There’re chargers and then there are chargers and the Pirl Charger is definitely one that stands out from the crowd. This is not just a charger, but a complete charging port with 4 outlets. If you’re like most people and you like gadgets, ones that need charging a lot, then you will love this charger.
Naturally, we’ve all had problems with chargers. A quick glance around reveals three USB chargers lying around. Chargers that just stopped working for no reason exactly. Pirl created this charger to counter the frustrations we all face with regular chargers. If you’ve struggled with these other chargers, you’ll know what we’re talking about:
- Poor design
- Quick to die
- Several important features missing
So, the team decided that the only way to get around highly annoying chargers was to build one from scratch. And the Pirl Charger was born.
What is the Pirl Charger
Well, according to the creators, the Pirl Charger is built for demanding users. People who need fast charging, flexibility, visibility of power usage and a way to charge multiple USB devices quickly.
Interestingly, the Pirl Charger is made from aluminum and FR4, unlike those made from plastic. A lot of attention was paid to the design as well. The result is a long-lasting charger that doesn’t look like something from outer space.
Features of the Pirl Charger
Not surprisingly, the Pirl Charger has some interesting features.
Four charging ports
First, this charger has 4 ports, which means you can charge four devices at the same time. With 4 separate channels for each port, there’s no throttling.
Wattmeter
Second, the wattmeter is another cool feature of this charger. It shows the total power delivered to each port in use.
Built to last
Again, did we mention that it’s made from aluminum and FR4? The Pirl Charger is more robust and has a higher resistance than regular chargers.
Small environmental footprint
Now, this charger was designed in a way that it can be repurposed after the first intended use. So it is much less likely to be thrown away, making it a charger with a lower environmental impact.
Pocket-sized
Also, the size of the Pirl Charger is quite amazing. It slips right into your pocket making it fantastic for traveling.
Superior protection
Without a doubt, the creators of the Pirl Charger put in a lot of work to make sure that it has top-notch protection. So it has some special protection that guards against overheating. Should any chip overheat, it will self-shutdown to protect the charger.
But, that’s not all the protection it has. Each port has some sort of fault detection signal and is also independent. So, the performance (or lack) of one does not affect the others.
The Story of Pirl Charger
No doubt, the story behind the Pirl Charger is an interesting one. Most amazing is the fact that they are 100% bootstrapped as they had no external funding at the beginning. The team made sacrifices to get Pirl to where it is today. One sold his condo while the other cashed out his retirement savings and they both lived on credit cards.
No, this is not your typical made in a garage startup story. For one, the founders were not in their twenties and they had assets they could rely on. Secondly, the journey from idea to prototype was fairly easy, but after that, there were setbacks. They could have given up, but they didn’t.
Though it took them a while to finally launch their product, they did it. In a post, they shared that “merely 20 days ago we had no idea anyone would buy our product.” Their Kickstarter project was funded in just 9 hours. Theirs is an amazing story and one that shows the true never-say-die American spirit. Find out more here.
