3 Port Fast Charge 145W Power Bank with PD3.0 and QC3.0 speeds
Charge up to 3 devices simultaneously with USB-C1 (up to 100W output), USB-C2 (up to 45W output), USB-A1 (up to 18W output), max output 115W. Compact/Portable, optimal weight:power ratio (6.30in x 3.2in x 1.1 in, 18.1 oz). Fast charging PD3.0/QC3.0. Compatible with most devices (listed will not support Samsung SFC PPS25W or SFC 2.0 S 45W). Flight/TSA approved.
- Ease of Use
- Design
- Portability
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- Accessories
3-Port Fast Charge 145W Power Bank with PD3.0 and QC3.0 speeds
As my kids have grown older, our family has become more involved with sporting activities BSA Scouts, and school. From weekend-spanning campouts, week-long scout camps, to all day baseball tournaments, basketball games, band concerts, presentations, water park/theme park outings, etc., I have found difficulty with keeping my iPhone 14 Pro Max, Apple Watch Ultra, Air Pods Pro, and other devices charged when separated from a power outlet/source. As a potential solution, I utilize portable batteries with a minimum of 10,000 mAh charge. When weight:power ratios are considered, one must decide about the optimal number and size of their batteries. Assuming ~80% efficiency, a 10,000 mAh battery should provide just under two full charges for the 4323 mAh battery of my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
When backpacking or carrying gear for a day outing, I must consider the weight and volume of my devices. My son (Life Scout) and I recently returned from a two-week Philmont trek (~90 total miles) and carried ~60-70 pounds over two weeks. This included our shelter, sleeping gear, clothing, water, food, group gear, and miscellaneous items like batteries for my iPhone (camera/communications). I purchased/packed a 10,000 mAh Anker USB-A/C battery (8.8 ounces) and an Anker 20,000 mAh PowerCore (12.16 ounces) for the trip. Even though the batteries served me well, the dual items took up precious space within my Osprey Aether 70L Plus pack. After some additional research/testing, I may have found my optimal weekend and backpacking power bank for my upcoming campout/trip. Weighing in at 18.1 ounces, the UGREEN 145W 25,000 mAh Power bank will provide me with weight and volume savings, but at a possible cost of ~500mAh and some redundancy.
UNBOXING:
The UGREEN 25000 Fast Charging Power Bank arrived in a 3 7/8 inches wide by 6 5/8 inches tall by 1 3/4 inches thick retail package. The main cover provided a sexy hunter-green UGREEN logo at the top of the cover, followed by three product icons. 1. High Energy Density Cell. 2. Trickle Charging Supported. 3. Flight Approved. The cover’s lower edge listed the generic “Fast Charging Power Bank” product name, the 25000 mAh power capacity, bold “145W” output, small text detailing “Fast charge Laptop, Phones & Tablets at Once,” and an attractive hunter green border. The right side panel listed several product manufacturing labels, while the opposite side was left blank. The rear panel provided three icons along the top of the panel (PD100W Single Port Fast Charging, Max 65W Input High-Seed Charging, Smart LED Display for Remaining Battery), and a helpful Specifications table (1. USB-C1 Input: 5V/3A 9V/3A 12V/3A 15V/3A 20V/3.25A. 2. USB-C2 Input: 5V/3A 9V/3A 12V/3A 15V/3A 20V/2.25A. 3. USB-C1 output: 5V/3A 9V/3A 12V/3A 15V/3A 20V/5A. 4. USB-C2 output: 5V/3A 9v3A 12V/3A 15V/3A 20V/2.25A. USB-A Output 5V/3A 9V/2A 12V/1.5A. Total Output 5v/6A 9V/6A12V 6A 20V/7.25A. The bottom hunter-green panel listed the address and contact information.
