NEXT-GEN BATTERIES

THE NEXT STEP... The bare minimum is a miserable existence. You can get a lot more of your life back with just a portable power station to charge all your portable devices. Buy one – you can get a full, uninterrupted day’s and evening’s work out of it and run a desk lamp. They start from 150Wh at R3000.

We’ve all been waiting for radical innovations in batteries for years, and it’s arrived.

“The new Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries will make a big difference to South Africans,” says Ryan Martyn of Syntech, importers of Gizzu products. “They support new functionalities like fast charging, and many more charging cycles.

“Our first-generation products could do 500 charging cycles. The newer ones will do 3000.

The practical benefit for South Africans is that you can leave them plugged in to constantly charge and serve as a practical UPS.

They can also support power-hungry appliances like air fryers, hair dryers and even power tools, Ryan says. “There are many small businesses - say hairdressers or contractors installing cupboards on site – which can’t properly work during load shedding. That’s about to change.”

ANKER POWERHOUSE 535

Anker’s Powerhouse 535 is part of a family of devices that includes larger- and small-capacity power stations. This one sits around the middle and despite its 512Wh battery and 500W capability is one of the most understated of its kind. The port layout is simple, the buttons are unobtrusive, and it looks like what it is – a device that sits there and emits glorious electricity. A single port in the rear handles charging, with all the other action taking place up front. A 12V socket, a USB-C and trio of USB-A ports, and also dual European two-pin sockets await your pleasure. There is a three-to-two-pin adaptor so you can plug in real power hogs, too.
R14 000 / takealot.com

GIZZU 242WH PORTABLE POWER STATION