Best Portable Charger

[John S.]

It's too bad the review though only covers high capacity batteries. People on here are taking only 3,000 mAh for an entire thru hike.

We need a list of batteries like the fluxmob that have the ac plugs built into the device.

[Kenneth Jacobs]

Another option with the charger built-in:
http://www.ravpower.com/savior-9000mah-portable-charger-with-apple-lighting-cable.html

HTH

KJ

[Derrick White]

What is the state of the market on chargers right now.  Has anyone discovered a better best since this article.

Thanks

Derrick

[James holden]

if you dont need to carry separate 18650 bats … just get an anker power bank (which uses top brand bats) off amazon

if you do want 18650 bats for headlamps or for more flexibility … get the litokaala 100 or the new nitecore F1 charger/bank, and get panasonic bats … both of those take protected bats and the li-100 can charge AA/AAA as well

thats really all there is to it

;)

[Ian]

Best?  No idea.  I’m still using the Miller Charger and have no complaints.

If you do some googling, there are reports that the Miller Charger will over charge an 18650 battery.  I only use it to charge my devices and charge my 18650 batteries in a NiteCore D4 charger.  I *believe* there’s an updated miller charger out there that doesn’t overcharge 18650 batteries (there are a few variations) but I’ll defer that to Eric as it’s been a while since I read whatever article it was that suggested this.

There is now an updated Miller Charger at Fast Tech that can charge from both protected and unprotected 18650 batteries and is only a 9 gram penalty over the one I own now.  I’ll order it at some point but can’t speak to how well/poorly it works at the moment.

I put my unprotected 18650 batteries in a plastic case to protect the batteries from shorting out, which then go into a sandwich sized ziplock bag along with my charging cables for organizational purposes and moisture protection, when then goes into a gallon sized ziplock bag which serves as my ditty bag (electronics, FAK, poop kit, etc) and a second layer of moisture protection.  I normally keep this in my front pocket where the outer bag is exposed to the elements.  I hike in the rain and snow and my batteries have never been exposed to moisture.

 

[HiLight]

I have been very happy with two Anker portable chargers. They make good, reasonably priced stuff.

Eric – Which unprotected 18650 cells would make the best Halloween treats?  ;)

[James holden]

hilight …

ultrafire … lives up to its name …. start the halloween with a BANG !!!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?280909-Ultrafire-18650-3000mA-exploded

and just a quick example on why you dont carry loose li-on bats, especially unprotected ones … always use a case or separate bag …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAPC3rf-x9g

“I had the battery in this pocket by itself, it exploded through the pocket, charred and melted everything in the bag,” Mcinerney said.

;)

[HiLight]

Hard to believe she’s a smoker with that angelic voice.

Still, I kind of like the effect.

https://youtu.be/hXgUO9wWvOw

[Ian]

Not so much a recommendation but to provide a data point.

I purchased the Anker 13,000 Portable Charger last month for front country use.

Pros:

• 13,000 mAh
• Two USB ports (up to 3A)
• I’ve no desire to time or measure the results, but anecdotally per my whole family, it seems to recharge our devices faster than plugging into a wall outlet.

Con:

• Same weight as one of my tarps at 8.4 ounces.  @ 1,547 mAh per ounce.

If you have a lot of gadgetry that need to be charged at the same time, this is a good charger.  I primarily bought this for front country use, mostly for when I travel.

For me, the Miller Charger and one or two 18650 batteries is all that I need.

 

[David Mason]

Thought I’d chime in since I’ve extensively used the Miller power bank:

I’ve been using the following for my “portable power” situation for about 14-16 months:
1. Miller ML-102 v9 (32.70g, cost ~$4-5) as discussed in this thread, as noted only takes unprotected-type 18650 cells due to length, but the unit itself contains good solid over-voltage charging protection and under-voltage discharge protection (per this thorough and reputable review). Also I have tested the max input (charging rate) as ~1.4-1.5A, which is pretty fast for a single cell, and output as roughly the same (1.4-1.6A max).

