Manufacturer: Generic Chinese for MAXTEK
Imported By: Quesh ltd
Vendor: Aldi stores
Model: 70148
Run By: 2x 18650 lithium ion batteries (2600mAh x 2)
Price: £5.99 reduced
Description: Rugged Power Bank
Notes: 3 year warranty, customer helpline
What's in the box? Powerbank, Micro USB charging cable and instructions
First impressions
It wasn't that long ago that it was messing about with those £1 Poundland powerbanks. Replacing the crap batterys and slowly discovering how useful they really were.
Move forward a few weeks and I'm walking through the local Aldi sniffing around the locked electrical cabinet.
Somewhere near the bottom was this powerbank, reduced in price by a couple of quid and looking rugged as hell.
I just couldn't walk past it.
Opening the box I found the heavy duty powerbank, a crappy USB lead and some instructions. - nothing more, nothing less.
The device housing is partially rubberised with the remainder being made from a tough plastic. It feels expensive and high quality when you hold it. Aldi stuff is generally very good in terms of quality so I had high hopes for this gadget.
Features
This tough little device has a whole host of features onboard.
Not mentioned on the side of the box is the two power levels of the flashlight and also the S.O.S. signal feature.
This little torch is very bright indeed
Aldi are normally pretty good at listing all of the relevant specifications on their devices but I can find no mention of the power output or type of LED used here. I'm still looking though.
The LED used in this device gives off a nice warm white light. There isn't a reflector as such but the light is diffused. No horrible artifacts are seen unlike a lot of cheap shit torches.
As the torch is really a secondary function of this device and not the main event, it's surprising how good it actually is. It's better than some of my purpose built torches.
Along the top side of the unit we find a row of four blue LEDs which indicated the battery level of the unit. Each LED represents 25% power remaining. When the power drops below the last level the lowest Led flashes to warn you to charge it soon.
This device features all of the safety features you would expect to find in a device running a pair of powerful lithium ion batteries.
Battery over charge and under charge protection as well as an auto shut off are included inside.
On one side of the device is a rubber cover which hides the input and out USB ports.
Charging the device is performed by connecting a micro USB whilst the charging of other things requires a standard size USB plug.
This powerbank is capable of chucking out a 2.0A current so it's easily capable of charging smart phones or tablets or any other high draw 5V device.
When it comes to power over practicality, the MAXTEK rugged powerbank is a nice trade off. It's not too big and bulky to stash in a pocket and it's powerful enough to charge your tablet or E-Cig a few times before needing a recharge itself.
More power means a bulkier unit due to the size of the 18650 batteries used. This device fits the bill.
I can't say I'm not impressed.
I'm half tempted to pop over to Aldi again and buy another before they sell out.
Rating: ✅✅✅✅✅5 out of 5
I don't have a bad word to say about this product. It is built to a high standard, comes with a three year warranty and does exactly what it says it should. For £5.99 what more do you want?
