Yes, I can confirm that the rubber coating will get gooey over time. In the beginning you think ‘Oh wow, nice touch, good grip!’ Then, as time goes by, and especially in warmer climates, it becomes soft, sticky and you can draw doodles in it. It’s difficult to remove; first you have to scrape most of it off, then follow up with a cloth soaked in solvent and a brush but you always have to test first what the solvent does to the base material.
I threw away an older camping lantern that was too sticky to use, and a sunvisor on one of my motorbike helmets suffered from the same problem, but that was easier to clean so I’m still using it.
Although I really blike the new XTAR PB2S, I doubt if I will buy one.
It would not charge any of my small devices, headphones, mp3 players, my Ultratac 10440 screw on charging unit, etc due to its low end cutoff being too high.
Neither would it fit half of my 18650s due to short battery bay.
I picked up two of these from Illumn which arrived today, and they seem great so far. Loaded each with a pair of unprotected 21700s.
Being able to see each battery status, charge/discharge rate and voltage is nice, I’m a sucker for stats like that. The QC works with my phone at 12V 1.5A, the Nintendo Switch on the other hand only takes 5V 1.3A but it is picky about chargers.
The ‘low current’ mode works in my testing, which prevents it from turning off even when the current is very low (press and hold from off and it starts blinking slowly, press and hold again to shut it off). I really like this feature as I mess with arduinos, and other low current USB devices occasionally and having a battery pack drop out isn’t great.
The rubberized finish is very faint (not tacky). I have had other similar devices eventually start flaking a finish like that, time will tell. I won’t be too bothered if it does, but a smooth or slightly textured raw plastic might have been better.
Correction: The Switch uses 12V when using a usb-c to usb-c cable.
I have a couple old mice with the rubberized coating. Eventually, it will get tacky, or just wear off.
Once it reaches that state, it’s not that hard to finish the job, completely remove it, and reveal the smooth plastic underneath.
By that time, the PB2S will be yesterday’s news anyway, especially with the folks here.
I wouldn’t disagree with the dislike for the durability of such coatings, but XTAR does seem to learn.
It addressed many of the shortcomings of the PB2, and even made small improvements during the development process.
When the S was first teased, the USB-C port seemed to serve only as an input, not input/output. I suspect PD is also a later addition.
The extraction ribbon and white, instead of red, display also help usability.
My only reservation with the PB2S is that I already have a month-old, little-used PB2 I reluctantly picked up for travel, knowing the S was on the way. But perhaps it’s better to let the first buyers do some further field testing, and put the S through its paces before biting again.
I got my today.
I would say the rubber feels comparable to the rubber Dewalt and Milwaukee use on the cordless tools maybe just a little more silicone or sticky feel, it’s definitely not soft. The quality seems very good and I personally don’t think it will be problem long term.
I loaded it with a couple new Molicel 217000 P42A batteries that were previously charged to 100% and it charged my S9 from 46% to full in approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes. When finished it had 77% left.
I don’t have much stuff that requires low current mode, so I am curious what others have to say about how well that works.
I haven’t got one…yet…but it will be red. But if they made a blue one with a yellow ribbon, or a black one with a red ribbon… :money_mouth_face:
Before it was released, all the preview materials showed a red display (as well as input-only C port, and no ribbon).
Now that it has been released, the marketing material shows a white display, as do the review units that have made it into people’s hands.
But, Illumn is selling a red version, with a red display, billed as a “LIMITED Red LED Edition.”
So, changes were made to the original design, and perhaps XTAR just needed a way to get rid of the red displays it already had on hand but didn’t make it into the final product.
If you want the red display, that’s the source for it, and in a reversal, it’s cheaper than the other options so far.