A note about re-charging the power bank: One thing people sometimes decline to look at in a power bank is how fast the power bank itself charges up. This probably only makes a difference if you want to make quick town re-supplies and stops, without an overnight stop. But I sometimes like the flexibility of making a quick non-overnight town stop to top up the batteries.

The higher the capacity (mAh), the more difference input charging rate will make. 1A is standard but pretty slow, especially on large mAh capacity banks (10,000+). What you want to look at is input charging rates. Most power banks have a micro-USB input. In almost all cases this operates on 5V, with varying amperage from 1A (std/slow) to 1.5A (better), 2A (good), or 2.4A (very good). Recently Qualcomm has introduced “Quick charge” 2.0 and 3.0, which actually ups the voltage as well for faster charging. But one has to read carefully whether the input is QC 2.0 or 3.0 compatible vs. just the output – it will say something like this if it is:  “Input: Normal: 5V ⎓ 2A  /  Quick Charge: 5-7V ⎓ 2.1A / 7-9V ⎓ 1.6A / 9-12V ⎓ 1.25A”.  You would have to make sure your wall adapter is also QC 3.0 compatible, and your USB to micro-USB cable has enough darn copper in it (use the original cable you got with your Quick charge phone to be sure). An example of this QC input compatibile charger is the new Anker Powercore 10000+  (notice the plus sign) – Kinda pricey at $40, and also a ~2oz weight “penalty” over the plastic version (non-plus powercore 10k, spec 6.4oz, ~$24) that charges at 2A.  The other new tech is a power bank with USB-C input like the Ravpower 20k bank (spec 13.45oz, $48) or iVoler 10k bank (spec 10.6oz, $30) – very quick charging over USB-C, but again you’ll have to carry some sort of different USB-C wall charger to fully utilize it’s quick charging input features.

2. Panasonic 3400mAh NCR18650B Cells (45.5g, $4-5/cell)- Rule #1 of Li-Co batteries, BUY QUALITY CELLS. Which really means avoid ebay at all costs, and any battery with the name “fire” in it – should be obvious! I have not heard of gearbest selling fake Panasonic cells at all, so they seem like an affordable, quality option. Rule #2, purchase quality protected cells unless you know what you’re doing, and maybe even if you do know what you’re doing. But make sure your devices (lights, power bank, etc.) are compatible with batteries slightly longer than 65mm if you do buy protected cells (protected tend to be a few mm longer (66-68), due to the protection circuit). For a compatible single-cell Miller power bank, you would need the ML-106 for protected cells.

Note: Unprotected batteries have not been a problem for me, especially if you obey the #1 rule of Li-Co batteries: BUY QUALITY CELLS, and take common-sense precautions against metal contact, puncture, and moisture exposure. To each cell I add a silicone cover (6.75g, $1/ea), inside a durable (3-5mil) sealed ziploc-type bag, inside a sil-nylon/cuben ditty bag. Or if I’m carrying multiple cells, I use a 2×18650 “water-proof” impact-resistant plastic case (20.6g, ~$2/ea). Adding the cases and silicone covers to the batteries starts to add weight and make commercially available power banks such as Anker or RavPower a viable choice.

3. 1×18650 Compatible Headlamp – This allows flexibility. I keep one of my 18650 cells in my headlamp (which is IPX rated for high dust/water-resistance), and then typically only carry one other cell for use with the Miller power bank. This gives me 67-6800mAh capacity (minus efficiency losses). Towards the end of the trip if my phone is running low, I can “rob” power out of my headlamp into my power bank. I carry a Zebralight H600w Mk II 18650 XM-L2 Headlamp (Neutral White tint) (39g w/o batt or strap, ~$75-80). But headlamps/lights are a very preference-based business. I would echo others saying to avoid any lights that take multiple lithium cells. Also check if they can accept protected cells, and if the lights themselves have protection circuits integrated. As a LW enthusiast, I also will only look at lights that are sub 50 grams empty, but that’s just me :)  Other decent lights include the Skilhunt H03, Armytek Wizard Pro, and Nitecore HC30.

