Recommended gear
I tend to end up buying a lot of stuff for the car (and for this channel). Here are some of my favourite products along with the videos in which I talk about them.
Some of these are affiliate links so I will get a few pennies if you click them. Thank you!
For the car
EcoFlow Delta 2 battery
The fridge saver
Rural living means a lot of power-cuts for us. This battery could save the day.
Even before the current energy crisis, we had quite regular outages. Having a battery like this gives massive peace of mind.
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
OBD dongle
Look inside your EV
There's a lot going on inside your EV. If the battery isn't warm enough (or if it's too hot) then charge rates will slow down. Wouldn't it also be good to find out your battery health?
By plugging one of these into your OBD port, you can find out a whole manner of different things. If you want to find out information about your EV, you can link the dongle to Car Scanner (iOS, Android) and for on-the-go route planning, A Better Route Planner (iOS, Android). The dongle I've been using for years is the LElink, but I've heard that no longer works with ABRP (unless you have a Leaf) so I'm now linking to another called Vgate iCar Pro. If you have a Leaf, the LElink is still your best bet though as it's one of the few that works with Leaf Spy (iOS, Android). LElink dongle: amazon.co.uk, amazon.com
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
Portable jump starter
Worth its weight in gold
If your car's 12-volt battery drains enough, you won't be able to start your car. You could either call breakdown recovery, or get the car started yourself.
I've used devices like this so many times, I'd consider it essential kit. The one I have is no longer available so this is the nearest I can find. It's small enough to fit in your glovebox (or frunk, if you have one), doubles as a USB charger, and is fantastic to have for emergencies. I can't vouch for the reliability of this particular one but feel free to do some research yourself. It doesn't need much power to get an EV started so you don't have to spend much.
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
LISEN Magsafe car mount
Magnets are cool
Eagle-eyed viewers of my dongle video noticed a car mount I was using in my LEAF and wanted to know what it was.
My previous car mount had physical arms gripping the phone, but since iPhones have had Magsafe for ages, it seems silly using such a primitive method when magnets are so much cooler! This car mount is stuck onto your dashboard using the adhesive sticker supplied. It seems very hard wearing and rotates and extends a bit so you can angle it as you want. Plug a USB-C cable into the bottom and it'll then wirelessly charge your phone. It needs enough power to do this though, so a USB-C to USB-C cable may not be enough. If you get a 12v USB-C adapter, that'll give it enough juice.
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
12v Battery Monitor
Monitor your car's 12-volt battery... while China monitors your location
I'm no longer recommending this hardware for security reasons. Read below.
Edit on 5th June 2024: I had a comment on a video from someone saying they've sent the hardware back to Amazon because Norton on their iPhone warned about the app. It turns out the app is sending anonymised location data to servers in China/Hong Kong.
There's an in-depth article about it here.
I believe it's very common for the Chinese government to insist on companies collecting data like this but I feel particularly uneasy about it.
I've kept the links on the page if you don't care, but personally I'll be looking for alternatives that have far less dubious security.
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
NEVERLAND SUV Car cover
Keep your car clean
I'm really not the kind of person that cares about the car getting overly dirty, but this time it seemed essential.
When selling IONIQ 5, I had no idea how long it'd take to sell. I didn't want to show a dirty car, and also didn't want to keep cleaning it. This car cover turned out to be a fantastic solution!
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA
Tyre inflator
Don't go flat
On a couple of occasions I've had slow punctures. Usually due to clumsy builders leaving screws on my driveway.
Something like this tyre inflator is essential kit for your car. I've had this one from OneAmg for ages and it's worked fine. There may be better ones out there, so click around and look for yourself.
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA • Germany/EU
TRONITY
Get data from your car
I'm now a big TRONITY convert.
TRONITY is great for two reasons: it stores every charge and every journey which is great if you're a data geek. It's also a way you can get live data (well, most of the time) into ABRP when you're on a long journey. I've tried it with IONIQ 5 and Peugeot e-208 and it's not always perfect (depending on how often the car sends data) but generally I found it worked well in the Euro trip in the e-208. It's next to useless for the Kia e-Niro though! Look here for supported cars. The referral link gives you 25% off a subscription.
Get it here: TRONITY website
A Better Route Planner (ABRP)
The ultimate route planner
Whenever I plan a long journey, ABRP is my first port of call.
Previously I'd have just used the website or app and avoided the navigation guidance using CarPlay but they've made enormous improvements recently to their CarPlay (and Android Auto) interface. It's not always perfect, but better than nothing, whiuch sadly is all most EVs offer in terms of route planning with charging stops! Get a free 30-day trial using this referral link.
Get it here: A Better Route Planner (ABRP) website
GoPro HERO11 Black
Great quality small camera
As a YouTuber, finding good quality small kit can be a struggle.
I've previously used the Osmo Action which is also fantastic but the quality seems far better with the GoPro. Audio quality also seems a bit better to my ears. I'm hoping it gets a firmware update though as it sometimes randomly switches off!
Buy on Amazon: UK • USA
FLIR ONE Pro LT
Find cold spots in your house
It's rare for any house to be completely without a draught.
This plugs into your phone and turns it into an infrared camera, capable of seeing those cold areas you'd not easily find otherwise. The link is for the one I have for the iPhone, but if you want it for Android, just select the appropriate model on Amazon.