Price: £33
Rating: 9

Zendure's A2 6000mAh power bank hits the sweet spot between price, capacity and portabilty. (Also see: Best power banks 2014.)

We've reviewed plenty of power banks over the past couple of months, and without exception every one has had a catch. If they're high in capacity then they're big and heavy; if they're portable then they have insufficient capacity to fully charge your phoneor tablet- or they take hours to charge over a meagre 0.5A output; and if they support fancy features such as passthrough charging then they're expensive.See allphone accessoriesandtablet accessories.

Previously, the closest thing we had to a happy medium was the Lumsing 10400mAh Power Bank. At £17 it's great value, it's stylish, it offers fast charging and it's reasonably portable, although you still wouldn't carry this brick in your pocket, and it takes a while to recharge. The Zendure A2 changes everything.

Compact, lighter than you might expect and reassuringly durable, this 6000mAh power bank will deliver around 4800mAh to your mobile devices (some energy will naturally be lost through heat generated and voltage conversion, although Zendure claims its A2 has a market-leading 80 percent efficiency rate). That's plenty to fully charge a smartphone at least once, probably twice.

Although it has just the one USB output it's rated at 2.1A, which translates to fast charging for compatible devices. The A2's Micro-USB input is also nicely specified at 1.5A, meaning you could recharge this power bank in just four hours.

It's not the only power bank in Zendure's range - there's also the £42 9000mAh A3, £49 12000mAh A4 and £59 15000mAh A5, each of which feature two USB outputs. (All are available via Amazon UK.) But we think the £33 A2 hits the sweet spot between price, capacity and portability. Zendure supplies a soft carry pouch in the box, but you could realistically slip this power bank into a pocket.

The Zendure A2 is well equipped for a life on the road, too. Built from crushproof PC/ABS composite material with dual-injection molding and a shock-absorbing central belt, this silver block is not only tough but it looks cool. Maybe not as cool-looking as a McLaren Spider, but definitely tougher (check out the YouTube video below).

In common with the vastly more expensive LimeFuel Blast L180X Prothis Zendure A2 supports passthrough charging. It's an incredibly useful feature, allowing you to simultaneously charge both smartphone and power bank via a single power point, ensuring that both are full up and ready to go whenever you are.

If your phone tends to give up mid-afternoon, just whip out the Zendure A2 and you can double or even triple its life. Even if your battery gives up the ghost less frequently, the A2 will hold 95 percent of its charge for up to six months.

Also like the LimeFuel the Zendure supports auto-on and -off. This prevents the power draining after your phone has finished charging or you've forgotten to switch off the A2, and also means you won't have to fiddle around with buttons to get your device charging. Just plug it in and charging begins. Simple.

There is a single button on the Zendure A2, although this is used only to check the remaining battery capacity. As with all other power banks the A2 uses a four-LED system, but with its 6000mAh capacity each represents a much smaller 1500mAh, making it easier to work out just how much remains.

Zendure supplies a flat Micro-USB cable in the box; if your device uses a proprietary connector you'll need to provide your own cable.

The power to pound ratio isn't as high as it is with power banks such as the aforementioned Lumsing or the EC Technology 22400mAh High Capacity Power Bank, but we think features such as passthrough charging, auto-on and its durable, portable design make this Zendure the better deal.

Read next:How to improve smartphone battery life.

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Buying Advice

Zendure's A2 is the best power bank we've seen, mixing great value, build and portability with useful capacity. This portable phone- and tablet charger just shot straight to the top of our power banks chart.