Patriot Fuel+ 9000mAh Mobile Rechargeable Battery Review

A Closer Look

The rear of the unit is plain, there are no rubber feet to stop it slipping and since the back is all plastic this might be a problem if you’re out in the open and need to place it along with your device on a non flat surface. It’s just over an inch tall so isn’t really pocket friendly but is ideal for a chucking in your car, backpack or leaving on your desk, especially since many workplaces don’t allow you to connect to your computers USB ports.

Patriot say that the Fuel+ is manufactured to the same standard as branded laptop batteries and that it has the following safety features which is reassuring to see.

“FUEL+ mobile rechargeable batteries have built-In protection against over charge, over current, over temperature, under discharge, and short circuit to ensure efficient and safe charge cycles.”

Notice on the photo below that the input current is only rated at 1.5A but newemodels state 2.5A as a maximum. I don’t know if Patriot made it like this for longevity reasons (charging a Lithium Ion battery at large currents could reduce lifespan) or something else but at 1.5A for the input I found it took several hours to charge the battery to full using a mains USB charger rated at 2A output, so it may be best to leave it on over night and take it with on on a morning for the daily use.

The packaging is fairly standard and the package contents are only the power pack itself and a short USB to MicroUSB cable. The cable is pretty high quality and has a rubbery matte feel to it, I felt that it would certainly take some bending through prolonged use and not break at the ends like some cables tend to.

On one side you have the MicroUSB input socket which is used when the Fuel+ is being charged from another power source.

On the opposite side there are 2 USB ports. One labelled as 2.5Amp and the other as 1Amp. On larger devices such as tablets and the latest smartphones a larger charge current is recommended for the best charging time so you would opt for the 2.5A port. Most other phones still only utilise up to 1A of current so that’s the port to use.

I had no trouble charging the Fuel+ from any standard USB source whether it was a Playstation 3, TV USB socket or a laptop USB socket. You will of course get slower charge times using those sockets so a mains USB outlet is best advised. Charging a 9000mAh battery will otherwise take quite a long time.

The unit is all plastic, the white parts are glossy and the red parts have a slight texture. It feels nice and worthy of the Patriot brand name. The USB ports are not loose like cheaper models from the competition and all in all it feels robust enough to live through most conditions it’s likely to be used in.

There are no other buttons to write about other than the single LED status button which also acts as a charging activation button once a device is plugged into it.