Chargeasap is a relatively newer company making portable batteries and chargers that's had some success on Kickstarter campaigns. They tend to stick to more cutting edge tech, like graphene batteries and gallium nitride chargers, and they're able to deliver some pretty interesting stuff without being held back by old standards.
One of those interesting products is the Flash Pro portable battery that we're reviewing. It utilizes a massive 25000mAh graphene battery that's capable of delivering some very fast charging results with a few extra bells and whistles. Is it worth the big asking price, though? Let's find out.
Massive design
There's really no way around making a 25000mAh battery big. Even something more efficient like graphene still needs considerable space, and that makes the Flash Pro a very large battery to carry around. At 572 grams or 1.26 pounds, don't expect a compact little battery to keep in your pocket.
But with that being said, it is engineered extremely well. The aluminum finish feels very nice and sleek, and the included carrying case makes it sightly easier to pack along for a trip, and it gives you an easy space to stash your required cables.
The top of the battery houses four total charging ports, with three USB-C (one of which is for charging the battery itself) and a USB-A port. There's additionally a wireless charging coil placed on the flat side of the battery, too, giving you the option to charge up to five devices simultaneously.
Above the wireless charging section is a small OLED screen that displays information about the battery, including its current charge, charging speeds of connected devices per port, and battery temperature. Despite it just being a basic little black and white screen, it feels really modern, especially in a battery.
High speed graphene
Graphene comes with a lot of perks. It's relatively manageable in size, which is how we're getting a 25000mAh battery in something that's not the size of a car battery, but it recharges quickly, too. Chargeasap claims you can get Flash Pro rejuiced in about an hour and ten minutes with a 100W charger, which seems pretty reasonable. I don't have a 100W charger to fully test those claims, but using a 60W charger did get the battery charged from 20% in just a couple hours, and up to about 45% in roughly 15 minutes. Again, this is with just the 60W charger, so even if you're not maxing out its capabilities you're still getting a good experience.
You don't get a charger in the box with the Flash Pro, so you might be in the same situation unless you're previously invested in a 100W charger, but a high-end phone or laptop charger will still very likely get you good speeds, even if you're not hitting those breakneck records.
The battery can also deliver that kind of charge in the opposite direction without breaking a sweat, charging up laptops, power hungry phones, and wireless accessories. With three or fewer devices it can push out 100W of power through its primary USB-C port, but do keep in mind that's limited to 60W if you're using four or five ports. It caps at 185W output total across all ports, based on each port individually. Don't take that as a negative, though; that's still incredibly fast.
Efficiency and extras
Not only is the Flash Pro extremely fast to both charge and recharge, but it's surprisingly efficient about the whole process as well. Normal batteries tend to get hot when they discharge, but the graphene here manages to keep the battery fairly cool even when it's working overtime. The most heat I experienced was charging something with the wireless pad on top, which is very likely due to charged device itself, not the battery. Fortunately, if you're worried, that previously mentioned OLED screen monitors the temperature for you. Unfortunately for those of us in America, though, that screen only displays in Celsius. Small gripe, but if you're used to Fahrenheit temperatures you'll just do some quick memorization or calculations in your head.
That screen is also useful for making sure your devices are charging at appropriate speeds, and can potentially help you narrow down slow charging issues if you're having problems in other ways.
The included carrying case is an extra nice touch, with a sturdy zipper and mesh pocket inside for holding some extra accessories. It's inflexible but soft, and should do a good job of keeping the battery safe even if it's bumping around in a bag.
Like we mentioned earlier, the only real complaint we have about the extras here is that it doesn't include any kind of charging block or cable in the box. For a $299 battery you might be expecting something to put in that carrying case, but you'll either need to use your phone or laptop's charger, or pick something else up with the battery. I'd imagine most Android users, especially anyone that owns a newer phone with high-speed fast charging blocks, will be fine, but an Apple user that has a bunch of Lightning cables laying around will need some extra steps to get the Flash Pro integrated into their array of gadgets.
Worth it?
If you're looking for a portable battery with no compromises on features, Chargeasap delivers. The $299 price for the Flash Pro is steep and costs more than some phones, but as a solution to quickly charge any device you own, no exceptions, it's hard to match. That graphene battery really shows up in a big way here.
But you do pay a premium, and we're being very generous with the “portable” part of calling the Flash Pro a portable battery. It's big, simply put, and probably isn't going to work for you to keep in your pocket for an hour of extra charge after work. This one's designed for power users who work on the go, spend considerable time away from normal charging situations, and have multiple devices that'll need the extra recharging.
Definitely think about what you actually need from a portable battery, but if you check the boxes for the Flash Pro's intended demographic, you're not going to find a better option right now.
