[review] XTAR PB2S charger/powerbank

Awwww, I really hope youse are wrong about the coating.

Being that it fits 21700s, it should fit even stretch-18650s.

Dunno about small-device charging, but the low-low-cutoff option should work.

Talk about popping my balloon…

Illumn does have the limited edition red one on sale shipping from the states. Mine is expecting to arrive today.

https://www.illumn.com/xtar-pb2s-qc-3-0-pd-3-0-portable-li-ion-charger-and-powerbank-red.html

My PB2 first edition died after using it like 4 times. It charges up, but won’t charge my iphone.

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.

You got a red one? My blue one has a blue ribbon. Color-coordinated… :laughing:

Mine are both red plastic/red ribbon, with red LED display. Would’ve preferred a white LED display, but I like those in anything

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.

Wait a moment…

The displays are not white in all?

Some sre white… Some are red??

Wtf??

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.

Displays in red are the “special/limited” edition.

Thanks for the info.

I prefer white led.

But…. Two things stop me from buying: the price and the rubber coating….

Thanks for the review, Lightbringer - I’m definitely interested, now that it takes protected 18650s.

Found more images and specs on the AliExpress listing:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000107760986.html

Only 2A at 5V (10W)? That’s odd, given that it can do 2A at 9V (18W) and 1.5A at 12V (also 18W).

I really want the USB-C specified 3A at 5V… I think I’ll hold off on buying one until I see some HKJ-style measurements.

Can it be used as an ups?

Regarding rubber coating: it depends.
My smartphone has a rubber coated back, 3 years old, still fine.
The previous mobile also had a rubber coated back, carried it in my pocket from 2006 to 2016, now retired, the coating is still fine, just a bit worn off on the edges, but not gooey.

I have the PBS2 and really love it! I run with a set of NCR lower discharge high capacity cells and find the unit to be super handy and it provides a spare flashlight battery if need be. The low charge current thing does drive me nuts, may be enough to make me get the new one. Just not crazy about the unit getting bigger.

Unno, got mine right here and it doesn’t bug me. Maybe ’cause I don’t have an original PB2? Still, the ’S doesn’t seem all that big to me. Not like I keep it in my pocket or anything…

I just tested using it as a UPS, and its not something I’d suggest as when input power is cut or resumed it cuts the output for a fraction of a second. This would make it useless as a UPS for something that needs to stay up (Raspberry pi or similar such devices). It does seem to provide output while being charged though after that brief outage.

Thanks for testing the ups function.

Nice techie review of detailed charging/discharging performance at Test/review of Xtar PB2S Charger & power bank !

Seems the PB2S is nicely designed both inside and out! :laughing: