MotoNews Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Published in: Gear If you don’t have a way to charge your phone when riding yet then the MotoPowerPuck would be perfect for you. Or, if you want a weather resistant and more reliable connection than what you are currently using, then this product is also for you. I have always had some way to charge my phone when riding and usually just hooked into my 12V accessory outlet via USB or hard wired USB connection. This process wasn’t ideal especially it started to rain. I would quickly disconnect cords and stow everything so nothing got wet. I have even had my phone still die with screen off and 1 app running due to inefficient charge capabilities or just vibrating USB connections (never did figure that one out). I was intrigued with the MotoPowerPuck and hooked it up right away to my Ram X-Grip phone mount so I could take it for a nice test ride. It's simple to install using the supplied two-sided adhesive on your mount. If you don’t want to hook direct to your battery (so your mount can still be used on different bikes) a simple connection of your choice can be done. I soldered a SAE connector onto the harness so I could use an existing connection to run through my PDM60 which is also fused. The manufacturer states that a fuse is not needed, but if it runs directly to your battery I'd recommended to have an inline fuse. Granted, inline fuse holders aren’t expensive, but I do wish the MotoPowerPuck came with its own fuse for added peace of mind. To be clear MotoPowerPuck is not a fast charger - it just uses your phones wireless charging technology giving you a good charging connection. I tried it first with 2 apps running (Waze & Spotify) on my Samsung Galaxy S9+, screen off, with about 50% charge on phone. I also had Garmin Smartlink active running Bluetooth to GPS. It had my phone charged quickly and never dropped from 100% after 2 hours of riding. I then tried it with 2 apps running, this time with the screen on to see how it would hold up to the drawl. It did pretty well, only losing 15% charge over 1.5 hours of riding. The manufacturer says the MotoPowerPuck won’t hold up to the draw when screen is on but it will try to keep up. I agree that it did as advertised but in reality your phone will still die depending on a lot of variables, just not as fast. You could always run with the screen on, and when it gets to 50% turn it off and let the MotoPowerPuck catch up. It is still better than any other connection can offer as far as weather resistance and its charge rate. I had to wait a week for some rain to get it out and test and I didn’t have any issues. Just popped my phone into the mount and moved the bike outside while I suited up. I went for a 30 minute ride in a nasty downpour and the charge never flickered. So after sitting in the rain and riding through it, the MotoPowerPuck held up to its claim as weather resistant. Overall I was pleased with the quality and performance of the MotoPowerPuck. Do I wish it could keep up with screen on and also fast charge? Sure! I will keep my eye out for those features in future models, but in the meantime, this is something I would say take a look at if you need or want to upgrade your bikes phone charging capabilities. It sure is convenient to just pop the phone into the mount, than to do that and then run a USB cable. One other thing I hadn’t mentioned is that the company is veteran owned - just one more big plus for a useful product. MSRP: $65 MotoPowerPuck.com PROS CONS ▲ Weather resistant ▼ No inline fuse supplied ▲ Easy install ▼ Permanently attached to mount unless you modify connections ▲ Reliable charging ▲ Veteran owned ▲ Just put phone in mount - no cables to hook up View the full article Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now