To access the charger, I removed the tape closure along the top panel, lifted the top panel, slid the inner white tray out from the case, and examined the package contents. I removed the 1 pound 2.1 ounce, 6 3/8 inches long by 3 3/16 inches wide by 1 inch thick black power bank, followed by the 20-inches long USB-C to USB-C cable resting in the lower compartment. Before disposing of the inner tray, remove the inner cardboard shelf to find the 4 inches-wide by 7 3/4 inches tall grey drawstring carry bag, instruction manual, and FCC/IC statement manual. The carry bag had a small UGREEN tag at the bottom corner, well-stitched hemlines, and a convenient drawstring nylon cord. Even though the bag was large enough to accommodate the power bank and cable, the cable printed on the bag’s surface and attracted dust/debris. I found the more optimal solution was to coil the all-in-one data cable and to place it at the bottom of the bag and not beside the battery. It is important to note that the accessory bag will not have room to accommodate a wall charger. However, the bag’s benefit was protecting the battery’s surface and charging ports from scratches/scuffs, and USB port contact. I was thankful for the included carry bag, but would love the option to purchase an accessory hardshell/clamshell style case with added space for a UGREEN 65W GaN wall charger combo. With that as an option, The UGREEN 145W 25000 mAh battery may be the perfect weekend or summer camp battery.
USB-C Cable:
I was impressed with the design of the 20-inches long USB-C to USB-C cable. Instead of providing a cheaply made, throw-away cable, UGREEN put some thought into their accessory. Each of the 5/16 inches wide by 1/8 inches thick by 1/4 inch tall USB-C metallic prongs connected to a black-rubberized 7/16 inches wide by 1/4 inches thick by 5/8 inches tall oval neck segment. The neck segment then tapered to 1 1/4 inch diameter collar segment over 3/8 inches. I gripped/bent the metallic prong, then tugged against the prong/neck, the neck/collar, and the collar/cable, and found a robust, well-designed setup. When I paired a 65W USB-C wall charger with the included USB-C to USB-C cable and plugged the USB-C cable into the power bank, I found a secure fit with each of the USB-C prongs.
Manual:
I liked how the manual portrayed the information with a picture/diagram followed by a multilingual list of instructions (EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, CN, NL, SE, PL, TR. The manual detailed the need to fully charge the battery before first use, the ability for dual input, and the preferred method to charge the device with a power input of 65W or above. It then detailed the wired fast charging mode (single press power-on, double press power off), and the Trickle charging mode (Press-hold for 3 seconds on, 3.5 seconds off [3.5 hour timeout]). The fourth segment detailed the power distribution: 1. 100W USB-C 1, 18W USB-A, 45W USB-C2 single port options. 2. 100W USB-C 1 + 45W USB-C 2, 100W USB-C 1 + 18W USB-A, and 15W USB-A + 15W USB-C 2 dual power output. 3. 100W USB-C 1 + 15 W USB-C 2 and 15W USB-A triple charging. The fifth segment provided the same list of product specifications that were presented on the rear panel of the outer packaging. Lastly, the rear panels provided some general product notes regarding the battery/cable, and product warnings. The manual did a great job overall.
Power Output/Testing:
I used the power bank to overnight charge my iPhone 14 Pro Max as the primary test for the battery. At 10:34 PM, my iPhone was at 31% power. I plugged a Klein Tools Multimeter into the USB-C1 port of the UGREEN battery and a USB-C to Lightning cable between the multimeter and my iPhone 14 Pro Max. I plugged a second multimeter into USB-C port 2 and then a USB-C to Apple Watch charger into the multimeter. The multimeter displayed 8.95V/1.78A for my iPhone and 4.97V/.019A for my Apple Watch Ultra. By 10:52 my iPhone was at 62% power and the 145W 25000 battery reached 92% (8.92V/2.35A). By 11:18 PM my phone was at 82% power and the power bank was at 87% power. On day 2, I started testing the battery with my phone at 47% power at 10:20 PM (8.90V/2.54A). The battery dropped to 80%, but my phone was at 68% at 10:34 PM. By 10:44 PM, my iPhone was at 78%. By 11:02 PM, the phone was at 86%. By 11:39 PM, the iPhone was at 96%, and by 12:03 am, the iPhone was at 100% power. On Day 3, I started at 11:47 PM at 28% power. My iPhone increased to 52% by 12:02 PM (65% battery power remaining, 8.96V/1.62A multimeter display). By 12:13 AM, my iPhone reached 68%. By 12:28 AM the phone was at 80% and entered into “Optimized Battery Charging Mode.”
