CUKTECH 20 portable charger review: Extensive battery life wrapped in a sleek design

There are few things as stressful as getting stranded in an airport with a dead phone. That’s why a reliable portable charger is a must-have, no matter where you travel.

The CUKTECH 20 is a high-capacity portable charger with a sleek, futuristic design. It can refuel just about any mobile device, even your laptop, which most smaller power banks aren’t capable of. With 25,000 mAh of battery life, it has enough juice to recharge phones and tablets numerous times on a single charge.

I tested out the CUKTECH 20 on a four-day trip and was glad I brought it along when my return flight got canceled. I didn’t have to worry about hunting for a charging station in the airport or risk letting any of my tech die on me.

The question is, is the CUKTECH 20’s charging performance worth the price of admission? Here’s a look at the specs and a few things you should know before buying one.

CUKTECH 20: Price and availability

The CUKTECH 20 portable charger costs $100 on Amazon (US and UK). It includes the portable charger, a soft travel pouch, a 240-watt USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable, and an instruction booklet. The included cable is for recharging the CUKTECH 20, but you can also use it to charge compatible USB Type-C devices.

CUKTECH 20: Design

One of the first things I noticed about the CUKTECH 20 was its futuristic design. It looks more like a prop from a TRON movie than a typical portable power bank. The case is a mix of smooth metallic silver plastic and lightly textured black plastic. It also resembles several of Anker’s popular power banks if you’ve considered one of those but balked at the price.

The front has a clear plastic panel with blue light strips and a TFT display. There’s one button for waking up the display and cycling through the two display modes.

The main display screen shows the current percentage of charge left in the CUKTECH 20, total input wattage, total output wattage, and the watts, amps, and volts coming or going from each port. The second screen shows a larger live reading for total input and output wattage.

The CUKTECH 20 is a 25,000 mAh portable charger. To put that into context, the iPhone 15 has a 3,349 mAh battery. The CUKTECH 20 is a bit bulky but stores a lot of power. It measures 2.17 x 2.17 x 6.3 inches and weighs 1.39 pounds. That’s about 0.3 pounds more than my 10.9-inch iPad. So, it didn’t weigh down my backpack too much, but it weighs noticeably more than an average smartphone or smaller portable charger.

Despite its size, I had no trouble going through airport security with the CUKTECH 20, so its airline-safe status is as advertised. I brought it in my laptop backpack as a carry-on item. The included travel pouch is convenient for making sure nothing gets in the ports or scratches the display while the CUKTECH 20 is in a suitcase or backpack.

CUKTECH 20: Ports

The CUKTECH 20 has one USB Type-A port and two USB Type-C ports. The USB Type-A port is only for output (charging devices) while the USB Type-C ports are for both input and output, meaning you need to use the included USB Type-C cable to recharge the CUKTECH 20.

These three ports are enough for charging most portable devices, although you may be more limited if all of your cables are USB Type-A.

The top USB Type-C port supports 140W fast charging for laptops, 120W fast charging for Xiaomi devices, and Super Fast Charging 2.0 for Samsung devices. As long as you have a compatible cable, you can use the CUKTECH 20 to charge phones, tablets, laptops, wireless headphones, wearable devices, and portable game consoles.

CUKTECH 20: Performance

I tested the CUKTECH 20 on a four-day trip, using it as my only charging supply for my iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It lasted the entire long weekend, refilling my iPad once, my Apple Watch twice, and my iPhone three times.

It charged each device swiftly, on par with the charging speed I typically get from my wireless charger at home. I never experienced any connection issues or failures to charge.

I tested each of the ports, as well, and all of them worked consistently. Two animated light strips will flash when a device is charging, which is convenient for making sure everything is working at a glance. I started the four-day trip with about an 80 percent charge on the CUKTECH 20 and still had 20 percent left over when I got home.

Charging up my devices with the CUKTECH 20 was quick, but recharging the portable charger itself was not. The sheer size of this battery means it can take a while to refill and requires more wattage than a typical phone charging brick can provide. There’s a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable included in the box, but no charging brick. So, you need to use your own.

Initially, I tried charging the CUKTECH 20 from my desktop PC. However, that would have taken roughly 60 hours, according to the estimate on the power bank’s display. When more power goes out than comes in, the CUKTECH 20’s display will show an estimated 99 hours, which happened with a small 5W iPhone charging brick I tried.

I had to charge the CUKTECH 20 directly from a wall outlet using a 20W iPad charging brick. Even then, it needed to be plugged in overnight to refill to 100 percent. A 65W laptop charger was the quickest match I found, refueling the CUKTECH 20 in about 3 and a half hours.

That said, the CUKTECH 20 supports up to 110W input, which can recharge it to 100 percent in about two hours. So, if you already have a 110W charging brick, you’re in business (for context, the MacBook Pro M3 uses a 70-watt charger). However, given the power demands the CUKTECH 20 needs to recharge in a reasonable amount of time, it would have been nice to have a compatible charging brick included in the box.

Luckily, the CUKTECH 20 lasts ages on a single charge. When my return flight was suddenly canceled, it was nice knowing that I wouldn’t have to worry about my phone dying on me (or getting stuck camping out at an airport charging station).

Bottom line

The CUKTECH 20 offers a huge charging capacity for refueling your phone, tablet, or even your laptop. With its airline-safe rating and polished, yet tough design, it’s a great travel companion for keeping all your mobile tech powered, no matter where you’re heading.

The CUKTECH 20’s greatest strength is its generous battery capacity, but that’s also why it can take a while to charge. Optimal charging times require a 110-watt charging brick, but there isn’t one in the box, which is a big disappointment. An iPad or MacBook charging brick is a viable substitution, but less powerful charging bricks for phones or other small devices lead to lengthy charging times.

Despite that drawback, the CUKTECH 20 has a lot going for it, including reliable performance, a built-in display, and loads of battery life. If you want a charger that can last entire week-long trips or recharge your laptop, the CUKTECH 20 is a good option with its combination of power output and storage.