Varta V-Man Power Pack

Charge your gear on the go with this nifty bit of kit

Product

Varta V-Man Power Pack

Promise

Offering the freedom to portably charge your personal high-tech devices whenever and wherever you want, regardless of whether there's a power socket in sight.

Performance

Boop – low battery. Without a doubt, one of the worst sounds you can hear. And as we WideWorlders know, being cut off from your phone when there is no power socket around is not only frustrating, but at times can be disastrous.

With phones containing 5 mega pixel cameras, mp3 players, maps and apps, portable power packs have become essential for people heading outdoors for more than a couple of days.

While portable power packs are not a new concept, the V-man stakes its claim at the top of the heap. On appearance, the sleek white casing looks stylish as well as slim, and the retractable cord – to connect the pack to devices – gets rid of fiddly wires that tangle and take up space. The package includes eight connectors, including the versatile mini and micro-USB plugs, as well as adapters for Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

Before use, the V-man’s lithium-ion battery needs to be charged, either from the wall socket or a PC - this takes about three hours. Varta claims that when fully charged the V-man can refill two mobile phones or 10 mp3 players before running out of juice. This seems somewhat ambitious, and users should consider the devices in question before completely relying on the box notes.

Some WideWorld tests saw the V-man only managing to fully charge one thirsty Apple iPhone 3G, but it did perform better on a Nokia 5800. MP3 players were the biggest winners from the testing, with six iPods charging fully before the power pack needed to be plugged back into the wall.

One negative aspect of the V-Man is the number of pieces that make up the device. It’s true, the eight adaptors allow market flexibility as they cater for a range of phones and MP3 players, but if you include the wall charger, the power pack, the USB adaptor and the retractable lead, it totals 12 separate pieces. It is also notable that it does not cater for charging either the Sony PSP or Nintendo DS.

Verdict

In terms of portably recharging your phone, the V-man ticks all the boxes. Although the stored power isn’t as enduring as Varta claims, the stylish device is versatile and should be an ever-more essential part of the traveller’s kit.