The BMX SolidSafe 5K is a nice, light, unobtrusive wireless power bank.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

There’s also a single USB-C port that handles charging (maximum output of up to 20W, maximum input of up to 15W), and it can run alongside the wireless charging pad at up to 15W. The power bank also supports pass-through charging, so it can be charged via USB-C while it’s wirelessly charging a phone. I like this feature because I can use a single-outlet charger when traveling light to charge both my iPhone and my power bank overnight. 

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There’s a button on the power bank to activate it, and a color display that shows power levels and charging/discharging power. The display is nice and clear, and contains all the information you need. 

This definitely adds to the power bank’s quality feel.

The USb-C-to-USB-C cable built into the lanyard is a nice touch.

The USb-C-to-USB-C cable built into the lanyard is a nice touch.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

The SolidSafe 5K is part of a bigger ecosystem of devices. BMX also offers a larger SolidSafe 10K with a 10,000 mAh capacity, along with 3-bay and 5-bay docks for charging multiple power banks. 

How safe are solid-state cells? There was only one way to find out — take the power bank apart and abuse the fully-charged pack by using a screwdriver to make holes in it. 

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!

I took precautions of wearing safety glasses and doing the stabbing outside, but as I expected it was thankfully anticlimactic, and the cells merely emitted a few puffs of smoke. 

Let’s make holes in those solid-state cells!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

A few puffs of smoke was all that happened!

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

ZDNET’s buying advice

The BMX SolidSafe 5K is $99.99, and the 3-bay are $49.99 and $69.99, respectively). That’s more expensive than most power banks of its size.

But it’s also new to the field, and I expect prices to come down as this technology becomes more mainstream (although given how cheap and energy-dense lithium-ion batteries are, solid-state batteries are unlikely to replace them any time soon). 

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But if you’re after a power bank that’s got a low chance of going bad on you — perhaps you travel a lot, or carry one when biking/motorcycling, or are a first responder — this is definitely worth a look. 

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