When springing for any type of tech—whether it’s a big-ticket item like a projector or a gadget as small as a portable charger—I tend to waffle over the purchase. Then I inevitably I find myself in a situation where it would’ve come in handy. Case in point: Not that long ago, I was at a Sturgill Simpson show when I reached down to grab my phone and take a clip of one of my favorite songs. Wouldn’t you know it, phone battery was entirely drained, dead. Now that our phones are our concert tickets, camera, navigation, and wallet, it’s rare for me to get through a big event without mine dying.
I’ve tried countless portable chargers before and since this incident, and I have always felt hampered by both slow-charging and bulky blocks. I mean, try fitting a power bank into a venue-approved bag or, worse, your pocket. Then I stumbled upon Clutch’s ultrathin portable charger. It’s not one of the Esquire-approved models because of its size, but it’s in the honorable mentions of that story. Turns out, it’s the perfect portable charger for me. It’s thin and lightweight, and it holds enough charge for me to go to a show and back. My only regret is not buying one sooner.
Clutch Pro USB-C Portable Charger
First, it weighs 3.7 ounces, drastically less than most other models. On top of that, the charger magnetically attaches to the back of your phone. For MagSafe-capable iPhones, it happens automatically. For non-MagSafe phones, it comes with a magnetic ring you can stick to the back. It makes the battery and your phone one, without adding excess weight. And instead of having to bring your own charging cord, there’s a built-in USB-C cable that folds right up into the device.
I first took this charger for a spin on a Saturday afternoon that started with a long walk down the west side of Manhattan and ended more than 12 hours later over beers at a dive bar. These never-ending days, especially when the weather warms up, typically kill a phone, or I’ll at least be on low-power mode by the time I get home. But with this charger, I returned home with my iPhone 16 Pro Max at 80 percent. It was somewhere around 30 percent when I first pulled out the Clutch, and hit 85 percent after about two hours of charging. Not to mention, this thing still had enough gas in the tank left for a friend to give their phone a quick top off. Is it the fastest-charging portable charger? No, but you can’t put a price on the size and convenience.
I think it’ll be a game-changer for travel: Its slim build means it’ll take up virtually no space in my overstuffed personal item, and its magnetic design means you hardly notice it while in use. Plus, thanks to the ubiquity of USB-C, it can charge other devices like a speaker or Kindle, so it’s multipurpose in a pinch.
There are plenty of portable chargers out there that’ll get the job done faster and longer, but when it comes to one with a barely there feel that quickly revives my phone battery, there’s nothing like this Clutch. I’ve heartily recommended it to any of my friends, and I’ll do the same to anyone I meet after a long walk and a few beers. It feels smaller than a wallet when it’s in your pocket, it eliminates the need for lugging around extra cables, and it costs half the price of other power banks.
SHOP THE CLUTCH CHARGER
Read the full article here
