Under a Thousand: Majorly value for money for those seeking a fast charging power bank on a budget!

You can actually carry it in a deep-enough jacket or even trouser pocket (Express Photo)

A smart-looking power bank

What’s more, it looks good. The sub-Rs 1,000 segment generally seems to power banks that are extremely basic in design and are more about capacity. Stuffcool, to its credit, has managed to add some style to the Major. It is made of plastic but has a textured top with thin stripes, and a smooth, matte base. Stuffcool has also kept its branding on top of the device and also kept the battery life indicating LEDs in a tiny blue enclosure. The base and the sides are smooth, with a switch-on button on one side and rather oddly, a micro USB port on another. One of the shorter sides is plain, while the other has three ports – one USB Type-C and two USB Type-A. All of this in a rather compact and light body – the Major is 140 mm long and 17 mm slim, and weighs 230 grams. You can actually carry it in a deep-enough jacket or even trouser pocket, as it is slightly thicker and heavier than a regular smartphone. In a sea of uniform, functional-dominated power banks, the Stuffcool Major cuts a markedly different and smart figure. 

It is also made in India (Express Photo)

Major-ly impressive performance 

Its real strength, however, is its performance. Those three ports charge at surprisingly good speeds for the price point – the Type-C port can charge at 20W, while each of the two Type-A ports can charge at 22.5W. And it supports charging standards of just about every smartphone brand out there, so you can get your iPhone, OnePlus, Samsung Galaxy, Realme, Vivo or Xiaomi/Redmi charged at reasonably brisk rates. It charged the iPhone 14/15 up to 50 per cent in half an hour, which is about the same as a power outlet. In fact, most phones can get a 30-50 per cent boost through half an hour of charging, which is very impressive. Charging speeds dip a little when you charge multiple devices at the same time, but even then. We were able to charge our iPhone 15  fully twice with it, and our OnePlus 11 one and a half times, which is pretty good. 

You can also find out when the power bank is charging devices speedily – if one of the LED indicators on the power bank goes green, the power bank is charging at a high speed. This use of LED indicators to show charging speed is a neat touch which we hope other power banks will pick up too. What’s more, the Major itself can be charged in under four hours, using either the Type-C port or the micro USB port, with an 18W charger.

We do not understand the need for the micro USB port, as it can be used only to charge the power bank and not too many folks have those cables in the USB type-C era. It would have made better sense to either have another Type-C port or to not have the micro USB port at all, in our opinion. It would also have been good to have a USB Type A to Type C short cable in the box as well – the Major ships with a single Type-C to Type-C cable.  Some people might not like the short Type-C to Type-C cable, but we prefer shorter cables with power banks as they create fewer tangles. This being a Stuffcool product, the Major comes with several safety protocols and also BIS approval. It is also made in India.

It looks good and is easy to carry around (Express Photo)

It looks good, it is easy to carry around (you can easily take it on a flight), has plenty of capacity and it charges fast. All at Rs 999.  That makes the Stuffcool Major perhaps the best fast-charging budget power bank out there. Get it if you want plenty of mAh at a brisk W for your smartphones for under a thousand bucks!