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RAVPOWER 10400 Dynamo

 

I've been traveling quite a bit this year and have gained some experience on knowing what to bring and what not to on my trips.  The last few vacations involved using my cellphone for internet and maps but it drained my battery quickly.  I favor cellphone designs that have a removable battery ( and ability to use external memory) but the problem with that is it shuts the phone off.  Even though it is fast to reboot, it has to reacquire a signal which can all add up to some time wasted.  Since it's also inconvenient, not possible, or not appropriate to power up at a restaurant or aboard a tour vehicle I had to find a good solution for my power needs.  Some brands offer a compact and handy quick charge that is good for a few extra minutes or during emergencies.  My current carrier sells a small Travel Lithium Polymer pack that acts like both a wall charger and a 1800mAh backup when you are on the go.  The advantage with this while traveling is that this would eliminate another charger in the suitcase or backpack.  This is all good when you need it but I wanted something that could also charge up with my tablets.  Another problem that I realized was that certain packs did not have enough Amp output to handle tablets so this was another criteria I had to look for.  

I looked at several brands of portable power packs.  Companies like Onite, Hyperion, Mugen and Anker produce really good, reliable, and inexpensive aftermarket cellphone batteries but some also make power packs.   I heard good things about a brand called RAVpower and looked into their Power Bank line.  They list a 2600mAh, 5200mAh, 6000mAh, 7800 mAh, and a 10,400mAH capacity.  Of course I went with the largest one, the 10,400mAh:

The RAVpower 10400mAh Power Bank includes 2 cables (usb to micro usb), a wall charger, and a flannel cloth protective bag.  The charger is white while the rest of the products were black, kinda odd they didn't match it all in the same color.  As long as it works I am ok with it.

The RAVpower comes in at relatively small 4.4" x 2.76" x .83" dimension and weighing in at only 8 ounces.  It's external casing is all plastic, gloss black color on the front and back with metallic spec grey colored bottom and sides.  Their logo is found at the top with a single button with 4 LED lights on the lower portion.  From the manufacturer's specifications, it features a 1 second delay over current protection as well as short circuit protection.

At the bottom of the RAVpower are the 2 USB outputs, one being a 5V/2A the other a 5V/1A.  Located in between the 2 full size USB ports is the input 5V/1A mini USB used to charge the portable power pack.

Side view of the RAVpower, note the smooth rounded edge design:

Specs listed on the wall charger:

As with most batteries, it came shipped with about 50% charge.  I plugged it into a wall socket and started to top it off right away.

The LED indicators glow in blue and each oval reflects a 25% charge when lit.  If you press the square button, it tells you the status of your power level and stays on for a few seconds then auto shuts off.  You do not have to switch it on as some of the other power packs out there so it's plug and charge.  IMO, this is a great feature of the RAVpower.  My friend has a pack that requires a on/off switch and when she forgets to switch it she doesn't realize it isn't charging until she checks her device.

One thing with most of these high capacity power packs is that it can take a while to fully charge it from empty.  I ran it down by charging a lot of devices and to cycle the pack.  It took almost 18 hours from extremely low to full.  Yes, 18 hours!  That's a long time but I got to charge up a lot of devices before it got too low. 

On my last long trip, I placed the Power Bank inside the upper side pocket of my Kata 3-N-1-22 backpack ( timeout.watchprosite.com ) and it fit perfectly.  It solved my power problems in a neat and compact solution.  These packs are relatively inexpensive and the capacity gets higher and higher while still keeping a slim profile.  I'm surprised that I didn't get one sooner.  If you are out and about like I am, look into one of these or a smaller capacity to fit your needs.  They come in really handy!
 
-MW

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