If you don’t need a lot of light, and don’t need to re-charge very quickly in town, the quick charging power banks, 18650 batteries, and ultra-bright headlamps are somewhat of a moot point.

The Anker Powercore 10000 is a good solid choice for anyone wanting a simple solution for extra phone/GPS/Steripen juice for just over $20 and 6.4oz. If you need less juice and desire less weight, get the Anker Powercore mini+ 3350mAh (spec 3oz, $13) or RavPower Luster Mini 3350mAh (spec 2.6oz, $12, 2A input).
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If you don’t need hundreds of lumens and super-long runtimes in a light, go for a lighter keychain light like the 45 Lumen Nitecore TIP which is USB-rechargeable (9.6g w/o batts, $10), or a 4.5-10 Lumen Photon freedom micro (coin cells, 7g, ~$12.50), or a good quality 1xAAA light like the Thrunite Ti3, Olight i3S, or the Fenix LD02 – all around $15-20. Fix em up with a simple AAA alkaline, rechargeable NiMH (if not on a long hike) or an energizer “ultimate” disposable lithium battery (especially for cold weather).

Sorry for the long post, but I’ve looked into some of these solutions, and they’re getting better and cheaper every day, and it takes time to keep up. The LED tech continues to revolutionize lights, and quick charging is revolutionizing how long we might have to stay in town to re-juice our tech.

See you on the trail!

[Sean Passanisi]

The Nitecore and Miller chargers are obviously light, but it seems like a “sealed” charger like the ENB model would be a better way to carry the batteries in a pack. I’ve been waiting to purchase an ENB one but they’ve been out of stock for weeks. Is there another similar charger on the market?

[David Mason]

@passanis looks like you’re right, the ENB is out of stock everywhere. Not sure how many other similar products there are out there. The ENB is nice because it’s essentially a “sleeve” for quick changing out of batteries, and allows use of 1 OR 2 batteries. And as you said, it’s sealed, which at least protects from impact a bit, but I can assure you you’ll still need to keep it in a dry bag as there’s no waterproofing to be found at all.

Many of the others I’ve seen on the market are “assemble it yourself” battery banks with tiny little screws, which seems to somewhat defeat the purpose of quick battery access (let’s say for charging them in a nicer charger, or swapping out “ready pre-charged” cells at home).

So if I were you, I’d just set an In-stock e-mail alert on fasttech – or maybe purchase one of the quality Anker models that contains 1 or 2 good cells, as the weight and capacity would probably be around comprable. My ENB with 2 un-protected cells weighs in right at 132.7g, or 42.05g empty, just FYI.

[Andy Stow]

My ENB lasted less than a year of occasional use, then quit charging during a non-camping trip. I’ve gone to an Anker now.

[James holden]

Beware of fake ENBs … I posted a vid awhile back of a 3 cell fake ENB that wouldnt stop overcharging bats

the miller 106 is enclosed i believe … Theres a good review of it somewhere online

;)

[Andy Stow]

I bought mine directly off a link someone posted here.

[DGoggins]

I was contemplating on buying a new 18650 headlamp and using 18650 batts as my recharge source. But after reading through this thread and doing my own calculations, it doesn’t seem to make sense if I’m not already using 18650 batteries (which I’m not).

Anker power banks offer the same Watts/oz #s as the 18650 configurations. While its true that its more customizable, it would save me quite a bit of money not to convert.

Here are the Watts/oz #s that I calculated for a range of batteries ->

If you have trouble reading it..here is a link to a full size ->

View post on imgur.com

Anyway…a newer development that I found are 14500 li-ion batteries that have circuitry that reduce the voltage down to 1.5V, that have a micro USB input so you can charge them on the trail. Like the Fenix ARB-L14-1600U battery. Its a AA replacement battery.

