REASONS TO BUY
Recharges quickly
Great capacity
Highly convenient
REASONS TO AVOID
Could fit a little better in a pocket
Jackery Bolt 6000 Review
The best of the best, this is our favorite when it comes to portable battery packs
Integrated cables make using these products quite a bit easier.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
By David Wise ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ October 25, 2018
Contributions From: Austin Palmer
Our Verdict
Earning the highest score out of the entire group and claiming the Editors' Choice Award, the Jackery Bolt 6000 is our top recommendation when it comes to portable power packs, hands down. This top-notch portable battery has a solid capacity, recharges quickly, and is packed with features that make it easier and more convenient to use. While it isn't the largest battery you can get, the Bolt is a fantastic option for most people who want the added security of knowing they aren't going to be caught with a dead smartphone.
Our Analysis and Test Results
This portable battery pack finished at the top of the group, beating the runner-up — the Anker PowerCore 5000 and our Best Buy Award winner — by a handful of points. While the PowerCore 5000 is a little bit more compact, the Jackery has better capacity and is significantly more convenient to use, due to its built-in cabling.
These products provide a handy way to charge your phone while your walking around.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Portability
This rectangular power pack measures 4.25" long by 1.9" wide and is just shy of an inch (0.83") deep. This makes it one of the more compact battery packs — though there are a few that have a slightly smaller form factor.
This battery pack is also one of the lighter models, weighing in at 5.67 oz. and comparing quite favorably with the rest of the pack.
The Jackery is portable enough to easily carry with you on an everyday basis.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
This model fits relatively well in both front and back pockets while sitting and feels quite nice while walking around. The only slight issue we had is that we found it to be a tiny bit on the thicker side, which could make it a bit more cumbersome if you have tighter cut pants.
Some of the electrical meters and dummy loads we used to test these products.
Credit: Austin Palmer
Capacity
This portable power pack has a listed capacity of 6,000 mAh and we were able to extract about 65% — 3897 mAh — of this using our dummy load.
We set a discharge rate of 2.4A and the Jackery lasted about an hour and a half before turning off. We then reduced it to a 1A rate and got another 5 minutes or so before it totally died.
Portable chargers alow you to charge your phone without having to sit next to an outlet.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Jackery claims that this battery can charge an iPhone 6/7/8 up to two times or an iPhone 6/7/8 Plus up to one and a half times. We found the Jackery Bolt 6000 to exceed this claim in our testing, actually getting 2.4 charges for an iPhone and 1.45 Samsung Galaxy S8 charges.
We liked that the Jackery makes it impossible to forget or lose your charging cable.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Added Convenience
The Bolt 6000 particularly impressed us by having both a built-in micro USB cable and a lightning cable. These stow conveniently into the sides of the charger to keep them out of the way when not in use.
Additionally, there is also a standard USB output port if your device uses a different type of plug or if you need to charge multiple devices simultaneously.
There is also a USB output port if your device uses something other than a lightning or micro-USB to charge.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
This battery pack also has a built-in flashlight, which is handy, as it can be a little more convenient to use than the flashlight on your phone. The Jackery Bolt also includes a micro USB for recharging it, as there isn't an integrated wall plug and it comes with a 24-month limited warranty.
The integrated flashlight is handy if you don't want to pull out your phone to use as a light.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Recharge Time
The Jackery Bolt 6000 did quite well regarding recharge time.
This portable charger took about three hours and fifteen minutes to charge in our test — slightly less than the four hours estimated by the manufacturer. This is one of the faster charge times overall, but it is also one of the smaller batteries, as it makes sense that the larger batteries take much more time to charge.
This portable charger recharges relatively quickly.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
While this is one of the top overall performers, the Jackery Bolt 6000 is also a solid value. It retails for about $30, which isn't that much more than the least expensive models in our group.
Conclusion
All in all, it is hard to find flaws with the Jackery Bolt 6000. This portable battery pack is one of the most portable and easy to carry, has both an integrated micro USB and lightning cable, and recharges very quickly, as well as an integrated flashlight. It is the perfect option for a lightweight charging solution to carry with you every day, ensuring that you never run out of power and are caught in a bad situation with a dead smartphone.
—David Wise and Austin Palmer
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