Kensington Portable Power Pack - Review

**CandyGirl** · 03-09-2009, 04:02 PM

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased this USB power pack and after using it this weekend, here is my review:

Kensington Portable Power Pack

First off here are a couple links if you want to have a look at the specs and get some idea of what it looks like:

Kensington - K38021US - Portable Power Pack for Mobile Devices

Amazon.com: Kensington Portable Power Pack for Mobile Devices (K38021US)

Appearance:

This thing is small. It's just about 1/4" wider and 1/2" longer than a standard business card and about 3/8" thick.
The best thing about the appearance is the glossy black finish. Very classy looking.
There's no on/off switch. Just one button on the front to display the battery charge level.
When pressed, there are 5 blue LED's alongside the button that will light to display the current charge level for about 5 seconds. The button is rounded and almost flush to the case so it doesn't snag or get in the way. It looks and feels sturdy and well made. Both connectors are top notch and are snugly recessed on the top of the case. There is a small gray "Kensington" logo printed on the case but it's subtle.

Battery:

Lithium - Polymer Cell. No memory effect. Top off as you please. UL listed with a recycle number on the back of the case.
Output: 5 volt (USB) 1.5 A max.

Charging:

The power pack comes with a mini to standard USB cable for standard wall socket charging with the included USB wall adapter. You can also charge it via a computer USB port.
I charged it overnight, which is not recommended by the manual. It says not to leave it on a prolonged charge when not in use.
A 3-4 hour charge should be sufficient. A 90% charge is typical after 3 hours. As it charges, the level is indicated by the flashing blue LED's until all 5 stay on solid. I also completely drained it the first time which is not recommended either. I will also add that I noticed no drop in performance throughout the entire time I used it until it was drained. It just stopped working. The recharge took just 3 hours. It is also recommended not to store the device fully charged or discharged. A 40% charge state is recommended for storing which is indicated by 2 out of 5 LED's being lit.

Performance:

I love this thing. I started using it at 6 a.m. Friday morning with my standard penstyle and it didn't need a recharge until Sunday, just after noon. I typically use a little over 2 ml per day of liquid but used quite a bit more while testing the power pack, probably closer to 3ml. I periodically checked the state of charge by pushing the button and all 5 LED's would light until Saturday evening when only 4 turned on. This would indicate I only used about 20%. However, once it started to show a discharge, it didn't take as long to decline even further. As I said, there was no noticeable drop in performance at all during any state of discharge. There is also no sleep or hibernate state to wake it up from, which I find to be a plus. It's always there when you need it. It provided consistent reliable power each and every time

The Kensington Power Pack MSRP is $59.99.
Amazon has them for $46.32. You can probably find them even cheaper if you look around. I bought mine direct from Kensington and it arrived in 2 days. I ordered a second one which should be here today. (gotta have one for my 901)

I can easily see one of you modders out there slipping this into a nice plastic case and making your own Janty stick. I might even try it myself, but it's so nice looking I'd hate to hide it.

NOTE:
If you are new to the whole vaping scene and are wondering about power packs and passthrough combinations, please take the time to look around. Ask questions and search for what you want. There are a lot of USB "chargers" out there with circuitry, ratings and uses that just don't work with our devices. The same goes for USB wall socket adapters. If money is an issue, you can easily find affordable, adaptable USB devices that work for under $10. Chances are someone (like me) has already thrown their money away on something that doesn't work.
Don't do that!

So that's it for my first review folks.
I just want to add my sincerest thanks to all those here who have helped me. You guys are awesome.

**timh** · 03-09-2009, 06:36 PM

I have one also . Got mine from tigerdirect.com .
And it works great .I think that my pass trough works
even better off the Kensingon than my usb on my PC.

**breakfastchef** · 03-09-2009, 08:50 PM

That is a slick device. I looked it up when you first reported you had purchased it. Glad to hear it is working out well.

**ChainSmkr** · 03-10-2009, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by CandyGirl

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased this USB power pack and after using it this weekend, here is my review:

Kensington Portable Power Pack

Great review! When the USB passthrough is made for my model e-cig, I'd love to purchase this power pack.

**02BLACKTAWS6** · 03-10-2009, 10:26 PM

On sale at Best Buy for $39.99

**im4marlins** · 03-21-2009, 09:27 PM

Picked mine up at BestBuy today for $39.99.

**breakfastchef** · 03-21-2009, 11:13 PM

Just bought one today!

**Idahojo** · 03-22-2009, 12:16 AM

Thank you Candy Girl. I ordered mine from TigerDirect and it hasn't got here yet.

But I'm glad to know it works so well. Can't wait to use it. Just wish I'd done some homework and went to Best Buy. Would've already had it! I paid $50+ online.

**CandyGirl** · 03-22-2009, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Idahojo

Thank you Candy Girl. I ordered mine from TigerDirect and it hasn't got here yet.

But I'm glad to know it works so well. Can't wait to use it. Just wish I'd done some homework and went to Best Buy. Would've already had it! I paid $50+ online.

you're welcome Jo,

hope everyone has the same success as i've had with mine.
i didn't know BB was going to sell them either.

i'm expecting it will more than pay for itself, even at $50.