I do a lot of traveling for this site. There is a major convention going on someplace in the world on a monthly basis and odds are that I’ll be there checking things out and putting in my two cents. This is a lot of fun, but also a great deal of work, especially when it’s just me or when I’m with a small team. As you can imagine a laptop is an essential part of my toolbox when out traveling for work, but with that comes a certain set of problems. I use a MacBook Pro as my primary work laptop and while it serves its purpose like a champ, the charger has given me a number of issues. Over the last two years since I’ve had this thing. In that time I’ve managed to go through three chargers thanks to one little problem.
Now this isn’t because I’ve bought some cheap 3rd party Chinese knockoff (god knows I’ve thought about it, but I like not having to worry about catching on fire), but instead because the way the power brick is designed, which while fantastic, tends to fall apart after being tossed around on so many trips. The cord tends to split/fray right where the cord meets on the power brick, which makes sense as this is the weakest point of the connection. I know I could be wrapping my cords up better, or tie them off when not in use, or not quite as tight, but after hours on the floor reporting, followed by more time typing away, the last thing on my mind is proper cord maintenance.
This is where Juiceboxx, a new company that we met back at CES in January, comes into the picture. Like myself, the team at Juiceboxx understood the problem that I, and many others it would seem, were facing. Have a MacBook or MacBook Pro long enough and chances are a frayed cord will be in your future. I have a spare cord in my desk right now that is being held together with electrical tape because it has frayed. The team at Juiceboxx have created a product that will not only help save your cord, but looks pretty darn stylish as well.
Their MacBook Charger Case is a very simple design that clips over your existing MacBook power brick. Now, the MacBook brick itself has these two wings that flip-up and serve as a place to wrap your cord around when not in use. These work okay, but because of their position as relative size, they don’t protect the part of the cord that meets the charger from being pulled out (exposing the cord), or from fraying altogether from excessive bend. The Juiceboxx has a patent-pending “cord guide” that keeps where the cord and power brick meet from pulling, or getting overstretched. The whole thing is so devilishly simple that you’ll wonder how nobody thought of it before.
It’s a simple one step process getting the Juiceboxx MacBook Charger clipped on. The cord running from the power brick exists a hole at the top giving it enough space so as to never kink at the connection point. Because the case fits over the wings that are on the power brick, this also gives you a lot of room to be able to wrap the rest of the cord around as well. Another thing that I like is the design of the case itself. Those with MacBook’s, or most laptops, will know that the power bricks tend to get pretty warm, especially during heavy use. With its minimalist design, the Juiceboxx MacBook Charger Case never suffocates the power brick, letting it breathe easy.
The Juiceboxx Charger Case is a must have piece of kit for anyone that has a MacBook/MacBook Pro that does a lot of traveling. At $20 it isn’t beyond reach and will no doubt save you a lot in the long run, especially if you are like me and have already spent $100 plus on replacement power bricks. The case also comes in six colors, so you’ll be able to tailor it to any laptop case you may already have. You can head over to the Juiceboxx website (here) and pick yourself up one and if you type in the promo code “BOXX105” you can snag %10 of your order. I highly recommended you you pick up one of these little guys.
*A unit was provided for this review*
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