Nitecore NB10000 Gen 3

[Brad W]

So the Nitecore NB10000 gen 3 is out. They removed the USB-A port on the gen3 and it can charge faster-22.5w vs 20w. What is odd is the rated energy is 18% less than the gen 2. 5400mah vs 6400mah. I asked Nitecore why and they said it’s due to new testing standards-Their response to why the capacity changed:

The actual capacity of the power bank remains unchanged; the battery pack inside is the same as in previous generations. However, the standard used to calculate the rated energy has changed from  (TYP 1A) in Generation 2 to  (TYP 2A) in Generation 3, which accounts for the difference in the reported numbers. 

 

Does this make any sense to anyone?

[Bill Budney]

Yep.

It’s like comfort rating versus survival temperatures in quilts/sleeping bags. They’re just being more realistic now.

Some battery packs store a little more or a little less when they are new, and all of them lose capacity over their lifetime. Ability to deliver that capacity varies with temperature. IMO, other things matter more, such as reliability of the electronics (Anker) or weight (Nitecore, Klarus).

There is another school of thought where capacity matters to how many packs you need to carry for a given trip length. DavidD has a spread sheet about capacity.

[Brad W]

Man, so with 5400mah I can only recharge my phone 1.24X. Or charge the phone once and my headlamp, ear pods once.

[Bill Budney]

Yes*.

It has always been that way. The only thing that changed is that it is now easier to see it when reading the specs.

(*) That is full charges, from completely empty, of course. Modern devices turn off when the battery gets down to a few percent, because lithium batteries can brick when they get completely to zero. Batteries lose a little, slowly, while in storage, which is why you should recharge them once in a while. If they get down to zero on their own, then they may brick** (so that you can never recharge them again).

(**) This is why I think that rechargeable batteries should be required, by law, to be removable. Otherwise, you may have to throw out your gear (or send it back to the factory) when the battery fails. And it will fail, eventually. Maybe not for a long time, but failure is inevitable, for all of us (even those of us who are battery powered).

[Brad W]

@Bill so are you saying the previously tested gen 1, gen 2, which showed 6,400mah rated energy were incorrect?

[Bill Budney]

I have no idea what is correct or incorrect here. I’m just interpreting what Nitecore says about it.

They are pretty clear, “The actual capacity of the power bank remains unchanged“.

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