Go Puck great for on-the-go charging.
Portable power is becoming more and more important for the reported 7 billion USB charged electronic devices used globally. Whether you spend the day walking around a theme park, using navigation on your phone, watching movies on your device or simply walking around CES 2016, power management is a necessary evil. This year at CES 2016, I had the pleasure of meeting a company whose CEO was tired of finding a power solution, so he invented one. The goal was wearable, on the go power, with enough supply to charge a device multiple times.
Blake Fuller, the founder and CEO of Go puck, is most well known as the inventor of lithium ion starter batteries for the Formula 1 and IndyCars. His goal, make them lighter to make them faster. He succeeded. Knowing little about battery technology, he taught himself the ropes and learned/invented the technology that is now the gold standard in the industry. He used this knowledge to create a portable and wearable battery system, as he was tired of his devices running out of power. From an idea, came an invention. This fueled the company vision for delivering mobile freedom. With 13 unique device patent claims and 12 unique mount patent claims, Go Puck is the power saver. It certainly saved me at CES 2016.
I was hurting for power nearly the entire week. Whether I was searching for a booth using the CES 2016 app, searching the web, tethered to my Apple Watch via Bluetooth or filming audio/video interviews, my phone was put through a marathon. I will admit, I had a 20,000 mAh battery that I bought to go to CES. I had a long lightning cable and was going to weave this through my pack to have power on the go. This was not as useful as I had hoped. The battery was heavy and this system did not work as well as I would have liked, as I had to leave the charger in a pocket of my pants or bag. A clamping system would be helpful, if only a company had this as an option.
Touring around the Sands Expo at the Venetian, I was introduced to the company Go Puck at booth 72571. After a wonderful and informative discussion with the team, I was given a 6600 mAh Go Puck, with active clamp, to review. I was immediately impressed. The device is lightweight, portable and can clamp to my bag. Actually, I was able to clamp it directly to my CES lanyard and was able to have the power right there. This device charged my phone quickly, it was very efficient and available when I needed it. This device can power all of your on the go devices: tablets, phones, GPS or GoPro to name a few. In fact, the active clamp has a hole conveniently drilled through it, allowing you to attach directly to a standard tripod or camera mounting system. This just touches on the surface, however. If you place active clamps on both sides of the Go Puck, you can have the battery in the middle of your mounted system. This is ingenious. This is universal and this is now my portable battery option of choice.
The company currently has 2 main offerings when it comes to batteries, the 3x (4400 mAh) and the 5x(6600mAh). They are so named as this represents the number of times the battery can charge a standard phone. The pocket sized 3x and 5x are super lightweight, rugged, vibration and shock resistant, measuring 3″x3″x0.7″ in size. The 3x weighs an impressive 136 grams (paperclips) and the 5x, with the same proportions, weighs 180 grams (paperclips). Both devices accept the current industry standard 1-2.1 amp input. They also both have 4 LED indicators to display the charge and have 2 outputs at 5V, 1-2.1 amps. You can use either port or use both ports simultaneously. They each are packaged with 1 active mount and a 40″ micro-USB cord. A feature I really like is the “on” button. When I plugged my iPhone 6s Plus into the charger, the charging indicator on the phone was not activated. Depressing the power button, in the corner, activated the charger. This is a relatively unique feature for this device. I choose when the power is on or off, not the plug.
What is the price? You can purchase these directly from their website at gopuck.com. The 3x retails $59.99 and the 5x retails $79.99. You can buy skins for the puck (camo or black) at $19.99 and another active mount for $19.99. The Go Puck is also available on amazon.com for purchase. Here you may find a few more accessories like the Puck Pouch.
I used and abused my battery at CES this year charging both my iPhone 6s Plus and iPad Air 2. The 6600 mAh battery gave me about 2.5 charges on phone or 1.5 charges on my iPad. It is versatile, lightweight and portable. There is no reason not to have at least one of these for your portable power needs. I was impressed with their story, their device, and mostly with the ability to wear the active puck through CES 2016. I rate this at 5/5 stars. It is truly the first mobile freedom option available.
Upcoming in 2016 is the Go Puck 6XR with Qualcomm 2.0 charging. This will allow certain devices up to 75% faster charging. Additionally, there is buzz of USB-C and Qualcomm 3.0 using the USB-C standard. We have a lot to look forward to from this Sarasota, Florida based company.
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For more information, visit gopuck.com.
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