ECOXGEAR sent us their new power bank and a Bluetooth speaker so Trev sent them to me to try.
Straight off the bat they’re great, simple and I think priced really well.
First up is the EcoXCharge Clip, a rugged power bank with build in carabiner. Designed for adventure and easy access this little unit is great. I’ve had it clipped onto my backpack for the past 2 weeks and have been using it daily.
The battery itself is 3,350mAh which is pretty reasonable for a small unit. I can’t quite get a full charge of my iPhone Pro out of it, but certainly enough to get me out of trouble so I can keep listening to the EFTM podcast uninterrupted.
It’s IP67 rated so no need to worry about it getting ruined as your run through the pouring rain to the station and the durability of the unit makes it perfect for all sorts of adventure and normal life.
My only dislike of this thing (and it’s pretty bloody petty) is that the cap covering the USB ports unscrews in the opposite direction to normal. So every time I go to charge something I can’t get the cap off til I remember….
It’s actually a great product and for $50 bucks I think it’s a ripper deal.
For version 2 I think they’d be smart to add a little torch function to it.
On to the speaker, it’s tiny. There is no way something this small can sound good.
WRONG, it sounds good!
The Eco Pebble Lite just like the carabiner power bank is a great well made product.
It feels durable and thanks to it’s IP67 rating is waterproof and will float.
Because I’m an idiot I dropped it straight out of the box and thought the reviewing process may be over before I’ve even turned it on. Thanks to it’s soft rubber shell it survived and worked straight away. Honestly I don’t know why I’m allowed to have nice things.
The speaker connects via Bluetooth seamlessly and also has an aux in which is increasingly distant on a lot of current speaker products. I said above it sounds good and it does, but don’t compare it to a JBL or UE type speaker because this thing is tiny, it’s only 3 Watts!
I’d say it’s more for solo or couples use than hanging around the pool with a bunch of mates.
Up to 7 hours run time is pretty punchy too for such a small unit.
At the beach a few days ago I answered my phone whilst it was still connected and turns out it’s a great speakerphone too… although I hate people who use speakerphone functions in public, the rest of the beach doesn’t need to know Trevor Long’s rash is back!
ECOXGEAR sell a few accessories that will work with this speaker if you want to mount it to your bike handlebars or even a window with a suction cup.
Again I think this is pretty good value at $70, perfect for camping, chilling at the beach or mounting in the shed whilst you finally get around to that list of household jobs.
Both units are available from ecoxgear.com.au
