Open main menu

HALO Pocket Power StarLight 3000

rated 1.5 of 5 stars
photo:   HALO Pocket Power StarLight 3000 power storage

These are getting better. Beware: Electricity flows both ways. Update: It has now died.

Pros

  • Small
  • Easy to use
  • USB Port
  • Charged my phone 85% or so

Cons

  • No "check valve"
  • Light switch comes on too easily
  • It just died

For once I got something useful at the office Christmas gift exchange! Of course I am on the naughty list so anything I get is a blessing. At first I thought I had gotten a stick of lipstick but then I realized that it's actually something useful, so I was overjoyed. 


20131231_085304.jpg
What comes with the kit: the lipstick-looking thingy is the charger ;)


20131231_085520.jpg

In action

The charger couldn't be simpler to use: plug it into something to charge the Pocket Power 3000. This is easy since it has a USB and 110v plug adapter included. Then attach the appropriate adapter and plug your gadget in and walk away, or put it in a pocket.


20131231_085317.jpg

S-O-S or just steady on. Be Careful! It came on accidentally more than once in my pocket. A piece of tape might fix this.

The charger has a flashlight that also flashes S-O-S because everyone is always needing that right? Maybe not, but another flashlight is always handy. There is a charge indicator that tells you semi-accurately how much is left in the thing before you plug it in.


20131231_085347.jpg

USB Port

The big flaw of this is that power flows into and out of this charger with equal ease so, if you leave it plugged into a device it is likely that, once it nears empty it will use that line to charge itself until the charge in the device and the charger reach equilibrium.

In a perfect world there would be a "check valve" to keep power flowing one direction but, oh well, the price was right. It easily charged an iPod Nano and gave me a 85% charge on my Samsung Galaxy in about an hour. This about doubled my phone battery time so I will be bringing this on future trips in case I need an electronic device (Phone/GPS) and I run low on juice.

2/6/14 Update: It no longer works.  It refuses to take or give a charge. I called their customer service to no avail. I guess I am stuck.

Source: received it as a personal gift

Used about eight times. Works fast. Completely charges my Samsung Galaxy in two hours. No problems so far.

Pros

  • Fast
  • Everything fits in small bag so I can easily carry it with me.
  • Simple to use.

Cons

  • Light stays on a while after unplugged.

I received this as a Christmas gift. I often forget to charge my phone before leaving home so this is very handy for me. I have used it at least eight times with great results each time. So far, so good.

The only thing I don't like is that the charge light stays on for awhile after you unplug it and that seems like a waste of power.

Source: received it as a personal gift

I have two of these and one does not charge. The other charged my device for about five minutes and then was dead! GARBAGE!

Pros

  • Very slim and nice looking

Cons

  • Does not charge phone
  • Does not hold charge

I tried to use it once. Only held charge for 24 hours and could not charge another device. The other must have a bad connection as I could not get it to charge.

Source: bought it used
Price Paid: $30 each

Product defective. Replacement defective. Further contact ignored by company.

Pros

  • Clever idea to combine with flashlight

Cons

  • Did not work

Product arrived DOA so I emailed support and received a return authorization which I filled out and returned with the defective product at my expense. I received a replacement which was also DOA but with a different failure mode. Subsequent efforts to contact the company were ignored.

So, I paid for the product and paid to return the defective product and was then ignored when I asked for another replacement.

Source: bought it new

The three I have owned all stopped working. There must be a design flaw in these. One of the three was a replacement for the first one that stopped working. Junk.

Cons

  • Stopped working

Junk.

Source: received it as a personal gift

I used it one time. It would not recharge.

Cons

  • It would not recharge for another use.
  • It is a one-time use item.
  • A pretty big, and expensive drawback.

Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $49.98

Your Review

Where to Buy

Help support this site by making your next gear purchase through one of the links above. Click a link, buy what you need, and the seller will contribute a portion of the purchase price to support Trailspace's independent gear reviews.

You May Like

Specs

Price Reviewers Paid: $30.00-$49.98

Recently on Trailspace

Tizip Zipper Lube Review