Review: Retractable charging made easy with Ugreen’s Nexode power bank, plugs and cables
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From portable power banks to clutter-free car chargers, Ugreen's Nexode range of retractables is ideal for travel tech users.
If you travel a lot, or even if you just spend a bit of time exploring the great outdoors, you'll be familiar with the need to charge up your tech on the move.
Whether it's a phone or a drone, charging on the go generally requires two things. A power source, and a cable.
Ugreen is one of a handful of companies embracing a new technological trend of blending these two parts into one device.
And I've been testing the latest selection of Nexode retractable device over the summer. Here's what I've discovered about them.
Ugreen Nexode Power Bank
Finding a portable power bank with a 20,000mAh battery and a 165 watt output isn't much of a challenge these days. But finding one with a retractable cable is. And finding one for less than £100 used to be pretty much impossible - until now.
This Nexode power bank is a fairly heavy little thing, but it packs in all the tech you'd need from a portable power source.
The display, for example, is easy to understand and gives you all the information you'll need about what's going in, what's going out, and how much is left in the tank.
On the top, there's a USB-A port, a USB-C port which can accept power in and out, and then the trick retractable cable.
It's easy to undersell this technology. Even though the power bank comes with a meaty USB-C cable in the box, sometimes you just don't want another peripheral to pack away - and being able to pop out a thin, flat cable that's rated at 100 watts is so useful. It can even double as the unit's charging lead. So you simply don't need to carry wires around any more.
The cable doesn't go out all that far, perhaps just over half a metre. But you can stop it at any stage, and it's comfortably long enough to have it sat next to your phone, or tablet, or laptop, or... Whatever it is you're charging.
To retract it, just give it a little tweak and it recoils quickly and smoothly. And the plug sits flush on the base of the unit, held on by a magnet. It's so neat.
The fact it can put out 100 watts - more than enough for most smartphones on the market - and the fact it can charge up from flat in two hours, really is the icing on the cake. It's a brilliant bit of kit.
Ugreen Nexode 65W Charger
I really think this might be the best use of a retractable cable, especially for frequent travellers. It has two USB sockets, A and C, and a short retractable cable built in. This means you simply don't need to carry a wire around with you any more. As long as you only need to charge one device at a time, it's got a 60 watt cable ready to go.
And, if you do need to top up another device, just connect a cable and share up to 65 watts of power across two or three sockets.
GaN USB wall plugs can obviously be much more compact than this, and it is a little heavy, but it's just such a neat little all-in one unit and an absolute bargain if you can catch the offer.
Ugreen Nexode Car Charger
Similar to the wall charger, this compact little car charger offers a retractable cable aimed at keeping the inside of your car clutter-free.
Quite remarkably, it has a potential output of 145 watts, which is spread across four different power sources. There's one USB-A socket, two USB-C sockets, and a retractable cable.
You might think this is a bit of a niche product, given that modern cars have at least a few USB-C sockets these days, and maybe even a built-in wireless charger. But not all do.
And even if your car is kitted out, it's ideal for people who take a lot of tech with them on road trips.
It's also going to be very useful for families, because kids will no longer need to fight over the socket in the back. There are plenty of outputs once this is plugged in.
Being able to share 145 watts from one power source is more than enough reason to invest in one of these, but the retractable cable means there's one less thing to lose down the side of the seat.
It's a shame the built-in cable pops out awkwardly rather than tucks away like the other units do, but apart from that it's a top piece of tech for a pretty decent price.
Ugreen Nexode Retractable USB-C Cable
This might be one of those devices nobody really strictly needs, but everyone really wants. It's a little "puck" that contains two lengths of high-output USB-C lead that you can use for charging and data transfer.
The handy thing about it is its neatness. No more wrapping up cables and coming back to them to find them all tangled, this little gadget packs in a metre of flat wire, ready to reel out and reel in any time.
It's small enough to fit in a pocket quite easily, but big enough to provide up to 100 watts of power.
Yes, you can buy retractable cables like this in a pound shop, but they absolutely won't be able to charge a MacBook Pro, or transfer data at up to 480Mbps.
Perhaps it is a luxury item, but it's far from a luxury price. It's a great addition to the Nexode retractable range.
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