Hand-Crank Phone Charger (For When You’re Without Electricity)

Living without electricity is a big deal, and if you are blessed enough not to know what that feels like, try doing it for one day. It will be torture. Electricity is one of those things that we completely take for granted. If you think it’s hard to live when your Internet goes out, try going without electricity. It trumps no Internet, if you know what I mean. During Hurricane Sandy, one thing people were really concerned about was how to keep their smartphones charged if they were without electricity for an extended period of time. It’s a legitimate concern that I’m sure caused stress for a lot of people.

This hand-crank phone charger is perfect for emergency situations when you are without electricity, and you want to keep your smartphone charged. This is a great gadget to keep in your emergency toolbox alongside the first aid kit and canned food. Just like you’d expect, you charge your phone by cranking this little doodad, and you can even do it in complete darkness.

It’s called the BoostTurbine, and it costs about $55 on Amazon. If you crank this for one minute, it will give you 30 seconds of talk time. That is enough time to send texts, call 911 or check email really quickly. I would crank that thing for about ten minutes so I could have a 5 minutes of luxurious iPhone time. During an emergency, having the use of your smartphone could be the difference between keeping in touch with family and friends or not. It’s a really big deal, and I’m sure there are a lot of people who have experienced the frustration of being without electricity and without a charged phone to make their necessary calls and texts. I think it would be a smart idea for us all to get one of these.

Charge Your Phone Even If You’re Without Electricity

Get the BoostTurbine here on Amazon

Via: [Design Taxi] [Fast Company]