Low on juice? Charge your phone with your belt, jeans, suitcase or jacket
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when running out of battery life on your phone while traveling sent shivers down your spine. Without a working smartphone, would you ever make it back to the subway station? To your hotel? Would you ever get back home again? Thankfully, those days are long gone. Gads of futuristic clothing and travel accessories can keep you fully charged in between stops, ensuring you never dip down into the red again. Here are some of our favorites.
The belt: Ion Belt | Shark Tank alum Aaron Krause's next big thing is a piece of wearable tech that thankfully doesn't look like a piece of wearable tech. TSA may not be crazy about you plugging your electronics into your waistband, but the times they are a changin'! An $89 pledge to the Ion's Kickstarter campaign is all it takes to score one of these battery belts once production begins. At the time of writing, the campaign was super close to being funded, so a bet on this belt seems pretty safe.
The suitcase: Away Carry-on Bag | Sure, there are other smart suitcases flooding the market these days — even one you can drive home from baggage claim — but we like Away's offering best because it's built to fit inside the overhead bin. Fans of Away's sleek design and affordable price will be relieved to hear that the company is just getting started, and more device-charging smart luggage is on the way soon.
The jacket: Mophie for Opening Ceremony | Beyoncé has been spotted in this gold and black varsity jacket, and if it's good enough for Queen Bey, then it's good enough for the rest of us. Mophie counts Rihanna and Jessica Alba among its cult following as well, so you'll be in good company rocking this high school look. And most importantly, your phone will be sitting pretty at an enviable 100% battery thanks to the garment's hidden Mophie charging pack. But buyer beware — the jacket will set you back almost as much as a phone.
The jeans: Hello by Joe's Jeans | Does paying almost $200 for a pair of jeans seem like a bit better of an investment when they can also charge your iPhone? Hello by Joe's Jeans promises to juice your iPhone 6 back up to 70%, all from the comfort of your back pocket. Real question though: Do you have to take these off to make it through airport security? Are these the best, or potentially the worst, pair of pants for a travel day? Sorry gents, these are for women only...for now!
The backpack: Energi+ Backpack | The monster battery in this bag stores enough juice to charge your devices four times over, so you won't need to fret about plugging your bag in during every hotel check-in. The maker assures us that this bag is TSA-friendly, and that laptops won't even need to be removed in order to comply with airport security checkpoints...but good luck explaining that to your gate agent.