power unit all through college - and even after.
Lion Cub PB
Maybe you’re looking for something even smaller than the Lion Cub GO - and that’s where the Cub PB comes in handy. It’s a solar power bank - so a tiny portable lithium battery that you can charge with the sun. So if you’re sitting outside on campus or near a window, just pull it out and let it soak in some rays.
Because the Cub PB has a built-in battery, it can charge devices whether it’s in the sun or not. Just attach it to any USB device, and it will keep your devices charged all day. And since it weighs about the same as a cell phone - 7.6 ounces - it’s so easy to carry around without even noticing that it’s sitting in your backpack. It also has a built-in flashlight to help keep you safe.
The Cub PB is less versatile than the Lion Cub GO, so it can be convenient to have both. It’s easily the most affordable portable power unit we have available, coming in at only $30. So if you want to make sure you have portable backup power but need to keep costs down, the Cub PB may be the perfect option for you.
Best Back-up Power for Your Room
We all know that college dorms and apartments have pretty limited space and outlets, especially if you have several roommates who all need to charge their phones and laptops. It can be a bit frustrating trying to find outlets for everything you want to power, but a portable power unit can ease the situation quite a bit.
Lion Safari LT
The Lion Safari LT is a lithium battery unit or generator that can charge from a wall or a solar panel, and once it’s charged, it can hold unused power for nearly a year. It’s such a powerful unit that it can easily replace traditional gas generators - plus, it’s a lot safer to use than gas-powered generators, making it great for emergencies and power-outages. It doesn’t require fuel and there’s no emissions or toxic gases.
If you keep the Safari LT in your room, you’ll have easy access to versatile power. It has two AC outputs, four USB outputs, and two 12 Volt outputs, so you should easily be able to charge or power any device you want.
The versatility doesn’t end with the type of outputs the Safari LT has available. It can also power anything from your phone to a mini fridge or a TV or even a CPAP machine that helps you sleep. It’s also great for powering a grill for your cookouts. You can literally use it for almost anything.
The great thing about this lithium-ion battery is that it requires zero maintenance. You can drain and recharge it over 1000 times during its lifetime, and it won’t give out on you. It can also sit on a shelf or under your bed without losing power until you’re ready to use it. But most people use it almost every day.
The Safari LT is a bit bigger than the other portable power units we’ve recommended, but it still weighs only 11 pounds, so it’s easy to store in your limited space and to move around. Because it is a bigger and more powerful unit, it is a little more investment at $585. But if you need more power in your dorm or apartment, you can’t find a better option than the Safari LT.
Power Your College Experience
College can be a lot of fun, but it can also be challenging and stressful. So why not do everything you can to make it easier? These portable power units can make such a huge difference in your college experience, and since most cost less than $200, the cost is well worth the use you’ll get out of these power units.
If you’re interested in buying all of these power units, the best and most affordable way to buy all of these power units is the Taxi Parent Package (which includes the Lion Cub JC, the Lion Cub GO, and the Lion Safari LT) then add the Cub PB into your order separately. If you buy the power units this way, you’ll save about $100 that you’d otherwise spend buying each power unit individually. You can find the Taxi Parent Package here.
It’s time to invest in your future. Check out our portable power units today, and make the most of your college experience.