INTRODUCTION

   I really can't speak about all of you reading these lines right now but i grew up in the 80's and even up to the mid 90's there was no such thing as cellular phones and portable devices in general so whenever we were away from home we were literally out of reach and had zero need for electricity. For good or bad things have changed a lot since then so whenever we're away from home or the office we almost always find ourselves in need of electricity to power not only our smartphones but also our portable devices such as Bluetooth headsets and tablets. Things are even worse when we're nowhere near a place with electricity (such as the beach or a mountain) and i think we've all been in that situation at least once in our lives. Sandberg is among a long list of manufacturers that focus quite a bit in the development of powerbanks (portable batteries) and today we're testing their 18200mAh model.

   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.

   The Sandberg PowerBank 18200 is a medium sized portable battery that features a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery pack with a capacity of 18200mAh, digital display from which you can check the current battery charge/status and a built-in LED flashlight (it's also covered by a 5 year warranty). Thanks to its high capacity the Powerbank 18200 has the ability to recharge most smartphones in the market today up to a total of 6 times and most tablets up to 3 times so it's safe to say that you will be covered for many days. The Powerbank 18200 allows recharging of up to three devices simultenously via its a three USB outputs (5V - 1/1.5/2.4A) and also supports several electrical protections including over-current protection (OCP), over-charging protection, over-discharge protection and short-circuit protection (SCP). So let's take a closer look and see exactly what you are getting with the Sandberg PowerBank 18200.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Sandberg ships the Powerbank 18200 inside a clear plastic package allowing the consumer too actually see the product from the front.

The product features are listed at the rear in 24 languages just over the product specifications table.

Contained inside the box is the Powerbank 18200, micro USB charging cable and the user guide.

THE POWERBANK 18200

The Powerbank 18200 is made almost entirely out of hard plastic and as you can see it's quite large (will update with exact dimensions later on).

To get a better idea about its size we placed it right next to several other models we're using in the lab including the XTPower 23.000mAh, Xtorm AL420 9.000mAh, CHJGD Ultra Compact Powerbank 10.000mAh, Luxa2 PL2 6.000mAh and the Luxa2 PL3 10.400mAh models.

The digital display is located right next to the power on/off button (also used to turn the built-in LED flash light) and shows the charge percentage of the lithium-polymer battery (our sample arrived with a charge of 82% from the factory).

At the front we see the three USB output ports (5V - 1/1.5/2.4A) along with the micro USB charging port and the built-in LED flash light.

The product specifications are also printed at the rear of the housing.

CONCLUSION

   Once again to test the portable battery in our hands we used both old and new smartphones (Apple iPhone 6 / Apple iPhone SE / Huawei P9 Lite / Vodafone Smart Ultra 6) and tablets (Lenovo Tab 3 A8-50 / Lenovo Tab 2 A10-30) as we do with similar tests. Now this may not be 100% accurate but after a total of 20 charge cycles it does come really close and that's why we've been using the same procedure for almost 5 years now. So just how much juice you can expect from the Powerbank 18200 by Sandberg? Well after repeating our tests for roughly 20 times we got really close to 14.000mAh without breaking that mark so you can expect anything inside the 13.000-14.000mAh range. Of course this is not very close to the advertised capacity of 18.200mAh but if you've been reading our portable battery reviews then you should be well aware that no portable battery has ever achieved its advertised capacity and at least to my knowledge none does. Leaving that aside however even 15.000-16.000mAh is a very good capacity and should keep your smartphones charged for many days (considering that most smartphones in the market currently are outfitted with 3.000mAh battery packs you could easily charge one such model up to 5-6 times with the Powerbank 18200). Both the digital display and the built-in LED flashlight are good features but i really would like it a lot more had Sandberg used an aluminum body for the 18200 like they did with their 20.000mAh laptop model.

   As usual Sandberg products are not available on the other side of the Atlantic but the Powerbank 18200 is currently available in the EU for a price of 57.41Euros (Amazon.de) and as expected it has quite a bit of competition. Still not many powerbanks can match its battery capacity at that price point nor can they match its features including the 3 charging ports, built-in LED flashlight and electrical protections. On top of that add the 5 year warranty offered by Sandberg and i think that you will all agree with me when i say that this might just be one of the best portable batteries in the sub-60Euros range. Sure it could have been better but still its capacity, features, warranty and price tag make it more than just good enough for our Golden Award.

PROS

- High Capacity (18200mAh)
- 3 Output Ports (5V - 1/1.5/2.4A)
- Built In LED Flashlight
- Digital Display
- 5 Year Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

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