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Those of you old enough to remember the 'good old days' when your mobile phone battery lasted a week between charges will no doubt continue to be utterly flabbergasted by the fact that modern, cutting-edge devices like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7 require charging on a daily basis. While 24 hour top-up cycles have been pretty commonplace since the dawn of the smartphone era a decade ago, the arrival of Pokémon GO serves as a timely reminder of just how little stamina these products have.

With some players reporting complete battery drain in a matter of hours, there's clearly a big issue with indulging in protracted 'mon-catching sessions – especially if you're out and about and don't want to be without a functioning phone for the rest of the day. Once upon a time, people would simply carry a spare battery with them and swap it during the day, but we've seen the notion of removeable batteries slowly die out in the smartphone sector; at the time of writing, LG is the only handset maker which offers a power cell that the end user can replace, the handset in question being the modular G5.

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As a result, we've seen the manufacturers of external battery packs gleefully leap on the bandwagon and promote their particular product as the ultimate Pokémon GO companion. We can anecdotally report that we've seen many people walking around with wires attached to their smartphones since the game launched, a fairly solid indication that they're on the hunt for some Pocket Monsters. However, we've never personally felt the need to rely on reserve power, especially as the arrival of the Pokémon GO Plus means we don't have to have our phone screens turned on quite as much. Still, it's nice to have a backup – and with that in mind we're taking a look at one of the most comprehensive options on the market, the Aukey Quick Charge 3.0 30000mAh Lightning Power Bank.

Yes, we said 30000mAh. As in thirty thousand. For comparison's sake, the iPhone 7 has a 1960mAh battery, (which, by all accounts, is pretty pitiful when it comes to stamina) while the original 3DS has a 1300mAh one. Taking those figures into account it should give you some indication of how much power there is contained within this rather weighty, plastic-clad slab. Using the device to recharge our Xiaomi Mi5 Android smartphone – which has a 3000mAh battery – we were able to fully charge several times over before the bank was empty. Yukey quotes over ten charges with the iPhone 6s and around 6 charges with the Galaxy S7 Edge, but it's all dependant on the size of your phone's battery, so your own mileage may vary.

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The "Quick Charge 3.0" in the title refers to the fact that Aukey's product supports Qualcomm's Quick Charging standard, which fully powers compatible phones in around an hour. That was certainly the case with our phone; the Mi5 charged as fast when connected to the Aukey bank as it did when plugged directly into a wall socket. The portable charger itself also supports fast charging when you're topping it up, which is handy as refilling 30000mAh takes quite some time – in our case, we had it plugged in for most of the day before it was full. You can use either a Micro-USB or Apple Lightning connector to charge the bank itself, but no lead is included in the box to do this, presumably because Aukey has wisely assumed that you'll already have a lead handy. There is, however, a short USB Type-C lead bundled in, which is handy for those who own recent Android handsets but not so useful for iPhone owners.

Even if you don't have a phone which supports Quick Charge 3.0, Aukey's AiPower Adaptive Charging Technology charges all 5V USB-powered devices up to 2.4A, which means you can power more than just phones and tablets. The bank knows how much charge a particular device can accept, and regulates the power accordingly. Because it has two USB ports, you can actually charge two devices at the same time, something we personally found to be extremely useful.

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All of these stats and figures are fine, but the proof is always in the pudding, as the saying goes. We got to test out the Aukey power bank when helping out on a recent night hike with the local Cub Scouts, with the event's aim being to use Pokémon GO to investigate various landmarks dotted around town. This called for a solid hour of screen-on time, combined with the other power demands the app makes, such as constant GPS pinpointing.

Given that the hike took place in the late evening and our phone was at around 40 percent battery, the Aukey predictably came in handy. It was plugged in for the duration of the walk and by the time we'd returned to base the phone's battery was back at 100 percent. In fact, thanks to the Quick Charge feature, it had actually reached that point about halfway through the walk. The power bank's built-in LED flashlight also came in useful, especially when guiding a gaggle of excitable children down dimly-lit alleyways in search of elusive 'mon. The only conceivable drawback of this gargantuan source of power is its weight – at 20.46 oz it really tugs at your coat pocket, and is perhaps better suited for storage in a bag or rucksack.

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On another trip out the Aukey Power Bank was used to top up not only our mobile phone – gasping for air after a long Pokémon GO session – but also our New Nintendo 3DS, which has notoriously poor battery life and is often entirely dead after being on standby for a day or two. Because the 3DS doesn't support Qualcomm's Quick Charging standard it took longer to fully charge, but no longer than when using the official wall charger.

For almost $50, the Aukey Power Bank is certainly more pricey than your typical USB external battery, but with that increased cost comes massive capacity, the ability to charge two devices simultaneously and welcome support for fast charging – something that is downright essential when you're looking to get back to 100 percent power in the shortest time possible. For truly seasoned Pokémon GO players it's a highly recommended purchase, with the only genuine drawback being the size and weight of the unit itself. It's possible to carry in your coat pocket but don't expect to slip it in and forget it's there – the sheer heft of this thing is always going to be noticeable unless you choose to pop it into a bag. Even so, that's a small price to pay for what feels like limitless power on tap. Pokémon GO hunts need never be limited by your phone's stamina ever again.

Thanks to Aukey for supplying the unit used in this review.

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