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Fospower PowerActive Waterproof and Drop Proof External Battery Pack

If you're looking for an external USB battery pack that's more rugged than the usual, this one's waterproof, snow proof, dirt proof, and drop proof.

Fospower PowerActive Battery

Categories: Power, Reviews

Last updated about 1 week ago // Originally published about 4 years ago

A while ago I wrote about a ruggedized battery that I liked to take with me on the road and that was especially useful for charging things like GoPros on the go. Now I have a new favorite. It’s smaller, lighter, and this one really isn’t just water resistant, it’s waterproof.

It’s the FosPower Active Power Bank.

Fospower PowerActive Battery

It’s an external USB battery that’s marketed as snow proof, dirt proof, drop proof, and waterproof. Specifically, it has an IP67 rating, which means it’s designed to withstand submersion in 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. I was a bit skeptical, so I decided to test it out so that I didn’t end up with a nasty surprise when out on the road. I dunked it in a bucket of water, fully submerged, and fished it out half an hour later. It was completely fine.

There is, of course, a very important qualification–you can’t actually use it underwater. It’s only waterproof with the access doors closed and sealed, and those doors cover the cable ports. So it’s waterproof for transporting–you don’t have to worry about a downpour and your pack getting drenched, for instance–but it’s not like you can use it to power a camera on a Scuba diving filming session.

It’s also quite compact. Here’s how it compares with a GoPro HERO5 Black, for instance.

Fospower PowerActive Battery

It’s rated at 10,200 mAh, with puts in the range to fully charge an iPhone up to 4-5 times and a Galaxy S series up to 2-3 times. GoPros and other small action cams have much smaller batteries, so it’ll charge them many more times over.

The charge status is indicated with a row of LED lights on the top of the unit. There’s only one USB output port—a 2.1A output port—not the two that many other batteries have. And like many of these external batteries–and I’ve never quite figured out why–it also has an LED flashlight, but to use that you have to open the port cover. It also comes with a small compass and carabiner, neither of which I find especially useful, but I guess it helps convey the impression that this is designed as go-anywhere battery pack.

Fospower PowerActive Battery

I’ve found it to work well. The power ratings seems about right, it’s small, and the case is grippy. About my only issue with it is that it only has one output port, so you can only charge one device at a time.

What’s in the Box?

  • Battery pack
  • micro USB cable
  • small compass and carabiner (attached to the battery’s strap)

Fospower PowerActive Battery

Buy At

I bought mine at Amazon. There’s also another alternative that looks interesting from Outdoor Tech.

FosPower PowerActive 10200 mAh Power Bank - 2.1A USB Output...
FosPower PowerActive 10200 mAh Power Bank - 2.1A USB Output...
  • [HIGH CAPACITY POWER BANK] Rugged high capacity 10200mAh power bank (2.1A Power Output) is a perfect...
  • [TOUGH, STURDY, AND RUGGED] The FosPower battery pack is designed to be snow proof, dirt proof, drop...
Check Price at Amazon

Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2021-01-24 at 06:09. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on January 14, 2021

Categories: Power, Reviews

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News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

Comments

  1. Barry says

    April 13, 2017 at 10:22 am

    David. You need to date your stories and reports. “Updated about one week ago” isn’t a useful date stamp. (Referring to the Fospower battery). I do find your pages in education and think they are informing and useful.

    Looking at the GoPro section it really was confusing to my wife who wasn’t up to speed with the history of the products with no comments about updates and older models became annoying. She said why even bother reading a review about something that’s not available any longer.

    Reply
    • David says

      April 14, 2017 at 10:07 am

      Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply

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I take photos. I travel. I do it for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between.

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