The Steam Deck is my favorite handheld PC, but I'd be lying if I enjoyed its short battery life. Like it or not, a single charge just isn't going to stretch that far when playing relatively new PC games, so I pretty much don't leave the house without a power bank. If you're in a similar situation, the exact gadget I use is now under $50 for Black Friday, and it's well worth pairing with the portable powerhouse.
I've tested quite a few power banks with both versions of the Steam Deck, and I always end up falling back to the Baseus Blade. The 100W brick can be pricey outside of the sales, but it's currently down to $47.99 thanks to a discount and coupon combo. There's both an additional 20% and 17% check box on the page that knocks it down further from $59.99, so make sure to click them all for the full discount.
Should you buy a Baseus Blade 100w power bank?
I promise I'm not trying to dunk on the Steam Deck OLED or original LCD version, but power banks like the Baseus Blade really help the handheld. Battery life is an issue with most of the best gaming handhelds for PC games, and even premium options like the Asus ROG Ally X could do with a boost.
The Baseus Blade is a fairly chonky power bank, but with good reason. This bad boy comes armed with a 20,000mAh battery pack inside, meaning it'll keep devices like your Steam Deck powered for an extra three hours. Your milage will vary depending on the game you're trying to play and the stressing stressing out your heroic handheld, but that's how long I've managed to stretch my on the go sessions using the gadget.
When it comes to charging, that capacity and wattage combo is extremely useful too for travel. I've often found myself plugging in more than just the Steam Deck to the power bank using its two USB-C and duo of USB-A ports, and it'll happily fast charge things like your gaming phone and accessories. I even used the battery pack to power a Verbatim Portable Touchscreen Monitor and the Deck at the same time, but I can't promise you'll get much playtime in with that daft setup.
Unlike cheaper banks I've used in the past, the Baseus Blade also offers up plenty of info on its LED display. Being able to check on power draw stats like voltage and amps on the fly is really handy for troubleshooting, as it'll instantly give you a heads up if there's something up with your cables or devices. It's also just nice to get an overview of how much juice your travel setup is guzzling, in turn helping to plan ahead in terms of recharging.
Again, the Baseus Blade is pretty large, and while I get around this by putting it in my backpack and trailing a cable out, I get why some of you might want something sleeker. If I happen to be on a cramped train, or just don't want to look like an android with cables coming out my back, I use the Jsaux 20000mAh 65w power bank. That alternative will set you back $55.99 at Amazon right now, but it is compact enough to attach to your Deck's rear using accessories like the Jsaux Modcase or the Deckmate.
We'll ultimately probably have to wait until the Steam Deck 2 arrives for handheld PCs to match the Nintendo Switch and lighter devices on battery life. But, until then, I'll be keeping my Deck juiced up with the Baseus Blade, and I think many of you handheld nerds would benefit from doing the same.
Looking for more discounts? Check out Black Friday TV deals and Black Friday monitor deals for screen savings. We've also got you covered for Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals if you're looking for more console price cuts.
