It was recently Amazon UK's deal of the day, and since I'm going on vacation soon, I figured I could use a new USB battery bank and gave it a shot. Imagine my surprise then upon actually opening it and feeling impressed. Actually impressed.
Presentation goes a long way into creating the feeling of a quality product, and while RAVPower isn't a brand I've dealt with before, the first impressions are solid. It comes in a fairly plain, but recycle-friendly package, nothing out of the ordinary.
Inside, though, you find the 16750mAh battery pack, two tangle-free microUSB cables and a smart looking little bag to carry it in. I'm not suggesting a carrying bag is essential to a good battery pack, but the whole package creates a very nice impression.
The battery pack itself has microUSB in for charging it, which does take a while given its capacity. It'll charge just fine on any regular 1.5A and above wall adapter, but it's still best to leave it overnight if you're going to be needing it the next day. It also has an LED torch. I'm still at a loss as to exactly why battery packs seem to include this, but there you go. It's there — use it or don't. It's bright, at least.
For charging you get a pair of USB outputs, one for each cable included in the box. One is rated at 2.4A, the other at 2.1A, and RAVPower claims a consistent 4.5A output while connected for charging. I've no equipment to measure that accurately, but both are capable of charging phones quite quickly. The "ismart" part of the RAVPower pack is designed to detect and optimize the output for the device that's charging, which is a neat feature.
The charge level meter is pretty nifty as well, being a light bar rather than some minuscule LEDs you can barely see. Add in an acceptable weight and a compact shape that'll fit into your bag with ease, and you've got a fine product.
Best of all, the regular price isn't high. In the U.S. it'll set you back $32, or £21 in the UK, but keep an eye out for any Amazon deals on it. It's an awful lot of charger for not a lot of money. If you need a mix of microUSB and USB-C, a tiny adapter might be better than carrying an extra cable.
