I don’t know if anyone has coined a term for it yet, but there is some variation of Murphy’s Law at play that ensures your smartphone or tablet will run out of power when you need it most. Finding a power source is generally pretty simple, but without the proper charging cable for your device you may still be out of luck. 

Depending on your device, you might be able to borrow a cable from a friend or random stranger. MicroUSB is fairly ubiquitous, but the Lightning cable used for current iOS devices is harder to come by. Regardless of which connection your device uses you don’t want your ability to recharge to be dependent on the kindness of strangers, and you don’t want the burden of having to carry a long charging cable around in your pocket.

There are a few different solutions I’ve had the chance to use personally. Nomad makes a ChargeCard that packs a USB charging cable into a plastic unit roughly the same size as a credit card and only slightly thicker. It comes in Lightning or 30-pin for iOS devices, and there is also a micro USB version. For $ 25 you can just slide the ChargeCard into your wallet next to your credit cards, and as long as you have your wallet you’ll always have a charging cable handy.

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