As a second test, I depleted the battery to 5% power and tested the time to recharge the battery. Starting at 7:03 AM with 5% battery power, I plugged the USB-C to USB-C cable between the battery and an 87W USB-C Apple Charger. I was impressed to find the battery was fully charged by 8:50 AM and that the charging rate matched the levels referenced in the instruction manual. As a second charging test, starting at 40% power (4:06 PM), the battery increased to 54% by 4:17 PM (20.17V/3.14A). By 4:24 PM, the battery was at 64% (20.16V/3.14A). By 4:30 PM, the battery was at 72% (20.18V/3.13A). By 4:47 PM the battery was at 88% (20.17V/3.12A)The multimeter displayed ~20.19V/3.16A through USB-C1 and ~20.19V/2.16A through USB-C2 port. By 4:54 PM the battery was fully charged. Throughout charging/depletion, the battery never felt too hot to touch or uncomfortable to handle (103-110 degrees using an infrared thermometer).
With a fully charged battery, I used the device to charge my iPad Pro at a recent conference. While using the iPad Pro 12.9” Gen 5 with Magic Keyboard to take notes, I noted that the power dropped to 40% at 9:33 am. I plugged the USB-C to USB-C cable between my UGREEN battery (100%) and iPad Pro and found the device charged to 51% by 9:45 AM (89% battery power remaining), and to 67% by 10:06 AM (74% battery power remaining). By 10:47 AM, the iPad increased to 90% (50% battery remaining). By 11:03 AM the iPad was at 96% (44% remaining battery power). I liked that the battery was robust enough to power my iPad while simultaneously charging the battery.
I plugged my Klein Tools multimeter into the USB-C1 port of the battery and then the USB-C to USB-C cable between my MacBook Pro 15” 2018. For an initial test, I started at 5% power at 11:09PM. After 10 minutes, the multimeter displayed 19.48/4.10A and the MacBook increased to 25%. I was impressed with the 20% power increase in the 10 minute timeframe. On a subsequent day, I plugged the Klein Tools Multimeter into the battery USB-C1 port and the 100W UGREEN cable between the multimeter and my MacBook Pro. Starting at 49% power at 5:06 PM (19.66V/4.15A) and a full battery pack, the MacBook increased to 57% by 5:16 (19.83V/3.30A) and the battery dropped to 88% power. The MacBook Pro increased to 71% by 5:30 PM (19.75V/4.14A) while the battery dropped to 67% battery power. By 5:35 PM the MacBook was at 75% (19.87V/2.68A) and the battery was at 61%. By 6:02 PM the iPad was at 95% power (20.05V/1.80A) and the battery was at 34% power.
Even though I have done countless hours of research, a single long-trek backpacking trip, and dozens of weekend/week-long campouts, I would not consider myself an expert on packing, arranging, batteries, or optimization. Thus, each person must determine their optimal loadout and gear requirements. A single fast-charging battery would have helped me on my recent Philmont trek and on several scouting activities, where there can be lengthy lines for access to charging ports before going into the backcountry (Advisor Cabin). I felt the weight was reasonable for the size of the battery, and the included carry bag was a rather nice addition. I used the trickle charge overnight for my Apple Watch Ultra (542 mAh battery)paired with a USB-C Pitaka Power Dongle and found minimal change in the battery power. In fact, the battery dropped by 4% from 98% to 94%. By morning it had fully charged the watch and returned to standard charge mode for future charges. Additionally, the USB-A output port provided standard/expected outputs of ~5V/2A for my iPhone.
Despite my appreciation for the included carry bag, I believe the kit needs a clamshell case with room for an appropriately sized GaN charger and USB-C cables (USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to Lightning). The base price may seem a bit high, but the sub $100 sale price ($94.99 at the time of writing)provides a good deal of tech for the price. The dual USB-C output, single USB-A output provided a good amount of power, and the efficiency seemed above average. I tested the device with three outputs and found that my MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, iPhone 14 Pro max did not maximize the 115W max output. When I charged an iPad Pro and iPad Mini on both USB-C ports, I still did not hit the maximum output. The battery has lasted approximately 70 charge/deplete/recharge cycles and has not shown any signs of slowing down. The clear LCD screen provided a clear representation of the battery level. However, I would have loved for the screen to display a trickle mode indicator. Overall, I was more than pleased with the battery/setup.
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