Review: RichardSolo Portable Power Max 16,000 mAh Backup Battery

In our gadget reviews, we regularly introduce the latest and greatest in portable power – quite simply because mobile power is more important than ever. Today’s review will introduce you to the largest capacity mobile battery pack we have ever seen – the RichardSolo Portable Power Max.

Inside the Power Max 16,000 mAh battery pack is (as the name implies) a whopping 16,000 mAh Lithium Polymer battery. To put this in perspective, the battery pack inside most current smartphones is around 1150mAh.

The Power Max doesn’t only excel in power – it also provides five USB charging ports, and an included mini/micro USB charger cord means you can actually charge six devices at the same time.

Needless to say, this is not a lightweight battery pack – at 14 ounces, it weighs about the same as an average laptop battery. That said – with the capacity of this battery pack, you carry enough juice to keep an iPhone fully charged for up to ten days of really heavy use. Alternatively, you can power an iPhone, bluetooth headset, GPS unit and gaming unit for 3-4 days of heavy use.

Using the Power Max is simple – plug your devices in, and turn it on. The internal protection circuit prevents overloading the USB ports. The other controls show the battery status and turn a built in flashlight on – a nice extra perk.

Included with the Power Max 16,000 mAh battery pack is a carrying pouch, Mini/Micro USB splitter cable and an AC adapter (rated for 100V-240V).

The maximum power output from the battery pack is 2.4A – which means you can charge four full power (0.5A) devices and one low power device at the same time. The power output also makes it possible to charge an iPad, but with its higher power draw, it’ll suck up 2.1A of the output.

We have covered plenty of other battery packs in the past, but this is the first one specifically designed for mobile gadgets with such a high capacity battery. The Power Max 16,000 mAh is perfect if you know in advance that you’ll be away from the power grid for several days and can’t rely on solar power.

The Power Max 16,000 mAh battery pack is available directly from Richard Solo and retails for $79.99. If you apply coupon code “gadling”, you’ll knock 15% off the price, bringing it down to $67.96. This coupon code is provided as courtesy to our readers and in no way benefits Gadling.

To learn more about this product, or to place an order, head on over to RichardSolo.com.