INTRODUCTION

   Carrying a portable power bank with you at all times is never a bad idea and i speak from experience since such devices have kept my smartphones and tablets going when there was no electrical socket in sight (hard to come across one at the beach and/or on the mountain). Unfortunately either due to high cost or available technology we've yet to see credit card sized power banks with plenty of available battery capacity (850mAh models are good for an emergency but not nearly enough for anything more) but there are many compact models in the market today which can provide your smartphone and/or tablet with several extra hours of life and can be carried around either in your backpack, purse or even your pocket. The AL450 model is the latest compact power bank from our friends over at Xtorm and we've been carrying it around with us charging our smartphones and tablets for almost three weeks now.

   Xtorm is part of the Dutch company Telco Accessories B.V and was founded in 2008 with the idea that today more and more mobile devices come to the market, which requires a lot of power. To contribute to the environment we have searched for durable applications to provide a solution to this problem. Meanwhile we are the manufacturer in the field of innovative and practical solar and power solutions for everyday use. We bring a complete range of affordable and user-friendly consumer products on the market that simply charged from solar power and USB. The products with the brand Xtorm have a contemporary character and are of high quality.

   Aside it's compact size and 12.000mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack the AL450 has three extra selling points an USB-C type connector which can be used to charge (fully at that) a 12 inch Apple MacBook giving it 4 additional hours of battery time, external aluminum plate and qualcomm’s quick-charge 2.0 technology (automatically detects and delivers faster charging in devices featuring compatible Qualcomm Snapdragon processors). Secondary features include a 3A input charging port which can fully charge the AL450 in just under 4 hours (3A USB charger is of course required to achieve that) and two USB charging ports one featuring 5V/1A output (suitable for "generic" smartphones and small portable devices like earsets) and another with 5V/3A - 12V/1.25A output (mainly for use with large devices like tablets and the previously mentioned MacBook). So time for us to check and see whether or not the AL450 is the power bank to carry with you.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

At the front of the box Xtorm has placed a medium-sized product picture and the main product features.

A few words about the products in 7 languages and the product specifications are all printed at the rear.

The front opens up like a book to reveal the product behind a clear plastic window and its main product features on the other side.

Next to the AL450 12.000mAh USB-C power bank you will also find a USB to micro USB cable, USB to type-C cable, thank you paper and the user manual.

THE AL450

 The 277g heavy AL450 measures just 96mm in length, 79mm in width and 21mm in height.

Just like always to showcase the size of the power bank in our hands we placed the AL450 right next to the PL2 6.000mAh and PL3 10.400mAh models by LUXA2, AL420 9.000mAh model by Xtorm and the Ultra Compact Powerbank 10.000mAh by CHJGD.

You can check the current battery level and also start charging devices by the power button located at the top right side of the device.

Three blue LEDs placed at the top inform you of the current battery levels.

The two USB output charging ports and the Type-C input charging port are all placed at the front of the AL450.

Xtorm has also printed the power bank specs at the base.

CONCLUSION

   Although after roughly 3 weeks of testing we mostly have good things to say about the Xtorm AL450 there's also one thing we didn't get and that was the use of a type-C input charging port instead of the usual micro USB charging port we've seen so far with similar products. It would make more sense for them (at least in terms of marketing) to use a type-C output connector (in a way their package and page points to that and not the USB to type-C cable inside the bundle). That aside thanks to the aluminum plate surrounding the exterior of the AL450 it feels very robust/durable while in terms of battery capacity after using it well over 30 times with several smartphones, tablets and Bluetooth headsets we concluded that it has anywhere between 8500mAh and 9000mAh of battery capacity a result which as some of you may know is quite good for a 12.000mAh marketed power bank. Unfortunately unlike the AL420 the AL450 doesn't feature a flashlight and is not rugged so in a way i do still prefer the AL420 but that's just my personal preference.

   Just like with the AP175 SolarBooster Xtorm has given our readers a 20% discount for the AL450 (with code XT346-NikK) so instead of its regular price of 79Euros you can get it for just 63.20Euros directly from their online store (Xtorm.eu). Naturally i do realize that even a price tag of roughly 60Euros may seem set a bit high to some people who like getting their gadgets from large Chinese etailers but since i used to receive low-cost power bank models to review (never ended up doing so because of really bad results) i can say with certainty that you almost always get what you pay for. With that out of the way the AL450 may not pack the highest battery capacity we've seen to date but it's compact, features very good build quality and can recharge a MacBook and most smartphones at least 3 full times extremely fast via qualcomm’s quick-charge 2.0 technology (with compatible models only) so it really deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Size
- Build Quality
- 12.000mAh Capacity
- USB Type-C Charging Cable
- Qualcomm’s Quick-Charge 2.0 Technology
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- USA Availability
- No Flashlight