(Last Updated On: December 1, 2020)

We’ve reviewed another power bank with a built-in charging cable, like the EasyAcc with a built-in Micro-USB cable and although we had our doubts on whether it could deliver a good charging experience, it showed us that it’s not that bad.

Power banks with built-in charging cables can sometimes be ambiguous since the cable itself is not really in your control.

Of course, you’re going to purchase the charger that features the charging cable that suits your needs but the length of the cable isn’t really in your control. These kinds of chargers can either be more versatile and much less versatile than power banks with just USB charging Output ports.

In this review at Charger Harbor, we’ve got this Jackery Bolt power bank that has more than just a single built-in cable and can provide a charging experience that can fit your needs.

Similar Power Banks with Built-in Cables:

iWalk Power Bank with Three Built-in Cables

Power

Power Capacity

The Jackery Bolt has a power capacity of 6,000mAh and with the use of Panasonic battery cells and a max output of 2.4 Amps, there’s not much power capacity that’s going to be lost here, even if you charge 3 devices at the same time.

With that said, the power bank can average at about 5,200mAh of Output power capacity and we gotta say that’s pretty good.

Power Capacity for Smartphones and Tablets

With an Output power capacity of 5,200mAh, you can expect 2 full charges for most smartphones and some will receive 1.5 charges for smartphones with bigger battery capacities. Overall, it’s a smartphone power bank that’s meant to be used mostly by smartphones and other devices with similar battery capacities to that of smartphones.

If you want to charge devices like a tablet, which have larger battery capacities, then you’re going to either manage to get 1 full charge or less. You’ll be able to get 1 full charge by charging an iPad Mini 4 because it has a battery capacity of 5,124mAh and that’s really on the brim of what the Bolt has to offer.

Also, if you want to charge a tablet to its full power capacity then we recommend charging it alone since some power capacity will be going to another device if you charge it with another device.

Although it’s not meant to charge tablets, it can do quite a good job if you want to focus the charging solely on charging a tablet.

Devices	Jackery Bolt 6,000mAh Power Bank (5,200mAh)	Phone Capacity	Jackery Bolt 6,000mAh Power Bank Left Over Capacity after One Charge # of Full Charges for the Device
iPhone SE	5,200mAh	1,624mAh	3,576mAh 3.2 Full Charges
iPhone 6	5,200mAh	1,810mAh	3,390mAh 2.8 Full Charges
iPhone 6 Plus	5,200mAh	2,915mAh	2,285mAh 1.7 Full Charges
iPhone 6s	5,200mAh	1,715mAh	3,485mAh 3.0 Full Charges
iPhone 6s Plus	5,200mAh	2,750mAh	2,450mAh 1.8 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S6	5,200mAh	2,550mAh	2,650mAh 2 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge	5,200mAh	2,600mAh	2,600mAh 2 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S7	5,200mAh	3,000mAh	2,200mAh 1.7 Full Charges
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	5,200mAh	3,600mAh	1,600mAh 1.4 Full Charges

Output Charging:    Micro-USB / Lightning /  USB Output Port

3 Ways of Charging with the Jackery Bolt

The Jackery Bolt has a total of 3 ways to charge devices. There’s the Micro-USB for Android devices or any other devices that can charge with Micro-USB. Then there’s the Lighting cable that is used to charge iPhones and iPads.

Lastly, there’s the freelancer USB charging port that allows you to plug in any charging cable and charge your device from there.

It’s awesome for a power bank to do this. Instead of just having a single built-in cable, they have both types of charging cables and a USB charging port.

This enables the power bank to provide a universal charging experience to nearly anyone that wants to use it, and the only flaw with this kind of set-up is the lack of a Type-C charging cable being built into the power bank, although that’s still quite a new way of charging.

The power bank offers a free range charging set-up that’s ready to go for nearly any device that you or someone close to you want to charge.

Charging 2 Devices at Once is Still Good

Even though one of the coolest things is that you can charge 3 devices at the same time through the built-in cables and the USB charging port, the charging speed is very lacking if you’re charging 3 devices at once.

The max Output of the Jackery Bolt is 5V/2.4A, and although that generally sounds good, it’s not. If a single device is being charged that’s good because then the most amount of Amps will be provided to the device that’s being charged alone.

This goes for tablets and devices like iPads because they’re able to charge at 2.4 Amps.

Once you begin charging two devices at the same time, that’s when the charging speed will become split.

If you’re charging two smartphones, then it’s likely that the charging speed for both smartphones will be 1.2 Amps each, because, in the end, the power bank is only able to Output 2.4 Amps. In this case, then, charging a tablet isn’t the best choice since it’s going to be charging well under its 2.4 Amp limit.

Charging 3 Devices at Once May Not be the Best for Speed

Then there’s the ability of the Jackery charger being able to charge 3 devices at the same time, such as connecting a charging cable to the USB port. We did say that charging 3 devices at once is awesome, but the experience of charging 3 devices with the Jackery Bolt isn’t the best.

This is because the 2.4 Amps is being drawn and separated into 3 different devices. So each device that’s being charged in this trifecta is most likely receiving a lower charging speed than what it’s capable of.

It’s also at this point when the 3 charging devices won’t likely reach their full capacities since 3 devices are pulling from the same 6,000mAh power capacity.

Overall, the concept for this power bank to be able to charge 3 devices at once is great, but the charging Output speed could use improvements because it begins falling apart when you charge 2 devices at once. Charging 3 devices at once isn’t going to be the fastest.

Input Charging:  Micro-USB 5V/2.0A

The recharging is done through your traditional Micro-USB Input port and can charge at 2.0A if you’re using a 2 Amp wall charger. If you’re recharging the Jackery Bolt at 2 Amps, then you can expect it to be fully charged in about 3 hours.

