New Patriot FUEL+ battery banks bring 2.5A out charging to Mobile [Review]

Patriot isn’t a name you would typically associate to the mobile space. Many of you tech junkies out there are probably aware of Patriot and their PC offerings. They have been in the PC space for quite some time. Now they are starting to take their technological intelligence and apply it to the mobile sphere with a myriad of new offerings that any Patriot fan is sure to appreciate. On my side of the coin I have acquired the new line of FUEL+ battery banks.

The Patriot FUEL+ battery banks come in seven different offerings. On the smaller side you have the 2200mAh and 3000mAh single USB out offering. Then you have the 5200mAh and 6000mAh dual-port USB out version. Then they jump up to the 7800mAh and 9000mAh packs. Finally, there is a small 1500mAh one which has an Apple Lightning tip directly on it for those iOS guys out there.

In this overview/review we will be looking at the 9000mAh, 6000mAh and the 5200mAh. More so lumping them together in one big review, but hey, we have all three sitting here for photo ops and we don’t see any need to make them separate.

With the exception of the Lighting 1500mAh and the smaller single USB port 2200 and 3000, the rest of the line looks identical. On the outside they have the FUEL+ branding right on the top, with the Patriot logo on the side. The outer casing is white plastic that gives like a turtle shell cover over the red main body of the battery bank.

On the same side as the Patriot logo you find a slightly recessed power button and 4 LED lights. Each light indicates 25% charge remaining in the battery bank, pretty typical in the industry really. Interestingly enough though, they chose to use blue lights for this. Not that I mind, I like blue, I just would have expected red to go with the main casing of the battery. The lights do not remain on while charging, put a quick tap of the power button will illuminate them so you can see approximately how much power is left.

On the same side as the power button, but on the back, is where you find the micro USB charging port. Easily labeled with “input”. On the opposite side you find the dual USB ports. There is a good reason for this design and I will explain it in just a minute, but first, look at what the port on the left says. Yup, these battery banks have 2.5A and 1A outs. I have seen a number of battery banks that hover in the 2.1A range and some even getting up to 2.4A. To the best of my knowledge though, Patriots FUEL+ batteries are the first to push 2.5A.

I ran each through a simple 30 minute charging test to see how quickly the 2.5A out port would charge my Sony Xperia Z. I have been exclusively using Battery Monitor Widget from 3C for all these tests so that you can see as much relevant information as possible. Take a quick look over the results from start, to 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

As you can see I charged up from 51% to 63% in 15 minutes, and 51% to 76% in 30 minutes. I gained 25% charge in 30 minutes. That translates into 1% charge for every 1.2 minutes. This was also conducted on a FULLY charged FUEL+ battery bank. Each one performed identical. I did this with my phone on, connected to cell and Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth active.  I used the supplied short USB charging cable that came with the battery banks too.  Individual results may vary depending on device, internal battery size and what is going on with the device at the time. Compared to some of the other battery banks on the market, the FUEL+ did charge up my device a little faster. For instance, the Ventev gave me 20% in 31 minutes under similar conditions. In a world where power for our devices is always needed, the FUEL+ like is certainly one you should get your hands on.

I told you that I would also explain the design reasonings behind why the charging port and USB out ports are on opposite sides of the battery banks. Patriot didn’t do this to be different. Many of the battery banks we have showed you over the years have the charging port and out ports right with each other. In the case of the FUEL+ banks, these are opposite each other because of another feature built into the product. They can Simultaneously charge your device and the battery bank when plugged in. Hence the opposite plugs. Simply plug your wall charger into the batter bank, then the battery bank into your phone. One seamless inline charging solution. (both images below are during the dual-charging from the wall through the battery to my phone.)

To top it all off, put the icing on the cake if you will, each battery bank is also made using the highest standard of battery on the market, specifically, the technology found in your laptop batteries.

FUEL+ mobile rechargeable batteries have built-In protection against over charge, over current, over temperature, under discharge, and short circuit to ensure efficient and safe charge cycles.

What about size? Over the years battery banks have gotten much smaller with more power inside. The 7800 and 9000 are in the same housing and measure in at 3.7 x 4.5 x 1 inches and weighs 6.4 oz ( according to Amazon) . The 5200 and 6000 are also in the same housing and measure in at 3.7 x 1.7 x 1 inches and weigh in at 4.8 oz (also according to Amazon). While I don’t have a physical scale here to double check, the 5200 and 6000 do feel the same, or at least close enough that it doesn’t make much difference.

With this much technology built in, the high-standard batteries used, the pass-though charging and the 2.5A output port, one would think that the FUEL+ battery banks would be a bit more on the pricy side of the spectrum for portable power. Considering all that you are getting, the price points of each battery is very competitive. Here, take a look at pricing details (at the time of posting via Amazon) of each below.

Patriot FUEL+ Pricing

• 9000mAh – $69.64
• 7800mAh – $52.98
• 6000mAh – $50.99
• 5200mAh – $44.40
• 3000mAh – $29.98
• 2200mAh – $29.99
• 1500mAh – $40.98 (That is the Lightning tipped Version)

Patriot has a heck of a line up going for them with the FUEL+ battery banks. If the standard 2.1A and 2.4A battery banks just don’t seem to give you enough juice quick enough, you might want to give one of these a try. Feel free to head to Amazon and choose your perfect battery size.

Patriot FUEL+ Battery Banks all models on Amazon.com

More info at Patriotmemory.com