Power banks are great, especially when you’re traveling or in the case of a power outage. And with new faster technologies like USB-PD and GaN charging, you can get a lot of power inside a small package. In fact, there are power banks to charge your beefy laptops too. One such product is the Baseus Blade HD.
The Baseus Blade HD is essentially the High-Density version of their previously launched Blade power bank. The idea here is simple, provide a small and compact power bank that you can easily store in your backpack, and charge your laptop whenever need be. And not just your laptop, but more devices too, thanks to the abundance of USB ports here.
That being said, is the Baseus Blade HD any good? Should you really invest in it? And who exactly is it for? Let’s find the answer to all those questions in our in-depth Baseus Blade HD laptop power bank review.
Baseus Blade HD Power Bank Specifications
Before we take a look at the power bank and its performance, let’s get the specifications out of the way.
Capacity | 20,000 mAh |
Peak Output | 100W |
Recharging Time | 1.5 hours |
Output Ports | 2x USB-A, 2x USB-C |
Display | LED |
Dimensions | 5.27 x 5.27 x 0.7 in |
Weight | 0.98 lbs (445g) |
What’s in the Box | 1x 100W Laptop Power Bank |
1x 100W USB-C to USB-C Cable | |
1x Storage Bag | |
1x User Manual |
Design
Starting off with the design, the Blade HD has a square design that’s super compact and quite slim. In fact, at just 0.7 inches, it’s only a hair thicker than the new MacBook Pro. The compact design allows the power bank to easily fit into any backpack, without taking up much space. Add to that, the smooth rounded corners ensure that the power bank won’t cause any damage to your bag or the other items inside.
The top surface of the power bank is divided into two parts — a display on the top, and a textured finish below it. Speaking of the display, it is a quick glance display with LED backlights. The panel shows important data, such as the remaining battery level, followed by the charging power, as well as the estimated charging time.
On the opposite side, Baseus has outfitted the power bank with four silicone pads on the feet. These come in handy to ensure that the power bank doesn’t slip off the desk while charging your devices.
As for the IO, all the ports are located on the top edge of the power bank. You have two USB Type-C ports sandwiched between two USB Type-A ports. Both the Type-C ports can be used for output and input as per your needs. There’s also the power switch located right next to it for conveniently checking the battery percentage on the power bank.
All things considered, the Baseus Blade HD power bank offers a simple, neat, and compact design. It’s an improvement over its predecessor in terms of size for sure. However, what remains to be seen is if Baseus has maintained the same high standards of performance or not.
Performance
The Baseus Blade HD comes with a peak wattage of 100W, which you can get from either of the USB Type-C ports. When used in a combination, the peak output is limited to 65W on one of the ports, and 30W on the other, regardless of whether it’s USB-C or USB-A. You can even hook up to four devices to the power bank at the same time, for a divided 30W of output.
To help you monitor these wattages, the display on the top comes in quite handy. It shows you both the output voltage and the output current. Add to that, it also shows you the estimated time remaining until the battery of the power bank is drained. That’s a nifty feature, which comes in really handy.
Of course, we didn’t want to take Baseus’ word for it, so we decided to verify the output wattage claims using a USB voltmeter. There is a marginal error, but that’s negligible, and for the most part, the Blade HD outputs accurate voltage and current.
One thing to note here, however, is that the display only shows the charge rate for one of the devices. Add to that, there’s no clarity on which device it would pick since the process seems quite random. That’s kind of disappointing, especially considering how much screen space the Blade HD has to itself.
Nonetheless, you have to remember that Baseus is only showing you the estimated time of charging. If your device has its own charging meter, it’s advisable to rely on it.
Charging Times
Speaking of charging time, the Baseus Blade HD was able to juice up my MacBook Pro 14-inch from 0 to 51% in under 30 mins. It was also able to juice my iPhone 14 Pro from 0 to 56% in under 30 mins as well. However, it’s worth highlighting that I charged both of these devices individually.
As for the power bank itself, the 20,000mAh battery takes around 95 mins to fully juice up. Keep in mind that the input for the power bank is capped at 65W only. Also, there’s no charging adapter included in the box, so you’ll have to get a USB-PD Charger for it.
Charging Protocols
While we are talking about charging, it’s worth mentioning that the Baseus Blade HD supports all the common fast charging protocols. This includes PD 3.0, QC 4+, QC 3.0, SCP, FCP, and Samsung AFC. This means you can easily charge your laptops and MacBooks, along with other devices such as your smartphones. In fact, the Baseus Blade HD also serves as a great power bank for charging handheld consoles like the ASUS ROG Ally or the Steam Deck.
That being said, it suffers from the same issue as most other USB-PD power banks do. There’s no support for proprietary charging protocols such as OnePlus’s Warp Charge or Xiaomi’s HyperCharge. In that case, the charging speed would be capped at whatever speed your device supports over USB-PD.
Baseus Blade HD Power Bank Review: Go for it!
So, the big question — is the Baseus Blade HD power bank worth it? The way I see it, absolutely! The power bank is available for $99 and offers a portable design with enough power to juice up your laptops and then some.
For about the same price, there’s the Anker PowerCore 24K, which caps out at 65W only. If you want more power, you can opt for the UGREEN 145W 25000mAh Power Bank. But then again, you’d have to spend 1.5 times the price of the Blade HD.
All things considered, the Baseus Blade HD is a solid power bank for laptops. If you’ve been eyeing a fast power bank for your MacBook and other USB-PD-supported devices, this gets a thumbs up from us.
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Last updated on 07 August, 2023
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