Clutch V2 Review

The Clutch V2 weighs just 2.3 ounces and offers a 3000 mAh capacity. It has just a single integrated output cord — you choose if you want a lightning cable or USB-C cable — and recharges via micro USB.

Performance Comparison

Portability

It's hard to imagine a more portable portable charger than the Clutch V2. It's easily the thinnest, smallest, lightest model we tested. At just 3.63 inches long and 2.5 inches wide, it's barely larger than a standard credit card that measures 3.375 inches long and 2.125 inches wide. With a thickness of 0.19 inches, it's about as thick as 4-5 credit cards stacked together. It weighs a minuscule 2.3 ounces, placing it solidly in the featherweight category.

While most portable chargers will create an uncomfortably thick package in your back pocket when stacked on top of your phone, not so with the Clutch V2. It's our favorite choice for carrying this way. If you prefer to charge your phone inside your purse or backpack, the Clutch seems to take up even less space, and its exceptionally short cord keeps it from becoming so tangled with other items it may sit next to. Even when you need to keep using your phone while it charges, simply stacking the Clutch behind it in your hand adds so little extra bulk and weight that we hardly even noticed it.

Charging Efficiency

The Clutch V2 advertises a capacity of 3000 mAh, making it one of the smallest capacity models in our lineup. This isn't built for charging many devices over several days though. Instead, it's an ideal emergency option when you just need a bit more power to make it to an outlet for complete charging. It has just a single power outlet via its short integrated cable — you can choose a lightning cable or a USB-C cable. As it's so thin, the Clutch does not feature an extra USB-A output port to add your own cable.

We measured the functional capacity of each charger in our lineup in several ways — draining the battery using a multimeter and using the battery to charge a dead iPhone 13. When using the multimeter, the Clutch V2 gave us an average efficiency of about 57%. However, when charging up the iPhone 13, we managed to get the phone to 66% charged, which is 71% efficiency for the Clutch (the iPhone 13 battery can hold 3227 mAh) — a much more respectable number. We're not stoked with this inconsistency though, especially for a charger with such a limited amount of power to begin with.

Added Convenience

Compared to the many models we tested that have a barrage of versatile features, the Clutch at first appears to be rather less convenient than most. And if you're after a portable charger to juice up a bunch of different devices, that's true. This slim battery has just a single cable for charging one device at a time. It doesn't support tablet charging, powering multiple devices, or quick charging any one gadget. It lacks a built-in flashlight or an integrated wall charger.

It does, however, include a micro USB cord to charge the Clutch. And though you get just a single cable from this tiny battery, by pairing it with your phone's input, you'll never have to remember to carry around a cable with you when you need to charge your phone. It has four small white LED lights that stay on while charging, letting you easily see how much power is left within. There's no extra button to press once you've connected your phone — it starts charging right away. And it's hard to understate the extra convenience of being able to slip the Clutch into your thin wallet or petite handbag to always have it on hand just in case.

Recharge Time

Where all the other pitfalls of using and owning the Clutch are made up for in other ways, this is not the case with its recharge time. Despite having a capacity that's less than a third of most other chargers we tested, it still took well over the average amount of time (for this lineup) to charge.

The manufacturer claims the Clutch can be charged fully in 3.5 hours, but despite draining and recharging it repeatedly, we never got it to full capacity in less than 4.75 hours. That's a pretty long time, for such a small capacity device. When you do find yourself using your Clutch to keep you powered up while you're out, you'll need to plan plenty of time to recharge it before going out again.

Should You Buy the Clutch V2?

If you're pretty good about keeping your phone charged but occasionally find yourself running low on battery after a long day out and about, having the Clutch on your person is a great safety blanket for peace of mind. However, if you seek a robust battery that you can use to charge your phone overnight in lieu of plugging into an outlet, the very limited capacity of the Clutch makes it not a good candidate for this type of use.

What Other Portable Chargers Should You Consider?

The Clutch V2 is a fantastic emergency option to keep on you at all times just in case your phone starts to die before you can get to an outlet. However, it has a very limited capacity that can't even fully charge a dead phone. If you love the idea of a small, portable unit but want more power and more versatility, check out the Miisso 6000mAh Ultra Slim. It has twice the capacity, both lightning and USB-C cables, a USB-A port, and a faster recharge time for not a huge increase in size and weight. For the ultimate experience in integrated charging cables and ports, the TG90 10000mAh Power Bank has even more power and all three major integrated output types (lightning, USB-C, and micro USB) plus a USB-A output. But for something tiny you can chuck in your purse or wallet and just forget about it until it saves your dead phone and gives you just enough juice to get home, the Clutch has got your back.