Lumsing Power Bank Portable External battery pack

When I tested with an iPhone 5S that was at 3% or less power, the iPhone would be back to around 60% in an hour, and in just over two hours the iPhone was back to 100%.  It takes a little longer to charge at the end, so you see almost 1% of power added every minute, and then going from 98% to 99% to 100% takes longer.  Charging external batteries an iPhone with the 2.1 Amp port was slightly faster than using the 1 Amp port; a full charge took two hours with the 2.1 Amp port and about two hours and 10 minutes with the 1 Amp port.  So you get slightly better performance charging an iPhone with the 2.1 Amp port, but it doesn't make a huge difference.  With a fully charged Lumsing Power Bank, I could charge an iPhone 5S from 3% or less to 100% four times, and then had just a small amount of charge left over.

As noted above, you can also use the Lumsing Power Bank to charge both an iPhone and an iPad at the same time.  When I did so, each device charged slower.  The iPad Air received on average an additional 13% to 15% per hour, in contrast to around 20% when it was plugged in by itself.  The iPhone 5S received anywhere from 20% to 38% of additional charge each hour, as opposed to around 57% when it was plugged in by itself.  And while I could completely charge in iPhone 5S from almost 0% to 100% in just over two hours when it was plugged in by itself, when both the iPhone and iPad were charging at the same time, two hours just brought me up to around 60% on the iPhone.

You can also charge the Power Bank while you are charging an iPhone and/or iPad.  Thus, you could plug in the Power Bank to a wall charger or computer and plug in an iPhone and iPad into the Power Bank to charge them all.  When doing so, the iPhone and iPad seemed to charge at the same rate as when the Power Bank was not plugged in to AC power.  Note, however, that at the outset when the Power Bank was close to empty, it would sometimes stop charging the iPhone and iPad for a short while so that it could charge itself, and then it would start charging the iPhone and iPad again (and I would hear them beep as if they were just plugged in).

Conclusion

There is something to be said for a smaller battery charges devices that is light and can be tossed in your pocket, like the Powerocks Super Magicstick that I reviewed a few months ago and which I see is now selling for only $19.50, $10 less than when I reviewed it.  Small external batteries are great for bringing extra life to an iPhone. 

But if you want to be able to charge an iPad, or if you want to be able to charge an iPhone over and over again, you need a larger battery.  I know that there are lots of large external batteries for sale, but after using this one extensively for the last week, I really like the Lumsing Harmonica Style Power Bank.  It is big, but not too big and heavy, and it feels nice in your hand when you carry it.  It has a large enough battery to charge your iPad or your iPhone — or both at the same time.  And best of all, it is a steal for only $23. 

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