CUKTECH 20 Powerbank review: Perfect for anxious travellers

I must admit that if there’s one area of the tech world that I didn’t think would have that much variety or innovation, it’s portable power banks. After all, all they need to do is store and deliver power to portable devices, and you can only take ones of a certain capacity on aeroplanes anyway. How advanced can they get?

It turns out, CUKTECH has an answer for that - very. With the addition of a small LCD that lets you keep an eye on exactly how much power is going in and out of the device, I’ve found it to be the perfect travelling companion for those who are always a little anxious about where, or when, their device is going to get its next top-up.

The numbers, Mason!

Outside of its capacity and build quality, which I’ll come onto, the major selling point of the CUKTECH 20 is its square LCD screen that resides on top. At the press of a button, the screen illuminates to show a litany of data, all of which is extremely helpful in understanding what’s going on with the bank.

Large and obvious is the total percentage remaining, right down to two decimal places. This updates in real time as you charge or discharge the device. It’s incredibly satisfying to see charge trickle in or out and provides a sense of calm as you know exactly where the device is up to.

That same peace of mind extends to the rest of the data shown on the display, which shows the total wattage, voltage, and amperage for each of the outputs on the charger. If you’re someone who understands what all of this data means, you’ll likely get a lot out of it. But simply watching the wattage increase and decrease at different rates depending on which device you plug in is especially helpful to your average consumer.

For example, I often used the power bank to keep my Steam Deck OLED on the go for longer gaming sessions. Seeing it pull the full 45 watts from the power bank lets me know that there’s still a bunch of capacity for the bank to also charge devices like my AirPods or even my laptop at the same time, given there’s 210w of capacity at any one time.

Perhaps my favourite feature of the screen is that it has a countdown timer on it. Depending on how much power you’re drawing, you can see exactly when the power bank is expected to run out of steam, which is perfect for travellers who are constantly worrying about whether they’re going to run out of juice.

If I had one complaint about the screen, it’s that it doesn’t totally utilise the latest technology available on the market. Similar chargers of this ilk have opted to use OLED screens that completely blend into the device’s design, there as the black background of the CUKTECH’s has a tell-tale backlight bleed visible at every angle. It’s a small detail that detracts from the premium feel of the device but is reflected somewhere in the price of purchase.

Power Play

Outside of its USP, the CUKTECH 20 is a relatively well-constructed device. It has a silver and black plastic housing, which feels sturdy in the hand mostly down to its weight. As a 25,0000 mAh device, there’s no getting around that you’ll likely feel this in your backpack, but the outer finish at least makes it look like it can stand the wear and tear of daily life.

There’s almost an element of industrial design to the device, with some of the bank's inners exposed through the translucent top panel. An LED lightbar zooms up and down the device when either charging or discharging too, which looks aesthetic as well as quickly telling you when something is charging.

The only other point of contact you’ll have with the top of the device is a small button used to wake the screen and swipe through a couple of menus. You can choose to either see a battery percentage or swap to a couple of graphs that gauge the input and output of the device.

There’s also an option to keep the screen from dimming, which I found exceptionally useful when I opted to use the device as a desktop charging hub rather than a portable workhorse.

As for inputs and outputs, the two USB C and single USB A connections are pretty standard for most power banks these days. The combination allows you to charge pretty much anything you want from the bank simultaneously. As mentioned, I once had my Steam Deck, MacBook Air, and AirPod Pro’s all feeding from this one device, and it kept me going throughout an entire remote workday session in a cafe.

Even after draining the entire bank, the CUKTECH 20 is able to drink up power just as quickly as it gives out. In just over an hour, I was able to get the device back up to full charge and was raring to go for another day of nomadic work.

The Verdict

The CUKTECH 20 adds some much-needed clarity to your relationship with it. No longer are you required to guestimate how much charge you have left from a set of meagre dots - this device is plain and upfront about how much charge it has, and what it’s doing with it.

The design features won’t be for everyone, and it does feel a little behind the times in some areas. However, if you’re looking for something that can power an entire remote working setup for a full day, without the usual charge anxiety, the CUKTECH 20 is an excellent choice.

4/5

Review unit provided by the manufacturer. GGRecon uses affiliate links, if you purchase any products from our links we may earn a commission.