Poweradd Pilot Pro3 30000mAh Power Bank Review

PowerAdd is one of the go-to brands if you’re looking for a cheap but reliable power bank. The Poweradd Slim2 Portable Charger scored highly in our review a couple of months ago, so let’s see how the Poweradd Pilot Pro3 does in this review.

Design and portability

For such an inexpensive device the Poweradd Pilot Pro3 looks like a premium product. Encased in a sleek matte white shell, the power bank has a very clean look to it. The corners are rounded off nicely and the Poweradd logo is printed on the front of the device in grey lettering. The material used for the casing is similar to the material used for Macbooks, and the Poweradd Pilot Pro3 could easily pass as an Apple product from a couple years ago. Also, even though it’s made of plastic, it feels quite solid and sturdy.

The size of the power bank is just about what you’d expect a 30,000mAh power bank to be. Measuring in at nearly 8 inches in length and 5.6 inches in width, it’s slightly larger than the RAVPower 23000mAh Portable Charger we reviewed and has about the same footprint as a notebook (an actual notebook, not the laptop kind!). The unit is also quite heavy, weighing in at 1.5 pounds. It will definitely take up some space in a bag and is not compact enough for in a pocket. But to be fair, with such a battery capacity you can’t really expect it to be small.

Since the flight boarding limit for power banks stands at 100Wh, the Poweradd Pilot Pro3—rated at 111Wh—can officially not be taken on an airplane, unless you get a prior approval from the airline.

Features

On the front of the device we find four battery indicators which show the battery status in 25% increments. This is always a minor flaw with high capacity power banks, as 25% increments are just too large. It would be better if it had a few more LED indicators for better accuracy. Or better yet, a battery percentage screen like the RAVPower 23000mAh has.

The Poweradd is fitted with three output ports so you can simultaneously charge three devices. Whether it be a smartphone, tablet or digital camera, the power bank will automatically find the ideal amperage for your device since it has smart charging technology. All the ports can output a maximum of 2.4A, which makes for very quick charging rates. When all three ports are used simultaneously, the maximum output will be 4.5A, which is still quite impressive.

A rarity, the Poweradd Pilot Pro3 comes with two input ports—something we’ve only seen a few times before: on the Anker PowerCore Elite 20000, and on the EasyAcc Monster. But what is it actually good for you might ask? Well, the main advantage of this is that you can recharge the power bank twice as fast. It’s a nice feature and definitely comes in handy on large capacity power banks such as this one, effectively cutting the recharge time of the power bank in half.

Power

A 30,000mAh capacity is remarkable, and something we don’t see very often. However, we have to take into account the efficiency of the device. 30,000mAh does not mean you can charge your 1500mAh smartphone twenty times. Some energy is lost due to heat and voltage conversion. And also, power bank manufacturers love to inflate their numbers quite a bit.

The power bank is able to charge an iPhone 7 ten times, or a Samsung Galaxy S8 seven times. It can also charge tablets very efficiently. The fully charged power bank is able to charge the iPad Air completely two times, and still has some power left.

If we compare it to other power banks tested, it seems like the Poweradd pilot Pro 3 has just about the same capacity as the RAVPower 26800 Portable Charger, which is a far cry from the actual 30,000mAh stated by Poweradd, and is actually closer to an effective capacity of 20,000mAh. However, since inflating numbers seems to be perfectly normal in the battery industry and all the other brands are doing it as well, we’ll let it slide.

Charging rates are very impressive. The 2.4A output charges an iPhone 7 in under one hour and thirty minutes, and a Samsung Galaxy S8 is charged within two hours. An iPad Air is fully charged in about four hours.

Recharge times of the power bank are also very quick, courtesy of the double input ports. Using two cables to charge the power bank, the PowerAdd is fully charged in about eight hours, which is very impressive for a battery pack of this size.

Conclusion

The PowerAdd is quite large, but packs a punch. As expected from PowerAdd, the Pilot Pro3 30000mAh Power Bank provides great value and tends to be one of the better looking devices we’ve come across. A great battery capacity, three ports for simultaneous charging, and superb charge and recharge times make the PowerAdd Pilot Pro3 a fantastic bang for your buck.

Technical specifications