LifeCard Battery Review: Wallet Sized Backup Battery

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "Earplugs. A good pair has saved my sleep and sanity many times!"

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

Travel Motto: "Don't be boring."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle (when the first class private suite isn't available)."

E-mail her at cteel@smartertravel.com.

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LifeCard Battery Review

Price and Where to Buy the LifeCard Battery: $49.95 for the micro USB version on Amazon and $64.95 for the lightning cable/iPhone version, also on Amazon

Pros:

One of the thinnest and lightest backup batteries on the market—definitely the most compact one we’ve ever seen
3.95 mm thin and 1.8 ounces
Fits in your wallet
Brushed stainless steel surface
Gives an iPhone 5s up to an 80% charge; iPhone 6 up to 65% charge, and Samsung S5/iPhone 6 Plus up to a 40% charge
Simply plug in to start charging (no on/off buttons)
LED indicators show you how much power you have left
Built-in cable folds away neatly

Cons:

Doesn’t provide a full charge

How the LifeCard Battery Rates:

Usefulness: 10/10. We always run out of battery on our smartphones while traveling, but hate weighing down our day bags with heavy chargers. The LifeCard solves our problem!
Value: 6/10. You can get more power at a lower price, but you won’t find a battery that’s this small and compact.
Portability: 10/10. The LifeCard seriously fits into our wallet and barely weighs anything.
Cool Factor: 10/10. The stainless steel exterior looks cool, and the design is really unique.

Final Verdict: We tested out the LifeCard with our iPhone 5, and it worked great, giving us a nearly full charge from dead. It’s small enough that we actually will carry it with us everywhere, so we’ll have power when we need it.

Caroline is always on the lookout for cool new travel gear. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram .

Editor’s Note: Reviews are based on usefulness, portability, durability, value, and “cool factor.” Some review products are sent to us free of charge and with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions, positive and negative, and will never accept compensation to review a product. If you have any questions or comments concerning our reviews, or would like to suggest a product for review, please email us at editor@smartertravel.com (Photo: The Solid Bar Company)

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