Silverstone SST-PB03 AA Emergency Battery Pack Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

As highlighted throughout this review, the overall pricing of this emergency mobile charger is largely influenced by the end users choice of AA batteries. For the sake of comparison, I’ve taken the price of the batteries that I use for my cameras flash gun which are available in the UK through 7DayShop.com (The 2800mAh batteries that I have here have been superseded with a 2900mAh cell, although they are that same price to buy) and as far as batteries go, they are some of the best that I’ve bought, having lasted me well over two years of constant heavy usage – a huge credit to 7DayShop here. With my batteries costing £4.99 (~$8.31) and the PB03 costing around £15 on Scan.co.uk with delivery or $16.99 through Amazon US, we are looking at a total cost of around £20 in the UK and $26 in the US.

Overview

Within the mobile accessories market, we know that there are countless portable chargers for our mobile devices and since the time when the first battery pack went on sale, we have seen numerous other options come to market, and whilst they all in effect do the same job, the difference in cost from the cheapest to the most expensive is rather large and this leaves people in a state of confusion. Fortunately the PB03 battery back from Silverstone eliminates the conundrum of deciding whether to go for price or capacity by giving the end-user the flexibility to decide what batteries they want to put in to the pack. Naturally this does mean that the PB03 is not quite plug-an-play out of the box, but if you are able to get a decent set of batteries for a good price, then why not consider something like this?

As far as the design and build of the PB03 goes, you do get a product with a solid build and a good feel of quality to it and you do get the added bonus of the flash light along with the ability to recharge the batteries without removing them, although it would have been nice to see a product that was a little less bulky. Had the PB-3 been designed with the four batteries laying side by side instead of the 2×2 fashion that we have here then I feel that the unit would have a more attractive design as it would fit more easily into a coat or trouser pocket for charging whilst on the move.

Due to the huge flexibility that the PB03 has in terms of potential capacity and the principle of having a bare-bones charger for mobile devices, I do have to credit Silverstone for being one of the first, if not the first to come out with this design and I look forward to see if anyone can come out with a better concept (perhaps by using AAA batteries instead of AA). To condense the whole review down into a single point, I am impressed to see that a battery pack with user changeable batteries has come to market, however the design of this particular unit is a bit marmite in my eyes and this is what is really holding this product back from an award.

Pros:

• Barebones frame with space for user selectable batteries
• Can hold high-capacity batteries for longer times between charges
• LED flashlight
• Solid metal build

Cons:

• Unit is a little bulky with a 2×2 battery layout
• Design is not exactly up to date with the rest of the market.

“Portable battery packs have been around for some time now and it was only a matter of time before we saw a bare-bones style product come to market. The PB03 is a great product as far as the concept and functionality goes, however the design is a little industrial for my liking and this is what I feel is holding it back from winning over the high street user.”

Thanks to Silverstone for providing us with this review sample.