Gear Review: Braven BRV-BANK Battery

Call me old-fashioned, but I’m not a fan of electronics in the outdoors.

Sure, I understand the safety reasons for carrying a cell phone in the backcountry. And I’ve been known to play around with GPS from time to time. But, as a rule, I never feel 100 percent great about it. There are some things that belong in your pack and some things that belong back at home.

incipio-braven-bank-6000-mah-black-cyan-top-3-copyClearly, I am in the minority here, because there have never been more ways to bring your digital life into woods than there are right now. Digital readers, portable WiFi base stations, portable music players … the list goes on. But what happens when the batteries run out?

That’s where Braven’s BRV-BANK power station comes in.

Hyped as “the world’s first Bluetooth-enbled, USB controlled ultra-rugged power bank,” the BRV-BANK offers 6,000 mAh of portable power wrapped in a water-resistant rubber case that’s designed to withstand just about anything you will run into on the trail, short of fully immersing it underwater. You just plug your device’s USB adapter into one of the brick’s two USB outlets (both can charge simultaneously) and let the recharging happen. It’s compatible with phones, tablets and many other digital accessories.

It even includes a USB powered flashlight, and integrates with an iOS- and Android-compatible app that allows you to monitor the battery level and control the power ports remotely.

The ChipChick blog broke down the BRK-BANK’s capabilities as such:

“To give you some reference, an iPhone 5s battery is about 1570 mAh. So you could do some serious charging on this battery. It comes with a handy USB charged flashlight and two outlets that support up to 2.4A (Amps), which means you could charge up to two iPads at the same time. Seems like an ideal set up for an outdoorsy photographer.”

The battery is available direct from Braven for $129.99 and comes in two colors, black and white.

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