Bauhn Power Bank On Its Way to Aldi

This post is an open thread and contains affiliate links.

This summer, my family went to Disney World. We also went tent camping.

These two things would seems worlds apart. And they are. One of them put my family in a resort in the most famous vacation bubble in the world; the other dropped us on a campsite where rain pelted our tent and we had to use the bathroom in a communal showerhouse.

But on one point they were very similar — our phones were indispensable, and power was precious. Whether it was using the Disney app to check ride wait times or checking our relative location on a remote trail, our phones were seemingly ever at the ready. That drained a lot of power, and while our phones have good battery life, hours and hours of intense phone use can test even the best of phones.

We’ve long found battery packs — or power banks, as they’re also known — to be valuable tools for any excursion where rechargeable electronic devices are essential and ready access to a socket is unreliable. They’re an insurance policy against not having power when you need, say, a phone late in the day.

Aldi has sold power banks over the years. (I used such a power bank at Disney World.) I think it’s always good to see the grocer circulate them back around as limited-time buys — something I wish it did more often — which is why I was happy to see Aldi stocking one yet again this summer.

What We Know:

The Bauhn Power Bank (Product Code: 712237) is an Aldi Find. It’s only in stores for a limited time, and once it’s sold out, you won’t be able to get it again until it comes back, which may be next year or may be never. If you can’t find one in stores, you’re out of luck.

It comes in four possible colors: black, silver, pink, or sea moss.

At post time, the bank retails for $14.99. That’s on the low end of prices for power banks, especially ones with this one’s features.

Those features, according to Aldi, include:

• 20,000 mAh capacity
• Charges 3 devices at once
• USB-C Input & Output
• 18W Max Power Out

The mAh (milliampere-hours) number is particularly important. It’s a measure of a battery’s capacity: the higher the number, the more the battery stores. 20,000 mAh isn’t the highest out there, but it’s a reasonable amount compared to other power banks. The 18W power out also means that you should be able to fast charge devices simultaneously, a plus if you need to recharge something in a hurry.

One thing to keep in mind is that the “3 devices at once” claim deserves qualification. There are two standard USB-A ports that are compatible with most charging cords. The USB-C, though, is less common for running from a power source, so it might not be as practical for charging unless you happen to have, say, a cable with USB-C on both ends for charging a USB-C compatible phone. So while this is advertised as a 3-device bank, for most people it’s going to be a 2-device bank unless you spring for a specialized cable.

What We Don’t Know:

We haven’t tested this particular power bank, so we don’t know how fast it charges, how well it charges other devices, or how long it lasts. We’ve created this open thread for users to share their experiences.

Have you tried out this power bank? Let us know about it in the comments.