Stop balancing your iPhone on water bottles: This travel power bank fixes a major in-flight annoyance

4 min readJun 30, 2026 03:11 PM IST

The Stuffcool Nido supports 25W wireless charging and wired USB-C charging, making it a convenient power bank for travel. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

As a frequent traveller, keeping my phone charged is always a struggle. Despite all the advancements in technology, you still see passengers jostling for a charging port at the airport. To avoid ending up in that situation at the end of a long day out of town, I usually keep a 10,000 mAh power bank in my travel bag. Over the years, these have shrunk in size and grown in capacity, making life a tad bit easier.

The Stuffcool Nido is a compact power bank, roughly the size of an audio cassette in its case — for those who still remember those gadgets from our past. It is on the heavier side, though, thanks to the 10,000 mAh battery inside. There’s a small LED on the side to show the battery level, along with a short USB-C cable to charge both your phone and the power bank itself.

Compact enough to slip into a backpack, the Stuffcool Nido delivers fast wireless and wired charging for phones and accessories on the go. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

More the latter, really, since chances are you’ll be using the Qi2.2-certified 25W MagSafe wireless charging to juice up your phone with this device. On one side of the power bank sits the MagSafe ring, and the iPhone snaps to the brick the moment you bring the two close together. On Android phones, it doesn’t stick with quite the same eagerness.

The Stuffcool Nido packs a 10,000mAh battery into a compact body with a built-in USB-C cable and LED battery indicator. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

This means the Nido’s little kickstand is more effective for Apple users. With the kickstand out, you can prop up your iPhone on the tray table during a flight and watch the latest episode of your favourite show — no more balancing the phone against a water bottle to get a better angle. You will, however, run into airline crew telling you that charging phones with a power bank is now considered a safety risk. This is where Stuffcool seems to have missed a trick: they could have offered the option to use the MagSafe stickiness without charging, activated via the button near the LED.

The Qi2.2 magnetic charging surface securely snaps onto compatible iPhones, while the integrated kickstand doubles as a handy media stand. (Image: The Indian Express/ Nandagopal Rajan)

Charging is faster than on the older power banks I’ve used — I got the iPhone 17 Pro Max up to half in about 30 minutes, and it seems quicker still over the USB-C cable. The Nido works well on Samsung phones too, though you have to lay the Fold 7 flat on the Qi surface to get it to charge. I could charge AirPods with it as well, though it lacks a dedicated surface for the Apple Watch, unlike the Belkin I currently use.

At Rs 5,999, the Stuffcool Nido is a worthy addition to your backpack on short trips, helping you not just juice up your phone but also prop it up for that mid-flight content binge. It stands out for its no-nonsense charging capabilities, well-managed USB-C cable, functional LED panel and sleek design.

Nandagopal Rajan writes on technology, gadgets and everything related. He has worked with the India Today Group and Hindustan Times. He is an alumnus of Calicut University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. ... Read More

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