Gear Review: Dark Energy Poseidon Pro Portable Charger

Overview:

For me, having a reliable source of power in the backcountry is critical. Not only do I require it to charge my phone (which functions as my camera and GPS as well as means of communication when I have service), but also to charge my headlamp and camping lantern.

I've gone through a fair share of portable chargers in my day, but they typically don't last very long - either from the battery kicking the bucket or from the wear and tear that naturally occurs when I'm backpacking, hunting, or fishing - getting dusty, banged around, dropped in all sorts of ways (including into the water), rained/snowed on, and enduring wild fluctuations in temperature (IE think very cold or very hot for extended periods of time).

Then I heard about the Poseidon Pro from a company called Dark Energy. The charger is said to be basically indestructible (drop proof, shock proof and submersible) - it's used by U.S. Special Forces and has trips to Everest under its belt. It's also billed as long-lasting (three years) and able to provide hours and hours of power from a single charge. It retails for $120 and includes a ballistic fiber reinforced USB-C cable, cable management strap, and five-in-one carabiner multitool.

So, as I planned my gear for my eight-day DIY backcountry hunting trip to Montana with my two sons, I picked one up to see if the reality matched the hype.

Here's what I found.

What I like:

1. Durable: The Poseidon Pro is armored, submersible for up to 45 minutes in 6 feet of water, and certified IP68 - the highest water and dust-proof rating available. While I never gave the Poseidon Pro the "drop it off a cliff" or "run over it with the truck" tests or even the "submerse it in water" test, I did put it through a decent amount of abuse. It got banged around both in and out of my pack, it had to deal with an incredibly dusty environment (all our gear was covered in a thin coating of fine red dust within a day) and it had to endure cold temps - dropping into the low teens at night. I can tell you that it passed with flying colors. Nothing we threw at it seemed to be an issue - more than I can say for some of our other equipment.

2. Lasting Power: The website says that the Poseidon Pro will deliver 36 hours of power for a cell phone, 10 hours for a tablet and five hours for a laptop. On this trip I had the charger in almost continual use, powering my phone during the day as well as overnight, plus charging all three of our backcountry lanterns and headlamps. Even with this continued use, I was able to get six and a half days of charging out of the unit before it was drained - which is pretty remarkable.

3. Quick Charging: Another thing that I noticed with the Poseidon Pro was how quickly it was able to charge my various devices. I don't have a measurement but it was significantly faster than any charger I have used in the past.

4. Light and Small: The last thing that I really appreciated about the Poseidon Pro was that, relative to its long-lasting power and armored body, the unit itself is quite small and light (under 9 ozs)- approximately the size and weight of my I-phone. When you are counting ounces, having something this durable and long-lasting in a light package is a godsend.

What I don't like:

Single USB-A Port: My one complaint, if you want to call it that, about the Poseidon Pro is that it only has a single USB-A port for charging devices (It also has a USB-C). It's certainly not a big deal, but an additional A-port would have made the process of powering multiple devices (IE 2 lanterns) quicker in my case.

Perfect For: The Poseidon Pro is the perfect backcountry charger - for backpacking, hunting, fishing, or camping. It's armored tough, water and dust resistant, and can take a beating, all the while being relatively small and light. Best of all, it provide hours of reliable power for all of your devices before needing to be recharged.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

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