It stores the same amount of energy as a 2000 mAh eneloop (which is 1.2V), but weighs less (.69). That way, if I’m bringing an anker powerbank, I could charge this AA battery on the trail. Its makes a lot of sense if you already have a AA flashlight (I now have a Zebralight h53Fw). Its also a protected li-ion battery.

[Roger Caffin]

An AA battery with a USB recharging input?????
Blimey.
Price compared to a stock AA Lithium?

Cheers

[DGoggins]

I got the fenix battery for $6.80 with free shipping from fenix-store, after a 20% off coupon (from retailmenot).

So..its definitely more expensive than a eneloop (that you can probably get for..$2 a battery in a 4 pack on sale). A quick google search says that I can get a 18pack of Energizer lithium AAs for $20….though those arent rechargeable (but have excellent watts/oz ratios and work very well in the cold).

But…its not like I’m buying a bunch of the Fenix batteries…I only bought one to play around with. Though, since you can charge it out in the field, you might only need one (at the most a energizer lithium as a backup maybe).

[DGoggins]

Oh sorry..you said stock AA lithium…..do you mean AA lithium rechargeable?

I mean…a normal 14500 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery is something completely different since its normally 3.6V…like this one ->

$7

https://www.fenixlighting.com/product/fenix-arb-l14-800-rechargeable-14500-battery/

Fenix doesn’t have a 14500 mini usb rechargeable battery..but they make 18650 batteries both with and without the miniusb rechargeable input….only about $1 difference.

Reading about them from candlepowerforums….most users over there don’t think much about them. Basically..thinking its just one more thing to potentially break on the battery, but they aren’t thinking about the “in-field” recharge-ability much since most users there are more into EDC (every day carry) for their lights. They just charge their batteries at home on their smart chargers.

[Matt Swider]

A couple things are confusing me in the past few posts.  In the last post, it says that Fenix DOESN’T have a 14500 mini usb rechargeable battery, yet in a few posts above you provided a link to one.  Oh, I think you meant that there is not a 3.6V output mini usb rechargable?  Anyway, I had not yet heard of the 1.5V version, very cool  I think for now I will stick with my eneloops, but I could see considering this battery on a long backpacking trip.  For my last one I carried 1 lithium AAA, and had a second one at a food drop that I never used.  Not sure if they make a 1.5V lithium rechargeable in 10400 (AAA) yet or not.

On to the technical side, you may know this but your spread sheet really misrepresents alkaline batteries.  You could possibly get the Watt-hrs (not Watts) you calculated, but only if you used the alkaline batteries at very low currents.  When you draw any sort of significant load from an alkaline (like a flashlight), they won’t provide 1.5V, and also they won’t provide the rated amp-hours.  So just multiplying the two together does not ever play out.  At end of life your alkaline will be nearer 1V or lower, or 50% less than the 1.5V you used.  Eneloops (nimh) and lithium have a much smaller percentage change in the battery voltage over their life, unless you run them really hard.  I suspect on a backpacking trip that is not so likely.

Alkaline battery performance would likely be more like shown in the table below, this is for a duracell ultra power alkaline battery.

You would likely be using your electronics in the 0.1 to 0.5 range I guess, or your battery is going to run out in 4 hours or less.  Not sure how bright you use your Zebralight.  Even at 0.1A the Watt-hours is 3.5 compared to the 4.35 you calculated.  and at 0.2A, the energy capacity starts dropping off fast.  Probably not new news for most readers, just wanted to clarify that, nothing personal :-)

Here is a table showing the energy capacity of an eneloop AA battery that was tested by HKJ (your calculations here are really close):

Here is a table showing the energy capacity of an energizer ultimate lithium AA, your calculations here are really close again.

As far as the Fenix 14500 battery goes, I found the someone say it had about the same energy capacity as the AA eneloop.  I did not find any test results like above.

BTW, the site were I got those tables is http://lygte-info.dk.  Maybe more technical than most readers care about, but some good stuff IMO.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming . .  ;-)

[DGoggins]

Oh, I think you meant that there is not a 3.6V output mini usb rechargable?

