Potent Portable Power Sources - Jim Jeffries of American Survival Guide Put Weego Portable Power Solutions to the Test (February 2018)
Every now and then, I come across products that seem almost too good to be true. That is the case with the line of portable power products by New Jersey-based Weego (a division of Paris Corporation). Since 2014, Weego has been busy designing and engineering innovative products that supposedly have some remarkable abilities.
Eager to find out if these products performed as advertised, I contacted Weego and asked for some samples to test. I was sent a box containing one of its new rechargeable battery packs and two premium jump-starters (along with a prepaid shipping label...unfortunately, these products were not mine to keep). Tour 10400 My testing started with the Tour 10400, one of three battery packs that Weego makes. Designed to charge cell phones, tablet computers and other mobile devices, the Tour 10400 is capable of recharging phones up to size times and most tablets once. Sleek and slim this pocket-sized power source can be used anywhere, anytime. (The Tour 2600 and 5200 are smaller, with less storage capacity and fewer ports.) I used the Tour 10400 to charge my Android smartphone and tablet PC for one month and found that it did, indeed, meet the manufacturer's claim. How handy this little device would have been a few winters ago, when an ice storm took out my power for a week!
Weego 22 Jump Starter If you have ever experienced a dead battery in your vehicle, you understand the hassle involved with rummaging around for tangled jumper cables in the trunk and hoping there was a sympathetic soul with a functioning automobile around. Until recently, there wasn't much chance of a self-rescue if you found yourself on the side of the road with an engine that wouldn't crank. Weego makes three models of jump-starters to get you on your way - even if there is no one else within miles. The smallest model, the Weego 22, is advertised as capable of starting 95 percent of the car engines on American roads. Able to start gasoline engines up to 5 liters and diesels up to 2.5 liters, it is remarkably compact and lightweight. I was anxious to see how well it would perform. After connecting the Smarty Clamps to the Weego 22 and ensuring the jump starter was turned on, I touched the bare ends of the clamps together, expecting to see sparks fly. Instead of sparks, I heard an alarm tone indicating there was a problem. The tone ceased as soon as I separated the clamps.
Weego 44 Jump Starter Providing greater capacity and versatility, the Weego 44 Jump Starter is capable of starting gasoline engines up to 7 liters and diesels up to 3.5 liters. But the improvements don't stop there. A good survival tool has to be able to do more than one thing; the Weego 44 does. In addition to the fast-charge USB port, there is a 12-volt DC output for powering accessories (such as small air compressors and fans), as well as a 19-volt connection for charging laptop computers (this requires the available Laptop Connection accessory). The Weego 44's built-in dual LED flashlight puts out 500 lumens and has "on," "strobe" and "SOS" modes, with up to 28 hours of runtime in "SOS" mode. Jump-start testing was performed in the same manner as the Weego 22, and the results were astonishing: The engine seemed to crank faster than with the vehicle's own battery even after several tests.
Weego 66 Jump Starter Weego also makes an even more-powerful jump starter - the Weego 66 (unfortunately, this model was not available for review). Engineered to start gasoline engines up to 10 liters and diesels to 5 liters, it can deliver 300A starting/600A peak current. Only slightly larger and an ounce or so heavier, it has considerably more capacity and is compatible with all the accessories made for the Weego 44.
