REVIEW – I have too many of those USB-chargable “power banks”. I can’t seem to find one I like. I usually find the biggest one I can find and pack a bunch of cables in a bag, then never use it because I can’t be bothered to fiddle with cables when on a campout in a dark tent. The Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank is slim and comes with cables attached. But is it powerful enough?
What is it?
The Tech Care DS01 is a small rechargeable battery pack with a built-in numerical display that shows remaining capacity with built-in Lightning and MicroUSB cables.
What’s in the box?
The packaging is pretty spartan. A thin manual, short microUSB cable, and USB-C adapter are all you get with the battery.
Hardware specs
- Input: 5V, 2A
- Output: 5V, 2.1A
- Size: 4.1 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches
- Weight: 6.01 ounces
Design and features
This particular battery pack can fill up via microUSB or Type-C inputs.
There are three outputs: Your standard USB-A connector, plus one Lighting and one microUSB connector.
Here’s a shot from the top side. (L-R): MicroUSB, Type-C input, and USB-A output. (The percent display looks odd because of the camera’s shutter speed.)
The Lightning and microUSB cables are permanently attached to the sides with flat, flexible cables. They’re quite bendy! No more forgetting to pack a cable.
Setup
Simply charge the battery to full via microUSB or Type-C until the display reads 100%. There are no physical buttons on the battery, so I’m not quite sure how the display knows when to turn on. A little shake is all it takes to wake the display.
Performance
Nearly everything I travel with can be recharged via Lightning (iPhone) or microUSB. Here’s the battery plugged into an iPhone…
…and my digital camera.
Once again, the percent remaining display is hard to photograph!
What I like
- Small
- Built-in cables you can’t lose
- Percent remaining display
- No physical buttons
What needs to be improved
- 9000 mAh may not be enough for some.
Final thoughts
After two camping trips with the Tech Care DS01 9000mAh power bank, I left my bigger, bulkier batteries at home. It charged up my iPhone XS just fine over a three-day campout with charge to spare. I love the digital readout and never losing a charging cable again.
Price: $29.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by YPLANG/Tech Care.
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What needs to be improved: An attached USB-C charging cable?