When you’re on the go with your laptop, you don’t always want to carry your laptop power cable with you. Our DART laptop charger review takes a look at a small, portable 65W laptop charger compatible with most of today’s PC laptops and notebooks.
Specifications
The DART 65W Laptop Charger has the following features and specifications:
- Smallest and Lightest Laptop Charger in the world, bar none.
- Built-in rapid-charge, 2.1A USB port to for all your USB devices (phones, tablets, GoPro, etc.)
- 9 Universal Power tips support 95%+ of today’s PC laptops and notebooks.
- Advanced design: Tough, long-lasting and streamlined to fit in tight socket placements.
- Integrated AC plug eliminates bulky AC cord/cable.
- A reversible and detachable 6ft DC cord puts the USB port near your laptop for added convenience.
- User and Device Safety: Dart includes overvoltage, overcurrent, and overheating protection
- Cool running: An amazing 90%+ power conversion efficiency.
- Works globally: 100-240VAC means Dart works anywhere in the world
- Input: 100 – 240VAC; 50-60Hz, 1.5A
- Output Voltage: 18V – 21VDC
- Output Power: 65W
- USB Output Voltage: 5.0V, 2.1A
- Unit Volume: 3.0 cubic Inches
- Storage Temperature: -40°C – 85ºC
- Operating Temperature: 0ºC – 40ºC
- Operating Relative Humidity: Up to 85%
- Dimensions: 2.75″ x 1.1″
- Weight: 85 grams
- 3 Year Limited Warranty
What’s in the box
- DART 65W Laptop Charger
- Removable and reversible 6-ft. Cable with inline 2.1A USB Port
- Nine (9) interchangeable laptop power tips
- Microfiber travel pouch (charcoal)
- User Guide
Design
The DART 65W Laptop Charger unit itself is quite small and is roughly the size of your average car charger adapter. The outer casing is solid metal, while the ends are a sturdy black plastic. Coming in at 2.75″ in length and just over 1.1″ wide, it’s definitely a lot smaller than most chargers that come with your laptop or notebook computers. One end of the DART features your AC prongs, while the other end has a small round port with a flat bottom.
A 6-foot cable is included with the DART and both ends have a plug with two holes in it. Close to one end — about 4″ from it — there is an inline 2.1A USB-A port attached to the cable which you can use to plug in a smartphone or tablet for charging while the DART is plugged into a wall or your laptop. It doesn’t matter which end you plug into the DART as the ends are the same, but you’ll probably want to plug the end without the USB-A port into the actual DART charger.
A total of nine interchangeable laptop tips are included and fit pretty much everything from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, MSI, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Toshiba, and much more. Additionally, if one of the included tips doesn’t fit your specific machine, FINsix will send you the correct tip free of charge. This happened to be the case when we tested the DART with the new XPS 13 and a new tip was sent and arrived quickly.
I should note that at the time of our review, the DART was not capable of charging USB Type-C devices like the new Lenovo YOGA 910 but FINsix announced the release of the DART-C. Like the original DART, the DART-C will cost $99.99USD and be available in January. Those who already own a DART charger can order the USB Type-C cable for $34.99USD and add USB Type-C charging capabilities to their existing DART charger.
Our review sample came in blue but the DART is also available in gunmetal, magenta, orange, and silver.
Ease of Use
Once you’ve figured out which tip you need, simply attach it to one end of the cable — as previously mentioned you’ll probably want to attach it to the end with the USB-A port on it — plug the other end of the cable into the DART, plug the DART into the wall, and finally plug the other end with the tip that fits into your laptop or notebook. The tips fit really snug, and even after extended use and swapping out tips, they showed no sign of loosening.
Performance
The DART 65W Laptop Charger worked as expected. When tested with the Dell XPS 13, the charger charged it with no issues and even had juice left over to charge my smartphone through the USB-A port at the same time. I also tested the DART on an MSI and a Lenovo laptop and both laptops showed as being plugged in, but as both drew significantly more than 65W of power the charger was inadequate to power the laptop while in use. My main reason for testing on these machines (knowing full well the charger wasn’t powerful enough to charge them) was to test the tips, and both worked as expected.
As mentioned before, the Dart comes with a 2.1A USB charger built into its 6-ft. cable. The orange LED on the USB port will be ON when the Dart is correctly plugged into an outlet/socket and is ready to charge. The LED will pulse brightly when connected to a laptop or USB device each time, to indicate it is charging. If the LED is continuously pulsating, that means that your laptop is temporarily consuming all the Dart’s power, so the USB port has been disabled. As soon as power is available again for the USB port, the LED will stop pulsating.
Price/Value
The DART is priced at $99.99USD. While it can be more expensive than purchasing a second power supply for your laptop or notebook, it is quite a bit smaller than most — up to 4 times smaller and lighter — and also comes with a number of tips for multiple charging options and a bag to store them in. Being able to get the tip you need free of charge is also a bonus, and FINsix even mentions that if you get a new laptop down the road and need a tip they’ll send it along as well.
That being said, the gunmetal version of the DART is currently on Amazon for $65USD which is a much better deal and you can’t go wrong at that price for a small, compact, portable power source for your laptop or notebook.
Wrap-up
The DART 65W Laptop Charger is a small, portable, lightweight charging solution which should charge the majority of smaller laptops and notebooks on the market today.
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