Correct. Well…at least, not that I saw from Fenix. Probably a different manufacturer has one.

Not sure if they make a 1.5V lithium rechargeable in 10400 (AAA) yet or not.

Yes they actually do. A company called Kentli makes them. Actually..I think Kentli made the first AA lithium-ion 1.5Vs too. But they do make AAAs as well ->

 

Unfortunately it looks like the smallest pack is a 4 pack of batteries plus charger for around $37.

Its not microusb rechargeable….a AAA battery is just too small to have a microusb port on them. So…you are back to needing to bring a separate charger along, and you can only charge these batteries using the Kentli charger. So….you might as well just use AAA eneloops or lithium primaries.

The advantage to a Kentli AAA is that it would weigh less than a AAA eneloop…and…it would provide 1.5V. SOME products out there still don’t like a 1.2V eneloop and require 1.5V, but those would be very few and far between (very niche need).

On to the technical side, you may know this but your spread sheet really misrepresents alkaline batteries.  You could possibly get the Watt-hrs (not Watts) you calculated, but only if you used the alkaline batteries at very low currents.

Yes, I did already know this…I actually just had alkalines up on my spreadsheet just for info purposes, but I never considered them for actual use in the headlamp. Actually, I had read a great article about the different AA types on that same website you mentioned ->

http://lygte-info.dk/info/ComparisonOfAABatteryChemistry%20UK.html

Which…a downside to the Fenix AA 14500 is that in higher amps, it performs worse than an Eneloop. Either it won’t function (the circuit prevents the high draw), or it starts behaving like a alkaline with big drops in runtime. For example, in my zebralight h53Fw, it won’t ever give the highest output of 320 Lumens (but an eneloop will no problem), but it doesn’t have an issue at the 192 lumen level since its a lower amp draw. Out on the trail I doubt I’ll ever use it above the 63Lm level though which should have it be the same performance of a NiMh.

 

[DGoggins]

I think this is Kentli’s “official” site…->

http://www.unbatteries.com/product/show.php?uid=1

It does show a AAA rechargeable is 8g (.28oz), which is basically the same weight as a lithium AAA which is awesome (vs the AAA eneloop at .41 or .46 (pro)). They are reporting mWh instead of mAh which is odd, but that would be 733mAh at 1.5V (so 1.1 watts) (actually…if everyone switched to mWh instead of mAh everything would be more accurate for battery capacities since it takes into account voltage).

So, adding the Kentli AAA to my list, it would give it a 3.9 watts/oz which is actually pretty good vs eneloops (2.34 -2.48). Though…you would have to buy 4 and a charger if you wanted to use them.

[Matt Swider]

Thanks for the updates.  I kind of figured you knew about the lousy performance of alkaline batteries, but did not want others who saw your chart to get the wrong impression.  I agree with your comment that rating batteries in watt hours would make more sense for sure.

Glad you would not really every consider using your zebralight at 600 lumens on the trail, as then you would really chew through whatever power source you had.  I took a 3 week hike in September, and carried a Thrunite Ti-3 as my light source with a single AAA lithium battery.  I picked up a second battery at my halfway point food drop but never used it.  On the other hand, my partner used two sets of 2 or 3 alkaline AAA batteries in his headlamp, but he liked to use his light a LOT more than I did.  He had lots of foot problems he ended up tending to each evening in camp.

As with so many things, each persons needs are different, thanks for presenting some new and interesting options.

[DGoggins]

Oh…and there does look like to be an even lighter 18650 charger/powerbank…..at 21g vs the nitecore f1 at 30g. Its the Folomov A1. Same price as the nitecore (~$10), though less volume.

[Jouni K]

Hello,

Here is also one portable wind charger that might interest you also. It is not suitable for every case but windy places and mountain areas it could be very useful.

 

URLs deleted.
Jouni – we have a hard requirement in the BPL Forums: if you have a vested interest in a product you mention, you MUST declare that up front and very clearly.

Roger Caffin
Online Community Moderator
BPL

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