We’ve all been there…

We’ve been on a long flight after having waited for eons in the airport listening to the airline representative thank us for our patience after the delay has been extended yet again, and just when it’s time to use the cell phone, the battery life indicator turns red. There isn’t an outlet or USB port to be found.

Do you have to simply give up hope and live in the airport? Not if you have an external battery charger. Also known as a portable battery pack or an external battery bank, this compact, lightweight device can mean life or death to the usability of your smartphone, right when you need it the most.

After all, cell phone batteries know exactly when you need to make that critical call, or when you are desperately dependent on the device GPS to be able to find your hotel in a city you’re visiting for the first time, and in which you neither speak the language, nor are familiar with the local alphabet.

You may have tried those hand cranks and tiny solar panels before, but as clever as they may seem, it is likely that you stopped using them after your last trip when they really didn’t help you when you needed it the most.

Consider the following benefits for having your own external battery charger juiced up and tucked into your travel bag at all times:

• It helps you to avoid having to use airport charging stations which are notoriously slow, crowded, and require you to stay in one place. With your own charger, you can just plug in your device and go wherever you need to be.
• It will give you the chance to make sure that even after that full day of great snapshots and videos, you’ll still have enough power to capture that breathtaking sunset over the Italian landscape or Hawaiian beach.
• It can make sure that even if you’re headed to the other side of the world, the library on your e-reader will always be available so you won’t have to settle for reading the in-flight catalog or emergency procedures card…for the eightieth time.

Of course, those are just the obvious benefits. External battery chargers aren’t just for travel thousands of miles from home.

Our lives in our hometowns aren’t exactly next to a wall socket all the time, either.

• Soccer moms will be able to take all the pictures they want while at the game without worrying about running out of charge.
• E-cigarette users (vapors) find that these devices come in handy when the day is running long or they forgot to charge overnight.
• Mobile game consoles can’t die before you reach a save point anymore!
• Google Glass Explorers don’t have to limit their “explorations” of the technology based on battery life.
• Smartwatch wearers can quickly and easily charge their wearables so that they can use them all day long and leave the frustration of the limited battery behind.
• Even a laptop can be given that much needed extra boost to carry you over to your next electrical outlet access.

Consider everything that you do in a day that requires a battery to be charged. If you’re like most people, that involves a good chunk of your daily activities! When you leave the home or office – whether to head to a game, across the country, or over the ocean – make sure that you have all of the power you need for those devices with an external battery charger to back you up.