Watson FastPower AM-140-FP Battery with USB Ports (140Wh, Gold Mount)

A Very Impressive Battery With Some serious Features

The Watson FastPower AM 140 FP is just as sophisticated as the larger Watson FastPower VM 280 FP that I previously reviewed. The features are nearly identical, with the main differences being the battery capacity and the number of mounting threads. I’m honestly surprised to see this level of functionality in a battery at this price. Some of these features aren’t even found on much more expensive batteries. The first thing that caught my attention was the display. It shows pretty much everything you would want to know at a glance, including the remaining battery capacity, incoming and outgoing current, temperature, and what the different ports are doing. What I really like is that the display dims after a few minutes but never actually turns off. I’m so glad they did this! I hate when a battery display goes completely black and you have to press a button every time you want to check it. And then it comes back on at full brightness. With this battery, the display is always there when you need it. The 100W USB C Power Delivery is another big deal for me. A lot of batteries top out at 65W on PD, which just isn’t enough for some of the equipment I use, especially lights that are powered through USB C. Having 100W available is a big advantage. This battery also comes with a lanyard aside to carry around your wrist or hang it from a light stand, camera rig, or somewhere else that’s convenient. Another feature I’ve wanted for a long time is the ability to charge a battery to 75% and then stop charging for long term storage. The AM 140 FP has a Charge Storage Mode that does exactly that. I was actually looking for a Gold Mount charger that could do this and couldn’t find one. Every battery is a little different, so trying to manually stop charging at 50%, 75%, or whatever percentage you want isn’t exactly easy. Watson solved that problem. One thing to know is that the battery has to be below 75% before you can use the storage mode. If it’s already above 75%, the feature is disabled. Once you turn it on, the battery charges to 75% and stops. That’s a great feature if you store your batteries for longer periods. The battery also lets you adjust the USB C charging current from 1A up to 7A. There’s also a “One Way Mode” , which means the battery will only send power out and won’t accept power coming in. That’s really useful if you want to use it as a power bank to charge another battery or other equipment. It even has a “Calibration mode” for getting the battery readings as accurate as possible. I honestly don’t think I’ll need to use it because the readings seem very accurate right out of the box, but it’s nice to have the option. You also get Gold Mount, D Tap, USB C, USB A, and 8/12V DC outputs, and it can handle up to a 15A draw. You can recharge it with a regular Gold Mount charger or through USB C, which is really convenient. The 140Wh capacity makes this a nice option when you don’t need a larger capacity battery. You get a smaller package while still getting all of these advanced features. Overall, I’m really impressed with this battery. What I like most is that these aren’t just features that look good on a spec sheet. They are things I can actually see myself using when I’m working. The display, 100W USB C, 75% storage mode, adjustable charging, One Way Mode, and the ability to recharge through USB C are all SUPER useful. Another great thing I noticed is that ,after several days, it doesn't discharge like some V Mount batteries do discharge a little. I left it at 64% and still shows 64% today. I’m very impressed with how much Watson packed into it. There are features here that I haven’t seen on batteries that cost quite a bit more. [I have received this product in exchange for my honest review]