Outdoor Tech Kodiak Power Bank Review
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Has your phone, GoPro or any other device, that’s charged by USB, ever ran out of battery power? Finding a place to charge on the go is a hassle. You have to plug your device into a wall outlet which means that you are not mobile anymore. The Outdoor Tech Kodiak Power-Bank is perfect for anyone on the go. Of course you can buy a battery pack for your phone, your action camera, or other devices, but all these extra batteries add up quickly and you still have to find a way to charge them when they go low. Most of these extra packs and batteries will give you 1 extra charge for your device. If you just want to carry 1 extra battery that can charge everything in your backpack several times, look no further than the Outdoor Tech Kodiak.
Details of the Outdoor Tech Kodiak
There are so many battery packs on the market these days, but the Outdoor Tech Kodiak is rugged and waterproof, meaning you can throw it in your backpack, take it everywhere, and not worry that it will be dead because of dust, shock or water when you need to charge your devices. The Outdoor Tech Kodiak has a silicone protective shield around it and when it’s not in use you can water seal it by closing the lid. I personally like the material as it’s easy to find when looking in your bag, the texture is easy to grip and doesn’t slide.
Contents: Un-boxing video
Size: 3 x 1.25 x 4 inches
Weight: 9.4 ounces (0.59 lbs.)
It is a very simple design; it has 1 button, 4 LEDs, 2 USB ports, 1 for charging the battery itself and the other one to charge your devices. The button serves as a battery check as well as to turn the device on, in case it doesn’t already automatically do that.
The 4 LEDs lets the user know how much battery is left. During my tests, each of the LEDs meant 1 iPhone charge. The Outdoor Tech Kodiak uses a mini USB port to charge itself, the other port is a regular USB port to charge your devices. This port is intelligent. This brings me to one of my favorite features which is that as soon as you plug something into the Outdoor Tech Kodiak battery, it will turn itself on and start charging. When it detects that you unplug your device it will turn itself off. You know the Outdoor Tech Kodiak is charging your device because the LEDs will turn on and stay on.
The video below show exactly what I mean with different devices:
I really do like this feature, but I also had one issue with it. I wish there was a way for me to turn the LEDs off. I found this feature a little annoying while charging my device overnight, as the LEDs are so bright. I had to put a pillow on top of it in order for me not to notice it. On the other hand, it’s amazing to be able to just glance over the Outdoor Tech Kodiak and see how much battery is left, without having to push a button.
Shock Proof:
Obviously, you probably won’t drop it of a 20 story building, but usually when people drop stuff it’s from 4-5 feet off the ground. I’ve had it in my backpack during the testing being thrown around quite a bit, and it doesn’t show any type of wear and tear. Picture below shows the Outdoor Teck Kodiak on some snow.
Water Proof:
The packaging claims that it withstands … Here is another quick video showing this.
If it is waterproof then it is probably dust proof as well. I wasn’t going to recreate a dust storm, but I will take their word for it.
What type of battery does the Outdoor Tech Kodiak have?
It has a 6000 mAh battery core that can switch between 1.0 and 2.1 Amp output quickly. This means that it can charge both your iPhone and iPad as show above on the video.
Charging time: I was able to test how long it takes the device to completely charge an iPhone from less than 10%: The result was just over 2 hours. If you are in a pinch you can always put your iPhone in Airplane mode and it should charge it in 2/3 the time if not faster. You can always use this trick even if you are not using the Outdoor Tech Kodiak for faster charging.
It also took 1 hour and 15 minutes to completely charge my GoPro Hero.
To charge the Outdoor Tech Kodiak itself, you will need at least 6 hours, so make sure you are doing this overnight. Also, don’t try to charge your device while you are charging the Outdoor Tech Kodiak. It was very clear in the instructions that this can damage the batteries inside. I would like to see this feature implemented in the future though. This can come in handy when you have limited plug access, and you know you won’t have access to a power outlet for a while.
Conclusion:
With its small form factor, robustness, and the amount of times I can charge my devices, the Outdoor Tech Kodiak is an excellent companion for anyone that travels a lot, backpacking, or places where power outlets are scarce. You will have the extra power you need no matter where you are. You can buy this battery pack from the Kodiak from www.amazon.com/outdoortech. This is much less than buying extra batteries for all your devices. Do yourself a favor and don’t run out of power next time you are out and about.
