2 Great portable battery packs for Dell XPS 13

XPS 13 (9370)
XPS 13 (9370)

There's nothing worse than running out of power on your laptop. The whole idea of owning a portable PC is to carry out tasks while away from home, but if there are no nearby power outlets you may find it difficult to get everything done. This is where portable battery packs come into play and I've rounded u pa few that will offer some additional juice to your Dell XPS 13 before having to shut it down.

RAVPower

RAVPower

This handy unit from RAVPower really does it all. You could consider it the Jack of all chargers. How it earns this name is by offering not only USB connectivity but also a power outlet too. That means you can plug in the main charger for the XPS 13 and other supported Ultrabooks while providing some juice to a smartphone or tablet. The 27,000 mAh battery allows for a decent amount of power to be stored and transferred.

The battery pack supports devices up to 70W through the main outlet. With the number of connections available, you will be able to power up to three devices at once. And when you run out of juice, the pack can be fully charged in just over five hours. Eight LEDs on the front show just how much charge is available. If that wasn't enough, the RAVPower battery pack is positively rated by owners, scoring four stars on Amazon by 90 reviewers.

It's not cheap, coming in at $129.99, but it's well worth the price if you need the additional power.

See at Amazon

UpStart

UpStart

This portable charger from UpStart is specifically marketed for Dell XPS 13 owners. An 18,000 mAh internal capacity ensures you can offer enough charge for not only the notebook, but other devices too. There are three outputs at hand — two USB and one DC with several adapters. A one-year warranty covers the unit and you will be set back around $79.99 for the ability to supply some emergency power.

All things considered, it's not a bad unit and is highly rated by owners who have already made the purchase. The design of the battery pack — not simply a black slate of plastic — also makes it more appealing to look at and fits in well with Dell's updated XPS 13 color offerings.

See at Amazon

Your kit

What do you take with you when traveling with a Dell XPS 13 or other Ultrabook? Do you consider packing battery packs?

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.