Sharge x OnePlus Pouch: The ultimate power bank for fans of both brands ^↺

Sharge has laid its normal tech enthusiast-grade esthetics aside for this collaboration, and it shows even in its retail packaging: a hybrid of the box for one of OnePlus' more recent flagship smartphones and that of the Shargeek 170. 

It contains the eponymous Power Bank, installed on its charger out of the box, as well as the cable with a handy velcro tie in addition to its well-hyped clips. 

The power bank and charger do indeed snap together as advertised with sufficiently powerful magnets, which will repel each other in an equally pointed manner if you try to connect them the wrong way around. The system works via POGO pins with a unique interface finished in OnePlus red to contrast with the white plastic that covers most of the rest of the accessory.

It ends in a shiny silver metallic cap that also houses the slots for the cable clips. 

There are two of those, one to each side. The clips also work as intended, and have a little release button apiece that I found work well even with short fingernails.

They are tightly bound around the cable's thick shielding, yet can be adjusted with some pulling. I'm not very worried about damaging either by making a loop around the end of the power bank and so on.

The cable ends in caps for the USB-C connectors, which can also slide down and lock into place by turning said connectors to one side.

The Pouch also came with multiple international adapters for the power brick end, which also click perfectly into place for the UK/Republic of Ireland charging set-up I need. 

On that note, I was compelled to start the Pouch's testing with my (admittedly extremely old) OnePlus 3 (which I keep alive for a number of reasons, the dedicated ceramic fingerprint sensor among them). Admittedly, I was not very optimistic, as so few third-party chargers have managed to match the smartphone's Dash Charge VOOC ~4 amp (A) requirement, no matter how fancy or GaN-powered. However...

...it worked! The Pouch does apparently support the old VOOC standard, getting closest to the ~5V/4A power profile since the Chargeasap Flash Pro. It is admittedly gratifying to see that charging LED go blue rather than red (thereby indicating full-speed charging).

It did so on connection to either the Pouch's power brick or power bank, via either of the latter's dual USB-C ports. One is found at the bottom in line with that of the charger (USB-C1), whereas the other (USB-C2) is side-mounted.

It does fall back down to standard charging speeds when the power bank is also connected, thereby suggesting that most of the energy goes through the POGO pins in that mode. 

That observation held true no matter what kind of device was connected to the power bank while both were charging.

On that note, the Pouch 3-in-1 system was also compatible with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra...

...as well as an iPhone 13 Pro.

Then again, I have noticed that those devices charge at profoundly standard rates (particularly the 13 Pro, although that is all I have come to expect at this stage) via either the power brick or USB-C1, with slower performance from the USB-C2 port due to its reduced specs (20V/2A).

Finally, the Pouch power bank/charger combo also charges itself from the wall as intended.

I had harbored doubts that the magnets would hold in that position - especially with the weight of the cable clipped into place - but they have not failed yet.

The power bank indicates charging via a traditional 4-LED system, and consistently takes about an hour and 45 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%. 

I also suspected the whole Pouch system would get excessively hot while charging, but, again, it did not.

My worries about its ability to maintain its appearance aside, the Pouch seems very well and solidly constructed, which is all the more impressive given its profoundly non-standard design.

The cable also seems durable enough to withstand all the pulling and cable clip adjustment it will probably endure throughout its life; then again, it is not very long (for the same reasons). It is rated as a 100W accessory, verified by using it with a compatible laptop. On the other hand, I have noticed that both parts of the charger sometimes fail to start working until the end of the cable plugged into the device to be charged is removed, turned the other way up and plugged back in again.

I received the Sharge x OnePlus Pouch for free as a review unit on May 30, 2024, and have had it in consistent use from then until now (June 8, 2024). I really hope it holds out in the long term long after its pre-orders are complete. In the meantime, there is still time to grab one at its introductory price on Sharge.com.