Kit Bag Update – BioLite Charge 80 PD  lithium-ion battery pack.

So I have now been using the BioLite battery pack for a few months now and it has certainly lived up to the early promise of performance. I would say I’m very impressed. For once a product that does exactly what it says on the box. The unit does take a couple of hours to fully charge, however once it is fully charged the performance has been very impressive. It will easily charge both my IPad and phone , taking both from around 10% to fully charged in around half an hour. And still has more than half its power reserve left. Ok it’s not cheap or light but in my opinion it’s worth the extra weight and money.

When your out all day taking pictures the one limitation for me is battery power. I tend to edit on the go and in fact I’m writing this review in the meadow hide so extending the battery life of my devices in really important for me personally. Cameras are no problem , the R5 will last all day long and I alway carry a couple of fully charged spare batteries with me in my bag. My biggest problem is my phone and tablet, both of which are now getting near the end of their useable life and the power will not last a full day in the hide ( I use my phone as a hot spot which seems to drain the battery ) 

So the answer is a back up battery pack which keeps me connected all day. I have just switch brands to BioLite , a maker of portable solutions for power, which has a new line of portable battery packs available in 6,000 mAh, 10,000 mAh, and 20,000 mAh capacities, the Charge 20, Charge 40, and Charge 80 . I opted for the Charge 80 which has impressive claims. The Box includes the following items,

• BioLite Charge 80 PD battery pack
• Charging cable
• User guide

First impressions are good , it feels solidly made and as with most battery packs it’s a simple plug and play. You just need to fully charge the unit which takes around five hours before use. The matte-finished plastic feels extremely durable and the overall package is quite solid and sturdy.

On one end, are the charging ports. There are one USB-C input/output port and two USB-A output ports.  The USB-C port is a USB power delivery port capable of 18W output. On top of the pack, we see a button and four LED bars.  These are the power status button and power display LEDs, respectively.  Pressing the button lights up the LEDs to indicate the current charge state – 25% for each LED. The build quality and capacity does come at a cost , namely the weight but for me that’s not a problem.

So the big question is , does it work. The answer is yes . As I’m writing his review the unit has charged my tablet from 30% to 93% with no problem , and I also have my phone charging at the same time. And the unit is still showing 75% of the power remaining. It’s not cheap at £65.00 but if it keeps me powered up all day it’s well worth the money.

Technical Spec

• Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.2 x 1.0 in / (170 x 82 x 25 mm)
• Weight: 16.4 oz (465 g)
• Battery: 20,000 mAh, (74 Wh) Li-Ion
• Inputs: USB C-PD, up to 18W
• Outputs: 1x USB C-PD, 2x USB A
• USB power output:
  • USB C-PD: 5V/3.0A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A
  • USB A: 5V/3.0A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A
  • Total output power: 18W total
• Compliance: FAA carry-on compliant