However, if you’re using a 1 Amp wall charger then the Bolt will be recharged in 6 hours. Overall, you should use a 2 Amp wall charger or higher to get the fastest charging possible.

Design

Size and Weight:

The Jackery Bolt’s design is matchable to its power capacity, so it’s not that large. The length of the Bolt power bank is 4.3 inches, a width of 1.9 inches, and a thickness of 0.9 inches.

It weighs 5.3 ounces, so it’s also very light. With its size and weight, you’ll have no problem with portability and if you wanted to, you can fit this power bank into a pocket.

Although, it will have to fit into larger than the usual pocket, preferably back pockets. If that doesn’t work out since the thickness is 0.9 inches, you can easily just hold it in your hands to put it into a bag.

One of the best ways that you can use this power bank would be in your hand, not only because of its dimensions and weight, it’s because of the built-in charging cables.

With most cables, they start at 3 feet long but in this case, the cables are very localized to the power bank so you can use your smartphone while it’s close by.

Functional Components:

The functional parts of the Jackery Bolt are easy to find and use. The two built-in charging cables are installed on both sides of the power bank. Then nearly the rest of the functional things are on a panel of the charger.

The panel includes the flashlight, a power button, the USB Output port, and the Micro-USB Input Port. There are 4 LED power capacity indicators on top of the charger.

You need to remember to turn on the power bank by pressing the power button since the charger doesn’t automatically detect charging.

However, it does turn off automatically if the Bolt isn’t charging anything. To turn on the flashlight, the power button needs to be tapped twice to turn it on and tapped twice again to turn it off.

it’s quite easy to use the built-in cables by just pulling them out and use them. But it’s important to remember that they’re quite short at 5 inches long.

RAVPower 9,000mAh Power Bank with Lightning Cable

Build

Structure and Material:

The build of the Jackery Bolt is very similar to other Jackery portable chargers. It has an Aluminum center body and the two side panels are made of plastic. So it has a strong outer structure.

With that said, though, the main feature of this power bank is the built-in cables. This is because if the cables were to break, then a vital part of the power bank would be useless. We’re not saying that the Lightning or Micro-USB cable is weak, they’re very durable and flexible.

However, if the charging heads or the cable itself were to break, then it wouldn’t bode very well with how the charger is used.

Tech:

On the tech build side of things, it does well. Of course, it has the safety tech circuitry going on inside of it, with Temperature control, Short-circuit prevention, and Overcharge-control.

The power capacity is mostly the same because of the use of Panasonic cells and because the charger is only able to Output 2.4 Amps of current which as a result doesn’t generate too much heat energy to be lost.

As we just mentioned the power bank does use Panasonic batteries. Just like Anker’s products with their PowerCore 20100 and other portable chargers, or other Jackery products.

Chargers that take use of Panasonic batteries are overall better at providing a better charging experience since they give a better conversion rate. The batteries with the Jackery Bolt are also able to degrade a lot less fast.

OLALA 13,000mAh Power Bank with Lightning Cable

Reliability

This Jackery power bank is going to be very reliable in nearly every charging situation. This is because it uses the two most used charging cables that are already built right into the power bank itself.

Not only that, but it also has a USB output that you can use to charge any other device that you may have, resulting in its ability to charge 3 devices at once; but charging 3 devices at once will result in very slow charging for the 3 devices because of the max output of 2.4 Amps.

With that said, you can still charge any device that can charge using a Micro-USB or any device that needs charging through Lightning cable right out of the box. The portability is also another cool thing since it’s really small and lightweight that it can be carried right on you with no worries.

To make the most out of the charging experience, though, you should limit it to charging 2 devices at once for an acceptable charging speed.

Summary:

Power:

It has a really good capacity that is about 1,000mAh less than its stated 6,000mAh power capacity. Its good conversion rate can be attributed to its use of Panasonic battery cells.

It can charge 3 devices at once but that’s not a wise choice since the Output power is only 2.4 Amps and as a result, the 3 devices being charged will charge slowly. Best to keep it at 2.

Design:

The design of the charger barely has any flaws. It has a length that’s about the size of a smartphone. The width and thickness of the charger make it quite possible to fit it into a pocket if it’s large enough.

If not, you can always hold it or place it in a bag. The built-in Lightning and Micro-USB cable are easy to access and use because they’re rather short and very bendable.

Build:

Its build is possibly the strongest aspect of it. It has an Aluminum center body and side panels that are made of plastic.

On the inside, it has safety tech features but the use of Panasonic battery cells is what makes it truly great with an awesome conversion rate and the batteries can last twice as long as traditional batteries.

Reliability:

It’s going to be very reliable in the way that it has built-in cables for the most used charging cables. But it won’t be very reliable if you’re charging 3 devices at once because of the limited charging speed.

Power Banks with Built-in Cables Reviews

Specs of the Jackery Bolt 6,000mAh Power Bank with Built-in Cables:

• Power Capacity: 6,000mAh
• Output:      Max Output: 5V/2.4A
• Input: 5V/2.0A via Micro USB Input
• LED Power Indicators: 4 LED Power Capacity Indicators
• Size: 4.3 x 1.9 x 0.9 inches
• Weight: 5.3 Ounces

Conclusion:

power banks with built-in charging cables aren’t the most favorited kind of chargers since the cables can be quite short, and if the cables were to break, then a vital part of the power bank would be rendered useless.

In this case, we like what we see since the charging cables are both different and cater to two different types of devices. They’re built into the charger very well. Also, the power bank has a USB charging output port that allows you to possibly charge a device that requires a Type-C cable.

This Jackery Bolt truly has it all, but it’s up to you to decide if having all the charging options matter to you. Or if you’re more of a free-range kind of person.