Early on, I adopted a blurred background for Zoom conferences — nobody wanted to know I may be taking that assembly from the car parking zone of my favourite native path. And I don’t see the best way I work altering any time quickly. If something, I see myself working extra remotely and spending extra time on Hipcamp wanting up future work and play locations. Elevate your hand if you happen to can relate.
Couple that with the truth that increasingly more each day requirements have turn out to be rechargeable. (I can’t bear in mind the final time I needed to change the batteries in even issues like my headlamp.) Whereas moveable energy banks have been as soon as a pleasant addition to your gear equipment, taking a look at how issues have shifted, we now depend on them.
That reliance means energy banks will proceed to want to supply higher output in an more and more moveable bundle.
For fall 2024, BioLite releases the Cost 100 Max, which it hails as its “greatest and quickest energy financial institution.” The 25,000mAh battery will not be solely an influence improve from the Cost 80 PD predecessor, but it surely additionally has options like wi-fi charging and the power to cost a number of gadgets without delay.
However the massive draw is the 100W bidirectional charging function, which permits for quick charging of gadgets and a full recharge of the 100 Max’s battery in lower than 90 minutes.
In brief: BioLite’s Cost 100 Max energy financial institution is finely tuned in your distant working wants however adapts nicely with journey and the outside. With the power to cost as much as 5 digital gadgets without delay and absolutely recharge in lower than 90 minutes, the 100 Max could be essentially the most well-balanced, large-capacity energy financial institution in the marketplace at present.
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Capability
25,000 mAh -
Weight
1 lb., 4 oz. -
Dimension
5.4″ x 4.4″ x 1.4″ -
Inputs
65W USB-C PD (1x) -
Outputs
100W USB-C PD (2x), 15W USB-C (1x), 15W USB-A (1x) -
Wi-fi
Sure, 15W – MagSafe suitable -
Value
$150
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Nice stability between measurement and capability with the additional benefit of effectivity -
Can cost as much as 5 gadgets without delay -
Wi-fi charging -
Bi-directional charging for optimized charging and recharging -
Rugged building with 1m drop score
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An excessive amount of energy and functionality for easy charging wants -
Not waterproof/IP rated
BioLite Cost 100 Max Energy Financial institution Evaluate
What Does ‘PD’ Imply?
Saving you from the entire technical jargon on the market, PD stands for “Energy Supply.” The place USB-C is quicker at charging electronics than USB-A, USB-C PD is even sooner than that. Nevertheless it requires particular {hardware}.
The Cost 100 Max comes with a USB-C PD to USB-C PD cable rated as much as 100W. This cable can cost the ability financial institution from empty to full in lower than 90 minutes.
In brief, the cables matter. Your commonplace USB-C cable is rated for 15 W. With the cable included with the 100 Max being rated for 100 W — that’s 6.66 occasions sooner.
Design and Options
BioLite’s Cost 100 Max is a full-size, full-featured energy financial institution designed for each work and play. Smaller and lighter than many of the different 25,000mAh 100W energy banks in the marketplace, the 100 Max carries the power to cost as much as 5 digital gadgets (as much as 120 W) without delay. This makes the 100 Max a fantastic selection for powering your distant workspace, or the singular resolution for charging your entire electronics effectively at your campsite.
Although this energy financial institution will not be waterproof, it’s constructed from a sturdy, rubberized case that has been drop-tested and authorised at 1 m (3.3 toes). Referring to an FAQ on the BioLite website, the model says it didn’t see the necessity to waterproof the ability financial institution as a result of “most customers will not be charging delicate electronics in wet or moist situations.”
I can’t argue with that logic, however as spoiled as I’m by merchandise which might be IP-rated for outside use and abuse, I wouldn’t thoughts that further layer of safety.
Other than the addition of wi-fi charging, one different interesting function of the 100 Max is its 100W bidirectional charging capabilities. The 2 left-most USB-C PD ports are able to being an enter or an output — and you’ll change between the 2 by urgent the singular grey button on the unit twice. This permits for sooner charging of your electronics in addition to sooner recharging of the powerbank.
Photo voltaic Charging
The fact of recharging energy banks of this measurement with a photo voltaic panel is that it’s not going to be fast until you have got a photo voltaic panel that may absorb some severe solar energy.
Sadly, on the planet of photo voltaic panels, consumption equates to measurement. I examined the Cost 100 Max with BioLite’s SolarPanel 10+ foldable 10W photo voltaic panel and barely moved the needle in the midst of 2 hours. At 10 x 8 x 1 inches, it’s the perfect measurement for, say, a backpack.
