Hero charger saves the day: I just got a new charger and had not planned on writing about it so soon, but it immediately proved its worth so I am going to relate the experience while it is fresh in my mind.

I am writing this week's column from the Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal Orlando, my very favorite hotel worldwide for its immersive mid-century modern atmosphere, excellent lazy river and reasonable pricing for an on-property theme park hotel. To get here I got up at 2 a.m. for a 5 a.m. direct flight to Orlando. After arriving I took an Uber to Cabana Bay, dropped off my luggage and was at the parks by 9 a.m. I had a full day and did not get to bed until after midnight, so I was up for almost 24 hours. I was tired and forgetful and did not connect my devices to chargers before falling asleep.

I woke up to a 15% phone battery and my Apple Watch was almost dead. What a disaster! I did not want to sit around waiting for them to charge or use my power bank, since I might need it to charge later in the day. Before I got in the shower I plugged the phone and watch into my new PD 3.1 charger, called The Youth 140W from AOHi. (Not sure where that name came from, but there wasn't a model called The Adult or The Senior Citizen in the lineup.) PD 3.1 is a new charging standard designed to be future-proof, and The Youth 140W supports high-speed charging through two ports simultaneously. Most chargers can only do this through one port, and The Youth 140W can even charge two laptops at high speed simultaneously. The battery charge numbers started climbing rapidly and I was able to get my phone and watch charged to 80% by the time I left my room, and I made it through the day charging with my power bank later.

The plug folds for compactness and the charger is a bright yellow color that reminds me of a DeWalt power tool. Like a good power tool, the charger is ruggedly built, runs cool and is probably the most solid-feeling charger I have ever handled. The only downside is you must make sure it is firmly plugged in to vertical outlets or it may fall out if you jiggle the cable too hard, which is not uncommon with this kind of charger. (I used it with a horizontal outlet at Cabana Bay.) PD 3.1 chargers can cost $80 or more, so at $59.99 retail The Youth 140W is a great deal and the current discount code FASTCHARGER at iaohi.com reduces the price $15 to only $44.99. That's a winning, high-performance value, and I am glad I took it on this trip!

Q. Do you have any recommendations for lightweight, cordless leaf blowers?

—M.B., Edina, Minnesota

A. I get buried in leaves every fall so I have been through a bunch of leaf blowers. The Kobalt 40V I purchased was heavy and ineffective, so I kept the included battery for use with my lawnmower and gave the blower away. The Black & Decker 20V was only suitable for clearing dirt from the porch. The Ryobi One+ 18V 350 CFM from Home Depot is my runaway favorite for the power, easy handling and long battery life. If you buy one, get the $139 package with 4.0 Ah battery and charger, even if you already have a Ryobi battery system. It is only $30 more than the $109 blower-only, and the battery is worth $99.

———

©2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC