Mini-Bank Charges a Small Garmin Battery: Is It Worth It?
A month or so ago, I ordered a small third party Garmin battery bank. I can’t remember if I came across it on Amazon or if a DCR reader pointed me to it. Any way, way-back-when, I ordered it and have been using it on and off in the past. But I’m not entirely sure it’s for everyone. Or at least, why you would buy it.
Now, I will preface this by saying that I am the full “Team Buy All Chargers and Battery Banks”. If there is any problem I have, buying things to charge my devices. Maybe because I’m stuck charging so many things, I’m always checking to make sure I have juice. For example, I continue to use tons of third-party charging pucks, Garmin charging stands, and Garmin USB-C key fob adapters.
For a long time, some of these cheap products work well, and sometimes they don’t. Like Garmin charging cables. I have more than I can count, including many new USB-C ones, and even one near me that doesn’t attach to the watch. But instead of Garmin charging cables costing $20-$25, most third-party charging cables/cases are like 2-4 units for $9.
In any case…back to this little battery pack. Here’s what’s in the box:
The thing is about the size of a square Oreo, if square Oreos existed. For better or worse, they don’t.
It’s chunkier in thickness, but it has a leash. In thinking about it, I found the leash very useful for putting Oreos in milk. Food for thought.
The specs on the unit are 1,200mAh, which means most Garmin watches have a battery of around 300-500mAh (depending on the unit/case size), so something like the Fenix 8 47mm, you’ll be able to charge about 3-4 times.
In my test, after removing the battery bank and fully charging the empty Fenix 8 Pro 47mm, it showed 2/3rds battery left (but the battery indicators are only 3 dots, so they are not very clear). It has a USB-C port on the side and an LED battery indicator as well. There is also a button to start charging. As for the charging time of the battery itself, it seems to be 1 hour and 15 minutes, based on fully discharging it, and watching as it charges the blue LEDs.
So when it comes to using it, you just put your watch on it, and it goes. In most cases, this works well for all the units I’ve stuck with so far:
However, it won’t stick there forever once it’s plugged in. It’s not MagSafe or anything like that. You can wrap the watch around the unit, like your wrist, and that works for watches with smaller straps (like the Garmin Bounce 2), but on longer straps, I find even with the tighter option, there’s still some play there, which can get in the way if you’re in a bag or something.
Now, you can use hair ties or rubber bands to keep it in place, which is what I do. With three daughters and a wife, I have too many of these things to list. I fail to understand how my daughters can go to school every day with their hair in a ponytail, one or two around their wrists, and come home with nothing and their hair out of the ponytail. They all knew how that happened. The point is, the only way to hold the watch there during movement is to use some sort of rubber band/hair tie.
When it comes to charging, I charged two Fenix 8 Pro 48mm watches back and forth from zero, and they charged at exactly the same rate from start to finish. Garmin’s new watches take about an hour to get there (~90%, direct charge), before charging the remaining/last 10% in about another 25-30 minutes. Older watches take 3-5 business days to complete charging, regardless of method. In any case, they all charge with very low power demands compared to a phone or laptop, so this is all very minimal.
When it comes to charging the pod itself, you can do so with a USB-C cable. Which comes to my first annoyance – I can’t use the same port to charge other devices. Meaning, I can’t use the Garmin watch charging bank to charge anything other than that USB-C port. Which would make it *MUCH* more interesting as a spare battery bank in a hiking bag or something. When I go on multi-day trips, I usually keep a small power bank in my bag, which I mark with tape as emergency use only. It’s specially designed in case my other battery bank (and phone) dies, and I get myself into a particular problem and need my phone. It’s not just charging my phone because I need to take more pictures. It is there as an emergency backup.
All of that gets into the final challenge here: Given the sorta-chunky size, and the price, limited holding power, and relatively limited capacity, it seems to make *more* sense to just get a lipstick power bank, even one with a built-in USB-C cable, and then a Garmin to USB-C adapter if you like.
Which is not to say that there is no audience for this unit. For example, there are two main use cases that I see:
1) The first case is actually myself, although I just saw this. Garmin Bounce kids watches last about 2 days, which means you charge them every other night. If we forget, and don’t realize it until the morning, it’s often too late to charge enough to get through all the kids’ extracurricular activities. Although this solves that, because I can throw this backpack on (with a hair tie), and they are ready to go.
2) The second case is when you might not want someone else to steal your power bank and take it out (eg, within your family). Given that it *ONLY* charges Garmin watches, and won’t charge anything else, it limits power bank theft (by other family members). It is like making your food very spicy so that others in your family will enjoy it.
Other than that, I think lipstick-sized chargers are probably the way to go, because they’re so versatile.
With that – thanks for reading!
Did You Find This Post Helpful? Support the Site!
I hope you found this review/post helpful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete like you who wants the most information you can get from a new purchase – so my review is written from the perspective of how I used the device. Updates usually take hours to put together, so it’s a bit of work (and a labor of love). As you’ve probably seen by looking below, I also take the time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s a lot of information there too.
If you are purchasing a Garmin Charging Battery Bank or any other items, please consider using the links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn on eligible purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchase helps support this website greatly.
I’ve also put together a quick list of some of my favorite or most relevant accessories for this unit:
Garmin USB-C Adapters (4-Pack)
Garmin USB-C Charging Puck
And of course – you can always sign up to become a DCR Supporter! That gets you ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Shed Talkin’ video series full of behind-the-scenes stories…and it makes you adorable. And being good is what it’s all about!
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comment section below, I’ll be happy to try to answer them as soon as possible. And finally, if you feel that this review is useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thank you!
