Among all the hardware, wires, and molded plastic at CES 2018 this year, I admit I made a beeline for the Mighty Purse booth, which featured the most gorgeous floor to (almost) ceiling display of charging purses that would be stunning, even if they didn’t charge your purse.
Thanks to a clever insert that contains a super slim, remarkably lightweight battery — and a charging cord that pokes out from it but easily zips back away and out of site — Mighty Purse, from HButler Co, is a mastery of style meeting function.
Related: 10 stylish tech gifts for the mobile fashionista
The styles I was coveting included a black leather charging purse with small gold studs (above) that I know Kristen would fight me for; and a snakeskin charging wristlet, which looks like the designer Hayden-Harnett wristlet I once snagged on sale — though that one sadly won’t fit my new iPhone 8 Plus — and of course, wouldn’t charge it anyway.
There was also a stunning sueded silver clutch (above) that doesn’t yet seem to be on the site. Worth the wait! But if you can’t, there is a silver metallic charging clutch to get you out of your (ahem, my) black handbag rut.
Or if you want something less clutch-like, check out the on-trend tassel wallet bag with a detachable shoulder strap, or a suede fringe crossbody charging purse in blue, tan or black.
Bonus: I really like that you can easily pop out the entire self-contained charging pouch and battery, should you want to go even more lightweight with your handbag and not use it to charge your phone.
Which makes sense because I’d carry any of them like I would a standard handbag.
As for the techy stuff: The charging cord uses micro USB, but comes with a certified Apple lightning adapter for you iPhone users. I am told you can charge a phone twice on a full battery, but I haven’t tried it myself to verify that. (Honestly that seems a little generous to me.) However there is a little battery light to let you know you’ve still got juice left.
Pricewise, real leather and suede means you’re paying in the $99 and up range, but you’re getting an actual high-end purse made from truly nice materials and high-end hardware. There are also vegan leather charging purses which look quite nice, and will bring the price down to around $80.
But knowing you have battery power in time to grab a photo of the celeb who walks into your restaurant on date night? Priceless.
Find the Mighty Purse charging purses on their website, which all ship to the US free. Just note the website is a bit of a mess; sometimes you click on an item from the main catalog page and it goes to…an entirely different item. Hm.
