Review – RAVPower Luster Series Power Bank

The Luster series power bank by RAVPower is a nice combination of size, practicality, and aesthetics. With some nice features such as a built in flashlight, belt clip, and an automatic on/off for charging/discharging, this certainly could be a nice little package RavPower has put together.

 

Package contents:

1 – RAVPower Luster Series Power bank, model # RP-PB08
1 – USB to micro USB cable (approx. 2′ long)
1 – belt clip
1 – user guide

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Build quality :

Upon first handling, you’ll notice that this external charger isn’t made of some second rate plastic. It’s constructed of an aluminum alloy casting. What that means is strength and durability. Aluminum makes it light yet still quite sturdy. While holding in hand, you’ll also find that it isn’t very big either for a 3000 mAh battery. It’s not much longer than a roll of quarters and about the same if not slightly thinner diameter. Upon further review of the externals, you’ll see two silver bands along the top and bottom. Although it may look like they are screw-off points like normal flashlights, these are merely decorative. The charger is available in an array of colors like black, cyan, gold, silver, and purple/pink (depends how you view this one).

Capacity: 3000 mAh
Input: DC 5V / 1A
Output: DC 5V/ 1A
Size: 4.25″ x 0.87″ x 0.87″
Weight: 2.93 oz.
Flashlight mode: High/low beam and strobe
Over current protection delay: 5-15 mS
Short circuit protection delay: 400-800 uS
Working temperature: -20 – 45°C
Storage temperature: -40 – 60°C

Features:

Aside from this being, obviously, a battery charger for cell phones, it also has a built in flashlight on one end too. The bulb it houses is a .5W LED that produces 120 lumens (high), 25 lumens (low), and a strobe effect. Opposite the bulb you’ll find the connection points. Here we have your standard USB port for charging devices and a micro USB port for when you want to charge the unit itself.

Its pretty straightforward with those connections. The other thing you’ll find back there is a power button. This is the button to cycle through the flashlight modes.  It is the same color as the rest of the plastic (white), so it can be a little tricky to find by looking at it, but let’s face it… if you’re needing to use the flashlight, color isn’t going to matter anyways.

Also in the packaging comes a nice chrome belt clip attachment. No screws needed, just snap on around the charger and your good to go. Not bad for those of us who like to constantly talk. Just clip onto your belt or backpack strap and no worries.

Other battery packs I’ve come across have required you to turn on or off, the battery pack when you use it. This actually is true plug and play using this pack. It is built in to turn on when you plug in the USB cable, and it will turn itself off within 5 seconds of unplugging it. No need to worry about “did I leave it on?” or having it in your pocket and the switch gets bumped on.

When charging, LEDs on the bottom of the unit, near the USB connections, light up. Red means it’s charging and blue means its charged.

Average use:

In the week I’ve had this, it has served me well. It takes around 3.5-4 hours to charge from 0% to 100%. Your results may vary so don’t hold me firm to that. Charging my Note (SGH-i717) which has a 2750 mAh battery (aftermarket), took from 0%-50% in about 1.5 hours. Not bad at all for something of this size and portability. While you can use this to charge up a tablet, it is not recommended since the charge level isn’t significant enough to do much for the tablet.

Final verdict:

Great little battery pack. It’s lightweight and compact design make it perfect for almost anyone. It has a decent amount of juice for its size, and the flashlight is a nice thing to have. Best of all though is its construction. That aluminum helps out tremendously. My 3 year old would destroy a plastic shelled pack, but with this one, I don’t have to worry about her getting her hands on it.

If you need something to help you through the day and won’t be around an outlet, this is definitely worth a look.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Very sturdy construction
• Decent amount of power for its size
• Flashlight
• Belt clip comes with in packaging
• Auto turn on and shut off by plugging unplugging cable

Cons:

• USB cord supplied is too short for my taste. I prefer 3′ , especially for those that may keep in bag while charging device in hand.
• Lack of battery level indication
• On/off switch for flashlight could be more like an actual sliding switch to toggle through modes.

 

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