The Lectron 40A Portable is the charger to buy if you want one unit to cover both home and the road. It bundles a 240-volt NEMA 14-50 plug for full Level 2 speed and a 120-volt 5-15 plug for any wall outlet, its current adjusts from 8 to 40 amps, and it packs into a trunk. It is our top pick in the best portable EV chargers, and this is why.
What it is
The Lectron is a portable Level 2 EVSE with a J1772 connector - the standard plug for non-Tesla EVs in North America, and one a Tesla can use with a simple adapter. "Portable" here means it is not bolted to the wall: it plugs into an outlet, hangs on a hook or sits in a bag, and moves with you. What sets it apart from most of its rivals is that it is genuinely dual-level, shipping with two different plugs in the box rather than assuming you always have a 240-volt outlet handy.
Dual-level: the 14-50 and 5-15 plugs
This is the headline feature and the reason it ranks first. With the 14-50 plug, the Lectron pulls 240 volts and charges at Level 2 speed - roughly 25 miles of range per hour at its full draw, enough to refill overnight. Swap to the included 5-15 plug and it steps down to a standard 120-volt household outlet, adding a slow trickle when that is the only thing available. The 120-volt mode is not fast - Level 1 adds only about 3 to 5 miles per hour - but it means you are never stranded without a charge option at a relative's house, a rental, or an older property with no 240-volt outlet. Most portables force you to choose one voltage; the Lectron carries both.
Adjustable amperage
The Lectron's current is adjustable across a wide range, from 8 up to 40 amps. That is more useful than it sounds. The whole point of a portable is plugging into outlets you did not install yourself, and being able to dial the draw down lets you run safely on a smaller circuit or an outlet you are not fully confident in, rather than pulling a hard 40 amps and hoping. At home on a properly rated 14-50 outlet you run it at the top of its range; on the road you turn it down to match what you find.
Build, cable and portability
As a piece of hardware it is a rugged brick with a cable and a connector, built to be handled and stowed rather than mounted and forgotten. It packs into a trunk, which is the entire pitch - it is a travel charger you can take on a road trip, not just a wall unit that happens to be unmounted. The connector is outdoor-capable, and the unit is designed to live on a hook or in a bag between uses.
Where it falls short
Two honest caveats. First, it is a portable, which means it is a brick that lives on the floor or a hook rather than a clean wall-mounted fixture; if a tidy permanent install is what you want, this is not it. Second, a 40-amp continuous draw is a real load, and running it flat out demands a properly rated 14-50 receptacle - do not push it to 40 amps on a worn or bargain-grade outlet. Neither is a flaw in the charger so much as the physics of the category, but both are worth knowing before you buy. It also has no smart-app monitoring; it is a capable manual charger, not a connected one.
Who should buy it
Buy the Lectron if you want a single charger for home and travel, if you rent or might move, or if you value flexibility over a bolted-down install. Skip it if you want a permanent, tidy wall fixture and never travel with the charger - in that case a hardwired unit looks cleaner, stays put and can run faster. That trade-off is the whole subject of portable vs hardwired EV charger, and it is worth reading before you decide. For most people who want one charger that goes where they go, the Lectron is the easy answer.
