#summit 3000

What Is it: Summit 3000 rechargeable power pack from myCharge. It's a portable battery that you can use to charge phones, tablets, and other devices on the go.

I live in northern New Jersey, an area currently reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Almost alone among local residents, I never lost power or phones or Internet access. But I was prepared anyway.

If you rely, like I do, on a mobile phone, tablet, and other devices, you need to charge them fairly frequently. The line at the local Starbucks is currently out the door and every seat and electrical socket is taken, so that's not necessarily an option. Based on my experiences last year with Hurricane Irene, during which I did lose power (and water, which was much worse) for a couple of days, I bought some equipment to help the next time. Here's my advice:

First, I still strongly recommend myCharge external battery charging devices. I reviewed the myCharge Summit 3000 a couple of months ago, and I carry this thing in my bag wherever I go. They have a 6000 mAh version, twice the capacity of the one I reviewed for just $20 more.

The summit 3000 is from mycharge’s new sleeker line of portable chargers. I own the powerbank 6000 from the earlier collection. The new batch looks much more modern, with glossy white plastic housing, and grey and bright green accents.

I have now been using the Summit 3000 by myCharge now since the beginning of August and really have been putting it through it paces to see how it fit in with my workflow and if it could really come in handy in a pitch. Spoiler alert, it definitely has! myCharge comes from the same company that bring you myPowerbag, another favorite here at G Style. So let’s take a look at it what it does and how well it has been doing it.

With respect to pure practicality, myCharge®'s Summit 3000 is one of the absolute best products we've reviewed on this website. This portable, rechargeable battery can charge up to three devices at the same time - with a Micro USB, USB port, and Apple product connector. We found that the myCharge® has been charging our iPhones at a rate of 1% per minute, and without being plugged into the wall/computer, it can take an iPhone from dead to full slightly more than one time. For some reason I have a peculiar mental block when it comes to using Apple's USB cord to charge my phone, even when at the computer - but the Summit 3000 has been used endlessly since we received it. It's also really sweet that it plugs right into a wall socket and can charge an iPhone at the same time.

If you carry mobile devices you always have to be concerned about running out of power. Are you going to have a chance to charge? Especially with a battery hog like the iPhone 4S it's easy to run short. For the iPhone there are device-specific battery cases that extend life; we reviewed a bunch of them last year.

But I carry multiple devices and I want a solution that works for any or all of them. I've found a really good candidate: Lately I've been testing the myCharge Summit 3000. It's a portable battery pack with a 3000 mAh battery that charges just about anything. (For comparison, the iPhone has about a 1400 mAh battery.)

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