From smartphones, tablets, laptops and cameras, we live in portable, power-hungry times, and that’s where the Chargeasap Flash Pro portable charger (currently $159, normally $299) comes in. If you’re like me, your backpack is filled with power-hungry devices, and when they lose power, you feel naked, afraid, and out of sorts.
Well, fret not, my fellow power fiends! The Chargeasap’s Flash Pro has more than enough juice (25,000 mAh / 92.5Wh) to wirelessly charge multiple devices at high speeds. Sure, it sort of looks like a giant throwback iPod. But if that iPod could power your laptop, cell phone, tablet and camera simultaneously, it would be in your backpack right now instead of collecting dust in a drawer at your parent’s house.
I’ve had the Flash Pro for about two months now, and I discovered all kinds of uses for it. Let’s take a deeper dive into what I powered up with the closest thing to a real-life Stark Industries Arc reactor.
Chargeasap Flash Pro pricing and availability
Normally, the Chargeasap Flash Pro will run you $299. However, at the moment, you can order one for just $159 until the end of March.
Chargeasap Flash Pro design
I like the look of the Chargeasap Flash Pro; it gives me Monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey” vibes while keeping my devices powered up, and I am here for that. As mentioned, the Flash Pro looks like a giant old-school iPod on steroids. Made from black aircraft-grade aluminum, it’s a little big at 6.2 x 3.4 x 1.2 inches, but it’s only a hair longer than my iPhone 11 (5.94 x 2.98 x 0.33 inches) and shorter than my OnePlus 9 Pro (6.5 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches). It’s a tad bulky by some standards; it weighs 1.3 pounds, which is still lighter than most laptops it charges.
An OLED display near the top of the Flash Pro shows how much battery you have remaining and how quickly your devices are charging. At the top, ports are clearly labeled in a bright white font, so there’s never any confusion as to which port you’re using.
You will find the MagSafe wireless charging pad below the OLED display, which also worked with my Android device, and several wireless charging-capable earbud cases. However, sometimes wireless charging is a bit wonky with non-MagSafe devices as you get it sitting just right for it to work.
Oddly, it doesn’t come with a charging cable, but I have plenty of USB Type-C cables lying around; however, they should include one in the future.
Chargeasap Flash ports
The Flash Pro can charge just about every device you can imagine — and this isn’t hyperbole. it comes with three USB Type-C ports that deliver varying amounts of power. There’s one that delivers 100W to charge laptops. It’s also the port used to recharge the device. The 60W USB Type-C port can also charge smaller laptops like ultrabooks or a MacBook Air. The 20W USB Type-C is perfect for phones, tablets, and other lower power-needy devices.
There is one USB Type-A port that supports VOOC/ Warp charging for devices like my OnePlus Pro 9 at 50W. It isn’t as fast as the 65W Warp charger that comes with the OnePlus Pro, but it’s still rather speedy. You can connect up to five devices to charge simultaneously as the maximum output for the Flash Plus Pro is 190W. However, charging is slowed for all devices if all options are in use.
Chargeasap Flash Pro performance
When I first received the Flash Pro, I was in the middle of several other product reviews, so I simply charged it up and left it in my cold back room for three weeks. When I pulled it out, it had a 95% charge in a room where I’ve left frozen food overnight with no change in temperature. So it’s durable and charges back up within an hour. My first task was topping off my two smartphones and a pair of wireless earbuds; I grabbed my camera gear and off I went.
I tend to burn through batteries when I am out shooting video or photos, and it is normal for me to carry two battery grips for my Blackmagic cameras with eight batteries, which adds a lot of weight. Sometimes I bring my massive 10,400 mAh, 150W Kunlun Lithium-ion battery pack that weighs over two pounds and my Anker 10,000 mAh battery pack. So basically, I carry about ten pounds worth of batteries whenever I leave the house, plus three cameras, five lenses, two tripods, a laptop, laptop charger, four SD Drives, assorted cables, and a bottle of water.
That said, I went out to shoot recently. I cut that weight by leaving my Kunlun battery pack and only carrying the two battery grips (with two batteries inside), my laptop sans the heavy charging cable, which took a little over six pounds off my back. This may not seem like a lot, but it makes a huge difference when you’re carrying it all day.
I discovered I could charge my cameras via the Flash Pro, but in a pinch, I could keep shooting while plugged into the unit, which is a wonderful thing. I could carry two Chargeasap Flash Pro’s that will take up less room and weigh the same as my pro-grade Kunlun battery. Shooting this way, I walked around my neighborhood filming for four hours and only knocked 10% off the Flash Pro. I then topped off both my iPhone and OnePlus Pro 9 while eating lunch and was back on my way.
I sat in the park and hopped on my snazzy Lenovo X1 Nano laptop to look at my 6K footage. I purposely left my laptop uncharged, so I would need to power it up using the Chargeasap. It worked well, allowing me to spend two hours in the park and the Flash Pro down to 45%. I packed up, went home for some hot chocolate, and recharged the Flash Pro while napping with my work done. I will say I was never able to get a full recharge on my laptop; the Flash Pro only seemed capable of getting my workstation up to 75%.
Thanks to the Flash Pro’s Lithium-polymer graphene battery, which cuts some weight and ensures the unit doesn’t get hot while being charged or charging your devices. Another benefit of a Lithium-polymer graphene battery is it has a longer overall life expectancy than a Lithium-ion battery and will hold a charge longer.
Bottom line
The Chargeasap Flash Pro is a game-changing battery pack for people who are constantly on the go. It’s great for family outings to charge up tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, and much more. It handles it all — and then some. However, although it’s on sale now for $159, its normal price tag of $299 may be too pricey for those who may not require all that much charging power, but for a battery-devouring digital sorcerer like myself, it’s a gift from the Lithium-ion graphene gods. It pays for itself in weight reduction, time saved, and multiple uses.