What the 100 Max would wish is one thing like BioLite’s SolarPanel 100 100W folding photo voltaic panel. Nonetheless, at 20 x 14 x 1.5 inches (and 10 kilos), that panel gained’t match inside the opening of your commonplace top-loader.
This gained’t be a difficulty if you happen to’re stationary or automobile tenting, however for lighter targets, photo voltaic charging gained’t present the perfect resolution for an influence financial institution of this measurement.
That mentioned, you may not have to depend on photo voltaic to recharge the 100 Max. In case you’re in a scenario the place you’ll want to recharge this energy financial institution typically, you’re most likely carrying round an excessive amount of to be backpacking with it.
Contemplating that issue, if you happen to’re counting on the 100 Max to recharge your cellphone, pill, or digicam, you’ll be each shocked and happy at what number of prices you may get earlier than it requires a recharge.
Depart the backpack-friendly photo voltaic panel behind. You may recharge the 100 Max from a bigger energy station, your car, or a wall outlet.
Wall Charging
Sadly, all of the outdated charger blocks that got here along with your smartphones which might be gathering mud in a drawer gained’t reduce it if you wish to profit from the high-capacity enter and bidirectional charging function. Any commonplace wall outlet will present that quantity of juice, however you’ll want to have the fitting interface between outlet and powerbank to achieve that degree.
I take advantage of the Anker 736 Charger at dwelling and on the highway after I know that there shall be wall retailers accessible to me. It’s smaller than the usual MacBook wall charger and options Anker’s IQ know-how. IQ’s circuitry permits the charging block to regulate the quantity of energy it provides based mostly on the calls for of what’s plugged into it.
Within the Area
BioLite despatched me a Cost 100 Max unit again in Might with the promise that I’d take a look at the heck out of it and never inform anybody about its existence. From Might 18 till Might 31, it charged three completely different iPhones and an iPad a complete of 10 occasions earlier than it wanted a recharge.
It lived within the backseat of my 4Runner, was held captive by my youngsters, spent an extended weekend in a stellar mountain suite at Okemo Mountain Resort, and was stuffed in my backpack for quite a few hikes and tenting journeys. It additionally turned a staple in my dwelling workplace.
I’m at a part in life the place I’m beginning to take into account the advantages of ultralight, minimalist tenting. I don’t suppose I’ll ever abandon my heavy-denier roots, however I’m extra aware of the load of the issues I carry. I even acquired my summer season pack weight for two to three nights of tenting all the way down to 18 kilos.
As a reward, I threw the 100 Max into the pack realizing it was greater than I’d ever want. I believe most individuals may get away with a ten,000mAh-15,000mAh energy financial institution, however I like peace of thoughts. With a cellphone, headlamp, and flashlight all functioning off of a chargeable battery, it’s good to have wiggle room.
However I additionally know this energy financial institution is destined to turn out to be my basecamp and remote-work energy financial institution. For my most elementary wants, I’ll have almost every week of iPhone prices with out having to recharge the 100 Max.
And on the opposite finish of the spectrum, it could actually energy my MacBook Professional for greater than every week off a single cost. Macs are infamous for gulping battery life and I haven’t run right into a jam counting on the 100 Max to maintain it working.
BioLite 100 Max: Ought to You Purchase?
Whereas the Cost 100 Max may be overkill for somebody simply trying to recharge their cellphone on the path, it presents a one-stop resolution for somebody trying to cost a number of completely different electronics effectively. I’m within the technique of testing a handful of energy banks for the subsequent replace to GearJunkie’s Finest Energy Banks information. I do know that after I simply wish to recharge my iPhone or iPad, there are different banks I’ll attain for first.
Nonetheless, for working remotely or touring usually, the Cost 100 Max is what leads to my pack.
Is it heavy? Probably not, neither is it cumbersome. When you think about that the 100 Max is geared towards charging a number of digital gadgets without delay, a number of occasions, 1 pound, 4 ounces appears to be like nice.
Contemplating what’s accessible for different high-functioning 25,000mAh energy banks — Purpose Zero Sherpa ($250) and Anker PowerCore II Elite ($130) being the 2 most comparable — it’s the one mainstream energy financial institution that may cost as many electronics as it could actually without delay and recharge as shortly.
On the planet of moveable energy banks, the stability between capability, measurement, and effectivity are main elements. The BioLite Cost 100 Max checks off these bins after which some.