[REVIEW] New Trent 13,500 mAh Powerpak+; MORE POWER!

In the good old days a person could pick up a few spare batteries for their device and toss them in their bag, or pocket, and easily swap out the battery midday if needed. With devices like the Xperia Z, HTC One and Nexus line, you don’t have that option. That leaves a few options for users of devices with a locked in battery. You can keep a charger with you all the time and hope for power outlets, pick up a bulky extended battery case or have a power bank readily available. I personally choose the power banks whenever possible. While the quick boost 4,500 mAh power banks are quite plentiful, some trips and some days might require quite a bit more. That is where a behemoth power bank comes into play.  Meet the New Trent Powerpak+ 13,500 mAh power bank.

Yes, you could call me crazy for needing, or even having, one of these. However, the powerpak+ is one heck of a great unit to have available in your arsenal of gadgets.

Tech Specs

• 13,500 mAh @ 3.7V (50+ hours of additional talk time)
• Dual USB (1A and 2.1 A outputs)
• Mirco USB charging port
• Power button
• LED light
• Dimensions – 27mm x 68mm x 126mm
• Weight – 289g

In the box you get the powerpak+, Micro USB charging cable, soft carrying pouch and a user manual.

 

The outer casing is pretty simple looking with black plates on the top and bottom that are rigged to give you a good grip on the unit. It is plastic, but feels pretty solid. I have never been one to care so much about the looks, I just power.  The powerpak+ is a pretty simple and straightforward unit and doesn’t need much explaining. All the the ports you need are on the front. With the power button conveniently located on the right hand side.

Once you give the powerpak+ a full charge, which does take some time (12 hours from dead), you are set. Plug whatever needs a boost into the USB port with your cable and press and hold the power button for a second or so. The LED light under the button will light up and you will be charging.

The LED indicator will let you know approximately how much power is left in the Powerpak+ before its dead. It breaks up into 3 colors. Green, Blue and Red. Basically breaking you into 4,500 mAh increments. I would prefer a battery bar in 1/4’s, but with the size of this thing, I know red is nearing the end of the charge and I should plug it in.

I did a little testing and took a few screenshots. Using my Xperia Z (has a 2330 mAh battery inside) I went for an off grid week. I was still at home, I just used nothing but the powerpak+ to charge my device. Being that my patience for charging is low, I used the 2.1A port. I used the Battery Widget app to track from 1% to 100% charge. As you can see in the screenshots below, it charged me up in about 2 and half hours. That was with the phone on, but not being used.

 

It charged up in a couple hours and shut itself off when it was fully charged. Always a good feature to have in a portable charger. I continued to use my phone like usual. Somedays getting down to 1%, other days still sitting at 35% or so. I went 6 days without needing a power outlet and only using the Powerpak+. The final night I plugged in my Z at 20% and it made it to 50% before the powerpak+ died out. I could have probably made it through the night and most of the following day, but I caved and plugged in my phone.

Is 13,500 mAh a bit over kill? It could be for some of you out there. If you happen to be without power often and find your phone alerting you that your battery is low when you still have a few hours left in your day, then you might want to consider this product. Being able to charge both your phone and tablet at the same time, and in most cases, get a full charge on both, you are pretty safe for more than 24 hours of play time. Especially when it will only set your bank account back $55.

If you need some serious power, or know someone who is always complaining about their battery being dead, pick one of these up.