So after several years as a happy Surface Pro 3/Surface Pro 4 user, I finally bit the bullet and switched back to a more classic 2 in 1 - the HP Spectre X360. I was suckered in by the 4k screen, traditional hinge and faster processor - but more importantly, by its adoption of USB-C. (Highly recommended, by the way - it's a fantastic laptop and has been drawing positive comments from people everywhere I take it so far.)
Now, I'm on a mission to rework my bag around USB-C charging. My iPhone prevents me from reaching the holy grail of one charger for everything, but for the first time in history I can finally see a path to carrying only one cable type in a few years... sharing the same charger between my laptop and my Nintendo Switch is a revelation, at least.
Unfortunately, USB-C is still a fragmented mess (especially with the power delivery voltage complexity) and I'm having trouble choosing accessories. What do you all use for:
- USB-C PD wall chargers?
- USB-C PD battery packs?
- USB-C accessories (port converters? hubs? video dongles? docking stations? breakout boxes? ...?)
- ...?
Devices I've already tried and am liking include:
Anker PowerPort+ (1x USB-C PD, 4x USB) - this one is an update of the classic Anker desktop charger box. It works great and charges my laptop without any problems, but it's really big and chunky - more of a desktop solution than a portable one. I took it on my last trip and it worked well, but having to carry the extra IEC power cord was a drag, both literally and figuratively. Anyone got a smaller suggestion that works as well, maybe sacrificing a USB port or two in the process?
RAVPower USB-C PD Power Bank - ostensibly $85 but an offer is available to drop it down to $60. This does what it says on the tin - it successfully charges my laptop or Switch over USB-C PD. It also has a neat feature where the USB output ports can function as a USB hub, helping avoid the need to carry breakout adapters. It's heavy, though, and I do question the capacity - in theory, this should be larger capacity than my laptop's internal battery, but in practice it only adds an extra hour or two, so I suspect there's some serious conversion inefficiency going on. Still, it's saved my bacon already once, and it's something that wasn't even possible before. I'm not going to hold it up as the be all end all of power banks, but it's a good first attempt in the space.
Devices I'm looking for include:
- Smaller wall adapter. The Anker one is just too big for travel.
- USB-C to DisplayPort adapter for my desk. I use DisplayPort 1.4 monitor chaining because I'm a weirdo (and because my Surface Pro required it for multimon), so I'm hoping to find an adapter where this actually works. I'll probably throw some money randomly at Amazon here soon and see what I can find.
- Mobile USB-C breakout box. I'd love to carry a single small box that breaks out all the ports I might want regularly - a few USB 3.0 ports, maybe VGA and HDMI, and perhaps something else useful I haven't thought of yet (microSD?). It should be super small (ideally a collapsible self-contained cable, not something awkwardly splaying out the side). And I'd love for it to include a USB-C PD passthrough port, especially if I'm going to use it as a faux docking station.
- Breakaway USB-C power cable. I miss the magnetic safety of the Surface cable already. But all the ones I've seen have terrible reviews saying they're either unsafe or unreliable. Looking forward to someone reliably solving this problem.
So, FlyerTalk - how are you all making the USB-C jump? What should I be carrying in my bag?