INTRODUCTION

   Although mountain hiking has been in the family of Xtreme sports (one of the first ones actually) for many decades now it seems that more and more people are attracted to it as time goes by and it so happens that i know a couple of people who plan on visiting the top of mountain Olympus really soon (they wanted Everest but it's many times more expensive to get there from where they live). Taking such a decision of course requires quite a bit of planning and so aside the usual hiking equipment they also need to pack several other gadgets with them and this is where we come in since they came to me asking for a good powerbank with which they could charge their netbook (and hope 3G works up there) and smartphones. Well we had two choices for them, either a mid-capacity model with a solar panel which could be charged via the sun or one with a very high capacity which could last for quite a bit before running out. Solar panel models are good but in the winter and especially in a place like that they might not work well so a very high capacity model is a much safer bet. Even just 3 years ago portable battery packs with 10-15000mAh were not easy to find (not quality ones anyways) but today many make them and so this time over we have the latest Powerbank 20000 for laptop by Sandberg.

   Sandberg stands for quality and user-friendliness. If it is important for you that accessories are high quality and easy to figure out how to use, then choose Sandberg. Our ideology "IT is for everybody" is part of everything we do. Since its inception in 1985, private consumers, institutions and companies have benefited from this simple philosophy. Distributors and dealers appreciate the availability, range, simple procedures and the exceptionally low failure rate. Every year over half a million Sandberg products find their way to users in more than 30 countries. Choosing Sandberg means choosing a safe and conscientious product that meets all applicable regulatory requirements. A product manufactured by subcontractors who are committed to following Sandberg's Code of Conduct to ensure decent working conditions and reduce the environmental impact of the production and waste disposal

   This new Powerbank 20000 for laptop features a 20000mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack under its large aluminum body which should be more than enough to charge most notebooks out there at least three times via its configurable (12/16/19/20V) 3.5A DC output and 12 different tips (even high-end gaming notebooks feature rechargeable batteries with capacities of around 6-7000mAh). Unfortunately since it only has but a single USB 5V/2.5A output the Sandberg 20000mAh powerbank is not ideal for continuous use with small portable devices like smartphones and gadgets in general but that shouldn't pose a real problem if just used once in a while.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Powerbank 20000mAh for Laptop is placed inside a white box that has the company logo at the front along with a large product picture.

All the included laptop power tips are showcased on the base of the box.

At the top we see yet another product picture which is used to showcase the 3 available power connectors.

Moving at the rear of the box we see the bundle contents and specifications lists and a few words about the product printed in 24 languages.

Packaging is satisfactory so no problems here.

The Powerbank 20000 for Laptop is bundled with 12 power tips for virtually every laptop model out there (not our Qosmio one however), power adapter with two power cords (EU/UK), USB to microUSB charging cable, DC to tips charging cable and the user guide.

THE POWERBANK 20000 FOR LAPTOP

As expected for a very high capacity powerbank the Powerbank 20000 for Laptop is not small and so its 611g heavy brushed aluminum enclosure measures 185mm in length, 124mm in width and 18mm in thickness.

To get a better idea about just how large the device is we placed it right next to two similar output power banks by XTPower (23000mAh) and a 10000mAh powerbank by Luxa2.

The charging LEDs (blue) and the DC output voltage selection LEDs are all placed at the top left of the device.

On the left side we also see the DC output, power on/off/change voltage button, USB charging port and the DC input.

The only thing printed at the rear of the device is its capacity along with its input and output voltages.

With these 12 power tips you can power the majority of laptops in the market but you may not be able to power some really power hungry gaming ones (for example our 17" Toshiba Qosmio has a different plug).

CONCLUSION

   Sandberg has released quite a few quality items in the market and the Powerbank 20000 for Laptop is among them since it features a very sturdy brushed aluminum enclosure. I still prefer the XTPower enclosure more since it also features a brushed aluminum top but it also has a LCD screen at the top which looks a lot better compared to some LEDs, gives you 20 tips instead of 12 and features 2 extra voltage outputs (5/9V). On the other hand the Sandberg model is slightly thinner and its enclosure is made entirely out of brushed aluminum (cells also seem to be of higher quality based on their output) so i guess that in the end it comes down to personal taste and needs. I can't comment on the quality of the battery pack used in the Sandberg 20000 for Laptop since we didn't slice it open to check but we did manage to measure the "real" output of the battery pack since after 5 full charges we still weren't able to surpass the 15000mAh mark (we tested it with a Toshiba A500 model with a 5200mAh battery pack and we were only able to charge it up to 3 full times and around 50% of the 4th). Of course if you've been reading our portable battery reviews this is not something new since we never seem to get the advertised capacity (many reasons for that really) but even so a model which can hold up to roughly 15000mAh and can be used to recharge most laptops up to 3-4 times is something which we all consider as very good. What we didn't like much (not a con really since Sandberg advertises this as a Laptop powerbank) is the lack of connectors which can be used with smartphones and gadgets since microUSB although it is the power connector used by most manufacturers still it's far from the only one out there (iPhones and iPads for example use different ones).

   Sandberg currently sells their products primarily inside the EU currently sells the Powerbank 20000 for Laptop for around 117Euros (Amazon.co.uk) a price which puts it slightly higher compared to other similar capacity models. Needless to say that the brushed aluminum enclosure is much sturdier and looks quite nicer compared to the plastic enclosures many competitors use to house their high capacity portable batteries but in the end it all comes down to personal taste and requirements. Personally i think Sandberg can do much better but at the same time i really can't complain since the Powerbank 20000 for Laptop does exactly as advertised which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design (Brushed Aluminum)
- Very Thin
- Very High Capacity (20000mAh)
- 2 Output Ports (USB/DC)
- 4 Different Voltage Outputs (12v/16v/19v/20v)
- 12 Different Charge Tips

CONS

- Size (For Some)
- Price (For Some)
- Availability Outside The EU