They may as well call it Schrödinger’s wall outlet. Whenever you’re in need of a wall outlet in public and on the lookout, there’s none to be found. Café, airport terminal, whatever, they’re either mysteriously absent or occupied by someone who spawned into existence immediately before you looked over there, solely for the purpose of denying you the bit of electrical juice needed to keep your dying phone on life support.Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display – Credit: Matt JancerSavvy travelers and those who like to work out of public spaces, such as libraries and cafés, know to bring along a power bank, also known as a battery bank. These are portable batteries wrapped in a semi-protective housing, into which you can plug a device to recharge it when a wall outlet is occupied, absent, or has entirely blinked out of the universe because you were about to find it. The Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display is one of the most interesting, and dare I say best, power banks I’ve ever used. And I’ve used a bunch.power you can bank onI’ve got little to gripe about when it comes to the Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display. Would I take it on a hiking trip, on which I’m trying to minimize weight and bulk to a ludicrous degree? Nah. The screen and dual USB-C charging ports are very convenient, but the Belkin is just a bit thicker and heavier than a typical 10000mAh power bank. But tossed into a backpack for a day about town or on a carry-on when I’m traveling? Absolutely. It’d be the first power bank I’d reach for.(opens in a new window)BelkinBoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)the positives and negativesPros:Screen is handy for quickly seeing remaining battery level of chargerIncluded plug has caps for ends, good for outdoors and beach trips20W charging speed is relatively fast for a power bankCharges to devices at a time with dual USB-C portsCons:Screen adds weight and bulkOnly one charging cable includedHow i tested the Belkin BoostCharge 10K Power BankI’ve hauled power banks all over the world into and out of some pretty weird places. Up Mount Kilimanjaro, onto a glacier in Alaska, and on a lot of dusty, dirty, sandy beaches, hiking trails, and campsites. When it came to the Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display, I didn’t have the luxury of having my testing schedule line up with one of my more outlandish trips, and so I had to just test it like a normal person. You know, somebody who doesn’t pay and cash their vacation days to live in dirt.No matter. It accompanied me around New York City on the subway system and down the sidewalks, never complaining and never failing. To all who say that a café can’t be as hairy of an ordeal as a hiking trip, I say you’ve never tried to stake out the one table opening up in a midday Brooklyn café awash in a sea of laptops.what it’s actually like to use the Belkin BoostCharge 10K Power BankPity the poor power bank makers. There isn’t, at least to a layman, a whole lot to distinguish them from each other in the way that dumbphones and ebikes are ripes with unique form, features, and design languages. A decent power bank should just work, last a few years, and not, uh, catch fire. So, leave it to a heavyweight among power banks like Belkin (the other is Anker) to wedge a unique feature into an otherwise conventional 10000mAh power bank: the built-in display screen.I Screen, You Screen, We All… YeahBelkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display – Credit: Matt Jancer“With Display.” It’s right there in the name, and as the distinguishing feature of the Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display, I’ll get right down to it up front. Even though when holding the Belkin in my hands I thought at first that it had two screens, given the polished black finish running along both of its long edges, it’s just a decorative touch, albeit a nice one that lends a premium look and feel absent on most power banks. There’s only one display screen, and it’s small.It lives next to a big, round button. Working it is simple. Push it once to see how much charge it left in the power bank itself; remember, you’ve got to recharge it via a wall charger occasionally, too. It’ll give it to you in exact percentages: 71%, 35%, 88%, whatever. That’s handy, because most power banks just have an inexact few lights in the shape of a ring or bar.“How much charge do I have remaining in my power bank? Well, I’ve got four lit-up bars… out of seven. So that’s… how much?” I’ve had that thought process wear a rut into my brain many, many times over the years. It was very nice to wonder whether I needed to top off the Belkin before leaving the apartment and get an instant, exact number from the Belkin with the quick push of a button.the Belkin’s rubber charging cable cap – Credit: Matt JancerWhile your phone is charging, you’ll still have to tap the screen to wake it up and peek at how the charging is progressing. That isn’t Belkin’s fault. There’s no practical way (that I know of) for a power bank to interface with the disparate range of phone operating systems out there to present the battery level on the power bank directly.Charging SpeedThe 20W charging is pretty good for a power bank meant to charge