Is there such a thing as having too much power? Probably not, which is why we’ll be taking a look at a high capacity portable battery charger from uNu. The battery pack we’re looking at today is called the uNu Enerpak Maximum which carries a massive 17,000mAh of battery charge ready to be dispensed.
What’s in the box?
Much like its smaller brother, the uNu Enerpak Plus (read the review here), the Enerpak Maximum comes with the bare minimum of gear in the box: the battery itself, a micro-USB cable and a user manual. I have to say that the Enerpak Maximum is quite the looker; that piano black finish is very good looking and the edges on it make it appear quite beefy; that might just be me though. The included micro-USB cable is about 40cm long but unfortunately there is no AC adapter for the cable despite the massive amount of charging required before the battery is full.
How does it perform?
During my tests on the Enerpak Maximum (done using Battery Monitor Widget), I found that overall the battery pack has a pretty standard charge rate, around 45% per hour. This puts it right around the same performance as the cheero Power Plus battery packs we checked out yesterday. While it’s nothing to write home about, you can definitely be sure that the Enerpak Maximum is going to give you the performance you need from your portable charger.
What do I like about the UNU Enerpak Maximum
I’m a big fan of the styling of the uNu Enerpak series and the Enerpak Maximum doesn’t disappoint; its piano black finish is very sleek and you could be forgiven for not realizing it was actually a portable battery charger.
Compared to the Enerpak Plus which had a 1A input, I’m glad that the Enerpak Maximum has adopted a 1.5A input to charge the internal battery which will stop this process taking longer than it needs to. Also, with a 17,000mAh, you’ll be able to charge most devices more than 4-5 times before needing to charge it up again.
While the Enerpak Maximum does seem quite large at first, it’s actually barely wider than my Moto G which means it could comfortably fit in a shirt or pants pocket. Obviously this isn’t always an option as it is quite heavy, however it is quite a slimline battery pack for its capacity compared to other large capacity battery packs which can only be transported in a carry bag.
What don’t I like about the UNU Enerpak Maximum
While I am a fan of how the Enerpak Maximum is styled, I’m not a fan of how it is designed; it’s a bit confusing to me that the outputs to the battery pack are located on opposite ends of the body. I also found it a bit weird that the included flashlight is on a different face to either of the outputs meaning that it’s actually quite hard to utilize the flashlight to help you get your charging set up in the dark.
I’m also slightly disappointed that the Enerpak Maximum only has two outputs; with 17,000mAh on tap, it’s entirely feasibly to charge a whole host of devices, even if it’s only at 1A for each port, but it seems like a bit of a waste not to have the option. That said, 17,000mAh is obviously a prime option if you are backpacking and don’t know when your next charge up is going to come from.
One of my past concerns with the Enerpak Plus arose again while reviewing the Enerpak Maximum; the battery charge level LED on the top of the unit is a great tool for seeing how much charge there is left in the unit, however once plugged in, the LED turns off, giving no indication of whether it is charging your device or how much charge is left. I realise this is probably done to conserve power, however with devices that don’t have LED indicators for charging, it can be a bit frustrating to need to do this.
Overall Thoughts
There’s a lot to like about the uNu Enerpak Maximum, particularly for the perennial traveller that requires a lot of battery power on the go. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot about the Enerpak Maximum that is relatively pedestrian; only two outputs, average charge rate, and a few other niggling issues keep it from really standing out from the crowd. Which brings us to the price: MSRP $129.95 USD. That’s a pretty steep price for a portable battery charger that really has no stand-out features besides its sleek looks. That said, if you’re happy to shell out the extra few dollars because you like the look of the Enerpak Maximum, you likely won’t be disappointed as it does exactly everything you would expect it to do.
If you’re interested in taking a closer look at the uNu Enerpak Maximum, you can visit the Amazon page (links are down below) or you can visit the uNu website here to see what else they have in their product range.
