New Lipstick Chargers

[Cameron M]

The lipstick charger is a favorite for an emergency backup, a battery to store solar charging, and may be all one needs to extend an iPhone through 8 days. I bought two new lightweight models and tested them. The old Anker is a favorite at 3 oz; the new Powercore Anker weighs closer to 2.4 oz, although they claim 2.3 oz. The RAVpower weighs 2.5 oz. Despite the lower stated battery size, the Anker is able to slightly best the RAVpower by an average of 1.16 iPhone 6 charges vs. 1.12 for the RAVpower. The Anker costs $13 and the RAV $10. Both seem like good options.

[Andrew Priest]

Interesting. I currently use a Anker Astro E5 1,500 mAh which weighs in at 336 grams for my bicycling touring which can mean that I am a week to two weeks between AC power points. That said on my touring bike I use a dynamo which can be charging my battery during the day for use in the tent overnight.

My bikepacking setup is sans a dynamo so I need to rely more on the backup battery. Currently I have a GPS (Garmin Edge 810 [internal battery] or Garmin Oregon 600 [AA batteries]), phone [used just to send a “I am ok” text each night] and my tablet which is also offline but used briefly to write my ride notes.

I must do the usage calculations to see if I can get away with a lipstick battery or maybe two.

 

[Hoosier T]

I have been using the Rav since the fall and really like it. No complaints here other than the fact that it doesn’t hold a change well on the shelf so I have to charge it right before a trip, usually the night before.

[Andrew Priest]

Looking on Amazon UK this evening and I see they are showing two versions of the Anker PowerCore Mini. One is rated at 3,200 mAh which matches the Anker website and the other is rated at 3,350 mAh. The smaller capacity is described as an “improved design.”

Can’t spot the difference besides the capacity.

[Jim C]

Andrew: The “improved design” has a plastic housing, compared to aluminum in the other version. The power button is also larger and on the side, instead of at the end by the USB ports. Not significant differences, but some may prefer the aesthetics of one over the other.

Incidentally, Aukey has a 5,000 mAh lipstick charger, at just over 4 oz, if you need a bit more capacity. I’ve got no experience with this charger.

[Andrew Priest]

Thanks Jim. Completely missed the bleeding obvious in front of me … whoops. I think I like the idea of aluminum; presumably a touch more robust.

I have had good experience with Anker so inclined to stick with them. I checked out the specs of the Garmin Edge 810 and it has a 1100 mAh battery. I can generally get two days riding out of it, so on paper the Anker PowerCore should give me at least two charges, possibly three or close to, so up to six to eight days riding.

For weight and size I could carry a couple if necessary.

[Cameron M]

You can figure in the neighborhood of 63% on these chargers, so you should get 1.8 or 1.9 charges on the Garmin.

[James holden]

whats the base battery of the RAVpower?

im pretty sure anker uses panasonic or LGs in its packs …

;)

[Cameron M]

The RAV states 3350, Anker 3200. The premium Anker is 3350, but weighs .6 oz more, so it does not pencil out to any advantage. Some of the other RAV items also look interesting including the Deluxe 10050.

[Andrew Priest]

Eric: The Anker batteries appear to use Panasonic batteries according to thier claims. Rav appears to use Panasonic or LG batteries from what I have read on their website.

Cameron: I don’t run my Garmin Edge 810 right down to flat over two days; generally gets to around 20 to 40% so a little more leeway there to compensate for the battery performance.

[Andrew Priest]

Have decided to go with an RAVPower RP-PB17 6700 mAh Luster which from what I an gather from a German blog is 135 grams.

I am a bit limited in choice as being in Australia RAVPower and Anker are not available locally and with a planned visit to family in the UK my best option is via Amazon UK.

The RAVPower with 2A input and 2.4A output seems the better choice. I just would have preferred around 5,000 mAh but still the 6700 mAh will give me a nice buffer for not too much weight.

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