Review: iBattz Battstation Tough Dual Pro 12000 mAh

I think that we can all agree that an external battery pack is really expected to do one thing – charge stuff. I can say with the utmost certainty that the iBattz Battstation Tough Dual Pro 12000 mAh does that with aplomb. With 12,000 mAh of portable power, this spare will charge your devices far longer than many other portable batteries on the market. With that out of the way, I feel that it’s probably more beneficial to discuss some of the things that set the iBattz apart from it’s competitors.

Upon opening the package, I was surprised by just how compact this battery is. It’s shorter, but slightly thicker than my Anker Astro and comes in a rugged rubberized case. The case has thick, padded corners and a non-slip ribbed interior that keeps the battery pack snugly in place. The extra thickness of the case does make the iBattz less pocketable than the Anker, though iBattz probably realized this and thought to include a small carabiner clip on the outside of the pack. This clip is perfect for attaching to a belt loop, or backpack while traveling.

The rubber case also includes a segmented dust cover that goes over the input and output slots. I found that the cover made it slightly more difficult to plug in USB cables one-handed, but not enough to be too much of an inconvenience. I did, however, find that the rubberized case makes for a great non-slip phone pad. One side of the case includes the iBattz “cross” design and between that and the raised corners, my phone stays put pretty well. Also included in the package are a thirty two inch USB – Micro USB cable, a 30-pin Apple attachment, and a Samsung attachment.

The BattStation includes two charging ports – One 1A for phones, and One 2.1A for most tablets. Unfortunately, the 2.1A port still won’t charge my Asus Transformer, but that’s mostly the Asus being finicky rather than any fault of the iBattz. The 1A port charges my Nexus 5 quickly and effectively as it should. It works just like most any other external battery – plug in the USB cable to your device and the battery, then push a button to start charging. A series of blue LED’s note how much of the battery’s charge remains, though in a slight difference from other batteries I’ve seen the LED’s do not remain lit while your device is charging. I’ll admit that this threw me off at first, and I thought that the iBattz had stopped charging. I was pleased to find that this wasn’t the case and the iBattz simply dims the LED’s after a few seconds. You can still push the charge button to see your battery status whenever you want.

I was able to test the iBattz off and on for the last few weeks and it’s held up admirably. I’ve not been playing Ingress quite as much as I used to, though if I were I’m confident that the iBattz would be perfect for marathon sessions of hacking and deploying. For the less nerdy readers, the iBattz will keep you charged for a long, long time. I would definitely recommend the iBattz Battstation Tough Dual Pro 12000 mAh. It’s few cons are far outweighed by it’s vast array of pros. I would rate this battery at four and a half out of five stars. If you’re in the market for a portable battery, you should absolutely give iBattz a look.