Keeping your smartphone alive for more than 24 hours is one of the most common problems we have with our electronic devices these days. If you’re at home then simply plugging it in and charging isn’t a problem, however, when travelling around which I have been a lot recently, it can be a little difficult to find power. Portable power banks are here to change this and offer on-demand power when you need it.
Power banks or battery packs come in various different sizes ranging from 1000mAh all the way up to a massive 20,000mAh which will recharge your phone multiple times.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been using the Link 3000mAh power bank manufactured by a company called iWalk.
The battery is a compact, standalone product and requires absolutely no wires to connect to your devices. I have the micro-USB version which will recharge any device which uses this connection such as your phone. I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality as I was expecting it to feel quite cheap and fragile.
On the right end of the product you’ll find a micro-USB port which enables you to charge the battery. iWalk include a cable for you to do this so you won’t have to worry about sourcing one. On the front you’ll also find the iWalk branding as well as a small LED indicator which will glow blue when charging a device.
Also in the box you’ll receive a clip-on plastic cover which will help to protect the micro-USB connector when traveling. I highly suggest you take advantage of this and attach it whenever you’re not charging a device to help prevent damage, especially when carrying around in a bag or similar.
The iWalk Link 3000m weighs in at 41g and measures 7 x 4.2 x 2.3 cm meaning its small and light enough to slip into a pocket when you’re on the move.
I decided to test the battery with a Samsung Galaxy S5 device which I’ve been using on/off for a while now. I used the device as normal to drain down the battery and when it reached around 5% of battery remaining attached the iWalk Link. I managed to restore the phones battery to 100% in a little over 1 hour, with a very small amount of juice remaining in the iWalk battery after.
Verdict
The iWalk Link 3000m will cost you £33.99 over on Amazon, which in my eyes is a little too much and the only drawback I could find. With a quick search online you’ll find that there is a whole array of different power banks available and you can even pick up ones with a bigger capacity for cheaper. However overall I was pleased the performance of the iWalk product and I’ll be adding it the collection of portable power banks that I take when travelling.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00LO35FFM” locale=”UK” tag=”roundr-21″]Purchase from Amazon[/easyazon_link]