Nitecore Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 Powerbank Review
The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank is an airline-approved 10,000mAh powerbank with two USB-C ports and is capable of 30W! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank product page.
Versions
Two versions of the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank are available, but they differ only in the color of the little hexagons on both sides. Blue (as seen here) and orange are available. This is generation 2 of this device.
Price
The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank sells for $119.95 and is available at nitecorestore.com.
What’s Included
- Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank
- Charging cable
- Manual
Package and Manual
The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank is wrapped in this thin plastic baggie. I note this because, as far as I can tell, this is the only place you’ll see all these warnings.
Build Quality of the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank
The build quality is very good. There’s no disassembly here, but the product feels like a LiPO battery with a carbon fiber wrapper. The carbon fiber is fantastic, too.
The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank is quite similar to the Nitecore NB Plus power bank. Both have 10,000mAh capacity. The main difference is the size and this has two USB-C ports, while the NB Plus has one A and one C port. It’s also much cheaper.
The branding is subtle!
I’d love to have the orange accent version! But the little accent areas don’t actually do anything as far as I can tell. Edit: They do actually do something! Specifically, they’re magnesium alloy, and they are part of the chassis (I think). Their role is to lighten the device (more so than an aluminum alloy would!). They also provide some heat dissipation (according to Nitecore).
One more point about the build quality – There are no seams along any of the sides or one end. The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank is basically a carbon fiber cup into which the LiPO was placed and capped with the two charging ports. It’s very nicely built because of this, and feels high-quality.
Size and Comps
Dimensions L-4.98″ x W-1.89″ x H-0.62″
Weight 6 oz
It’s a very slim size. Here it is compared to a couple of familiar flashlights:
Here’s the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 Powerbank in hand:
Power
The Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank has a built-in 10,000mAh LiPO that can charge at 5V, 9V, or 12V.
One point about the power source being used inside the Carbo 10000. Nitecore says the battery is better and offers
More about the ports below!
Charging
That 10,000mAh LiPO is charged via the center USB-C port on the flat side of the device. It’s labeled “IN/OUT1.”
Four LEDs describe the current state of charge.
Four constant blue LEDs: 75-100%
Three constant blue LEDs: 50-75%
Two constant blue LEDs: 25-50%
One constant blue LED: 3-25%
One flashing blue LED: 0-3%
Here’s a charging test for a number of ways to charge – C to C and A to C. Both 9V and 5V work great. For whatever reason, my setup didn’t trigger 12V charging (thought it should be perfectly capable – read on.)
Nitecore does include a charging cable with the Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank.
User Interface and Operation
There are no switches on the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank. That little power icon on the left (below) does look like it might be a switch, but I think it’s not so much a switch as it is a sensor.
And it does seem to be a sensor. Touching the front or sides of the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank anywhere doesn’t cause any result, but touching the power icon causes the battery indicator to light up for a few seconds.
Testing the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank
This is just going to be a data dump – if you’re interested in specifics, check these graphs! Output at 5V and 9V works fine, and the output can even be triggered to output 20V (even though 20V isn’t even a claimed output). Twenty volt output doesn’t meet the 30W claim, though, but that’s fine (since Nitecore makes no claims there anyway.)
Summary and Conclusion on the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank
I like this powerbank quite a bit and think it’ll be very useful for a few reasons. First, the capacity of 10,000mAh is big enough to charge most iPhone and probably charge other devices with bigger batteries at least a bit. (For example, the iPad Pro battery size is just over 10,000mAh itself!) Secondly, the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank has two USB-C ports that can be used at the same time. I am also a fan in general of the size and shape. One (minor) complaint I had about the NB Plus was that the sides are so rounded. Not so for this Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank, and I do in fact like that a lot better! The build quality is probably one of the best in the powerbank game, too, because it’s essentially a unibody carbon fiber case. That’s very nice!
What I like about the Nitecore Carbo 10000 Gen2 powerbank
- Two USB-C ports
- USB-C port is good for quick charging and discharging
- The use of carbon fiber
- Very simple to use
What I don’t like
- Cost
- Couldn’t trigger 12V input or output
Notes
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Great job, as usual — thank you for doing these reviews! Question: I wonder if you could describe why this Carbo 10000 costs more than twice as much as the NB 10000?
I’m not really sure I know why this one is twice as pricey as the NB 10000. I think the build quality here is better. But more specifically, the design choices make it more costly too, and reasonably so – this is a better product.
But twice the price, I am not sure, really.
The rounded corners are a big yes for me, this makes the battery easier to slide into a tight spot without worrying about damaging a bag or something else.
Yeah, that aspect is great!