2400 mAh in the hand is worth 10,000 mAh in the bush.

Your phone dies in the middle of a FaceTime session, just as you’re closing the big plastics deal. Or right as you’re beating a level in Five Nights at Freddy’s. Or while you’re texting “I-5 is snarled, take 99 or you’ll miss the funer”. Is the first thought that crosses your mind I wish I had the power battery on the market with the highest milliampere-hours?

Of course not. The best battery in the world is the one you have with you. That’s why we don’t understand the fixation on mAh count instead of compactness. In forum comments, Amazon reviews, even on the packaging of this very item: a gaudy mAh number is touted as the sine qua non of power-bank worth. But what if that badass phone battery is so bulky you don’t want to haul it all over the place? What good will all those mAh do you if they’re at home while you’re caught between the moon and New York City?

This IOGEAR GearPower Power Station is about the same size as an iPhone 4 and delivers a perfectly respectable 2400 mAh to keep your phone alive. Stick it in your pocket, or your purse, or your utility belt. It’ll be there when you need it. It won’t be in your way when you don’t. (For a tablet you should get something bigger. But you’re already carrying a tablet around, so size isn’t as much of an issue at the point.)

If a high mAh battery is preferable to a lower one, no matter how much more inconvenient it is, why not just carry a car battery around? Or a gas-powered generator? Or a super-long extension cord plugged into an outlet in your house? Sick amperage, bro!

ONE MEH TRICK to always having a charged IOGEAR GearPower Power Station: Longtime Meh reader @snapster writes, “I bought three! There’s always one in my pocket, one plugged in and charging at home, and one all charged up and waiting. I just rotate them every night. Now, even in the middle of an intense hot yoga session, I never miss a Snapchat (no relation)!” Thanks, @snapster! We’re sending you an imaginary ONE MEH TRICK t-shirt!