a smartphone. Between its two USB-C ports, you can charge one device at up to 20W or connect two devices and charge them simultaneously at 15W. That’s 15W shared between them, not each, by the way.Compared to a wall charger, 20W is not going to blow anyone’s socks off if they’re trying to charge a large device, such as a laptop. But for a phone it’s as good as anything you could expect from a wall charger. You can buy a faster charger meant for laptops and charge your smartphone through it, but your phone is capped at 20-30W anyway, so it’s wasted money if that’s all you’re using it for.The days of having to content yourself with a slower charging speed than usual just because you’re using a power bank are over. Charging my iPhone 15 Pro (yeah, yeah) from roughly 40% to 80% battery life took about the same 15 minutes as when I plug it directly into my Anker wall charger. That’s quick enough that I can top off my phone throughout the day without ever feeling inconvenienced. It spends so little time charging, what do I care?Little ChunkBelkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display – Credit: Matt JancerBelkin includes a USB-C-to-USB-C cable measuring about eight inches long. It’s pretty nice, as far as cables go. It’s braided, which adds a touch of luxury. There are two rubber plugs on each end meant to cap them when the power bank isn’t in use and keep out dust and dirt. I don’t see that often on any charging cable, and it’s a nice feature to have, especially if you plan on taking it to the park, beach, and camping like I do.I’ve yet to have a cable fail because of sand or dirt, but the more protection from them, the better. If you want to take advantage of that second charging port for simultaneous charging, you’re going to have to come up with a second cable yourself. Belkin only included the one. It’s a minor sticking point.The Belkin is noticeably chunkier than the slimmer 10000mAh power banks I’m used to, although not debilitatingly so. It’s about 1.5 ounces heavier, too, enough to notice but not matter in most circumstances. When I’m hiking or tucking it into a jacket pocket, sure, but tossed into a bag or suitcase it doesn’t make much difference.other chargers we like(opens in a new window)AnkerAnker 1000mAh PowerIQ Power Bank(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)I’ve used the Anker 1000mAh PowerIQ Power Bank quite a bit with complete reliability. It’s very slim, much slimmer than the Belkin with the display, although it’s also longer. It lacks the screen, but it slips into a pants pocket more easily and weighs a little less while offering the same 10000mAh battery capacity.(opens in a new window)BelkinBoostCharge Plus with Integrated Cables(opens in a new window)$48.99 (reg. $54.99) at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Belkin also sent over the BoostCharge Plus with Integrated Cables for testing. Like the version with a display, this one has a 10000mAh battery capacity. Instead of the display, though, its standout feature are the two cables built into the sides: one a Lightning cable for older iPhones, the other a USB-C for Android phones and newer iPhones. It’s a fine charger, and it solves the problem of having a power bank handy but having misplaced a cable, but I resented carrying around a Lightning cable when my already-almost-three-year-old iPhone 15 Pro didn’t use it, and I’ll most likely never own a Lightning-possessing device again.how many times will it charge my phone?How many charges this 10000mAh power bank will charge your smartphone depends on an awful lot of variables. The model of your phone affects it a lot. Larger phones with more powerful guts will sap up more energy than smaller-screened, mid-range phones. And the age of your device will influence it, too. Older devices lose battery capacity as they age, especially if you tend to run down your battery to 0% or close, or charge it frequently past 80%. In general terms, you can expect about two full charges of a phone on a 100%-charged Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display if you’re going from 0-100% on your phone.is belkin better than anker?I put them right on equal terms. Both heavyweights of the power bank market, I’d expect both brands to give you a dependable charger. It comes down to nuances in features, like this Belkin’s integrated screen or exceptionally slim Anker 10000mAh PowerIQ Power Bank, but go with whichever brand captures your heart… and happens to be found for a particularly good sale price, if you can.the bottom lineThere’s precious little to distinguish most power banks. As long as they don’t burst into flames when I’m not looking, I just want them to work. It was a curiously pleasant discovery that the Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K’s integrated display screen was actually useful to me and not just an ornamental curiosity. If it were by a more flighty brand, it wouldn’t be enough to sway me. But it’s by Belkin, one of the two biggest names in power banks. I may just have found a new favorite power bank.(opens in a new window)BelkinBoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Display(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Belkin BoostCharge Review: I Might Just Have a New Favorite Power Bank appeared first on VICE.