Portable Charger for backpackers

[Elena Lee]

Hello,

I’m looking at portable charges for backpacking trips. 2 iPhones, up to 7 days. Looking for something really light as I can get by without a charger for 3 first days.

If you love your charger, please recommend one!

Thank you

[Chris FormyDuval]

10k is usually the sweet spot. Assuming no special charging needs, usbA and micro usb input ok , take a look at anker 10k. There’s also a 13k version https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194WDVHI/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1. This one supports charging of very low power devices, some chargers have trouble https://www.anker.com/products/a1229?variant=37438231806102

[Link .]

. Nitecore NB10000   and here is a recent BPL review Nitecore NB10000 Review .

[Bruce Tolley]

The Anker Powercore 10000 @ $27.00 6.3 oz has served me well.

Also remember that not all USB cables are created equal esp if you want to use them for power and data.  Apple and Anker make good cables.

[matthew k]

I’ve had good experiences with the brands listed above. I have both Anker and Nitecore’s 10k chargers. The size of NB10000 is really nice but I do worry a little bit about it’s durability based on the experiences people have shared here.

[Bonzo]

LightSaver?  I’ve heard good reviews, but the internal battery is a bit small for the latest generation of phones.

[DWR D]

Wondering if a 5k battery bank would charge my S20 phone once?

And, generally, how long does it take to charge a phone? Is this something done over hours or minutes? Overnight?

thanks…

[Elena Lee]

Thank you! I just realized I have a Nitecore headlamp and it’s one of my favorite pieces of gear! love it, it and the usb-c and USB outputs.

 

 

[Bonzo]

Wondering if a 5k battery bank would charge my S20 phone once?

According to the interet, it will; the S20 seems to have a 4,000mAh battery.

[David P]

I know that’s factually wrong. Given the loss of energy I’m pretty sure a 5k power bank would NOT charge a 4,000mAh battery from 0 to 100% Even my 20,000mAh Anker only charges my S22 Ultra about 3.5 times

[David P]

I know many here love the nitecore 10000 or 20,000mAh power bank but given the capacity of 20,000mah and its weight of 11.45oz it’s not that much lighter than my Anker 20,1000 mAh powerbank that weighs 12.50oz and only cost me $40. Alternatively I recently picked up a 15,000mAh RavPower (another great brand similar to Anker) that weighs 9.9oz in my scale and has an LCD display which is great because I like to pair it with an Anker solar panel for longer trips and that combo works extremely well. Able to get about 8-9% of juice per hour from the 21W panel on a good day

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

Thanks for this David P. Can you please provide details on the Anker solar panel?

[Michael K]

This POIYTL 10000 is so much better than the Anker at 16 dollars.  The POIYTL is .5oz lighter and has actual fast charging. It charges my samsung s21 in about 1.5 hours and a majority in 30 minutes ( super fast charge) and the Anker takes almost 5 hours.  Its claim of fast charging is a joke and this aspect has always been a huge inconvenient for me.

 

I used the Anker until this year before finding this new POIYTL one since it was the lightest 10000 powerbank i could find until now.

Both charge my S21 around 2.5 times.

http://Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W POIYTL Ultra-Compact Portable Phone Charger Fast Charging External Battery Pack for iPhone Samsung Galaxy Pixel Heated Vest etc https://a.co/d/cI0JiYs

 

[Bonzo]

So there’s a 20% loss when using the charger in question?  That seems… excessive.

[matthew k]

I thought the rule of thumb was that you lose 25 or 30% of the rated capacity when charging. 20% loss sounds low to me?

[Link .]

Rex Sanders just posted this and it might be of interest to you BatteryBench Tests of Nitecore and Anker Portable Battery Chargers .

[Bruce Tolley]

@ Michael.

So does the POITYL support USB-C PD fast charge and or any of the Qualcom quick charge specs?  If so that might be why it charges faster than Anker.

[DWR D]

“So there’s a 20% loss when using the charger in question?  That seems… excessive.”

Er… Just what IS the ‘charger in question’? (sometimes frustrating to try to follow logic when specifics not included)

“I thought the rule of thumb was that you lose 25 or 30% of the rated capacity when charging. 20% loss sounds low to me?”

What is ‘rated capacity’? and of what are we rating? Are we talking for a battery bank ‘named’ 10,000 a rating of mah? or is that just a name? And are you suggesting that a 10,000 rating will lose 2,500 to 3,000 mah (25 to 30%)? And if so, does that mean that if you have a 30% loss than a 10,000mah battery bank would charge a 3,500mah batter twice? (10,000 – 3,000 (30%) = 7,000mah divided by 3,500 mah (phone battery to be charged) = 2 charges?)

Sorry, but I am new to this and the terms being thrown around seem to assume we all know what they mean…

[HkNewman]

When it comes to 10000 mAh, The Nitecore is the lighter 10000 battery, but with some reports of the USB ports coming loose, the Anker is more “solid” for not even an oz more.   Besides plugging in at a bad angle, figure the battery will fall to the ground a few times minimum during its lifespan.   It also comes with a thick fabric sleeve.  I’ll keep it and the cables/wall charger wrapped in a waterproof dry bag too instead of a sandwich bag.

Granted I haven’t thought about charging speed as I’ll simply recharge between trips, but the only way I can see speed really being an issue is a long distance hiker trying to minimize town time (nero vs zero).   That said if cost is low too it’s tempting but read all the reviews (so apparently not only is there fast recharging but super-fast too)

[DWR D]

When it comes to 10000 mAh, The Nitecore is the lighter 10000 battery, but with some reports of the USB ports coming loose, the Anker is more “solid” for not even an oz more.   Besides plugging in at a bad angle, figure the battery will fall to the ground a few times minimum during its lifespan.   It also comes with a thick fabric sleeve.  I’ll keep it and the cables/wall charger wrapped in a waterproof dry bag too instead of a sandwich bag.

Okay so 4 sentences above. First sentence mentions two brands names of battery banks. The next three sentences refer to ‘it’… but which of the brands are you talking about when you say ‘it’???

Granted I haven’t thought about charging speed as I’ll simply recharge between trips, but the only way I can see speed really being an issue is a long distance hiker trying to minimize town time (nero vs zero).   That said if cost is low too..

So there are TWO charging speeds, no? Charging a battery bank at home from 110v and charging from the battery bank to your phone (or other) out in the field. Seems like the charging in the field would be more important, no?

[Michael K]

I don’t honestly know the technicalities of how the “Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W  POIYTL” quick charges.  However, you connect to charge from a USB-C and it says that it charges through “QC 3.0”  at 22.5W which I suppose could means Qualcom  “Quick Charge”?

With the Anker battery above, I often had to travel with my phone connected to the battery connected for hours which I really don’t like b/c of risk of  damage or water entry.  With this device, I could just take a 20-30 minute break, and have a majority of it charged.

 

[Bruce Tolley]

When supported, Anker’s Power IQ maxes out at 12 w. I think USB-C PD is 18 watts.  I have an older Anker 10000 with just USB A and Micro USB ports.  It does take a while for the Anker to charge my phone. More than 20 minutes but I have not really timed it.

So the POITYL sounds like a state of the art product at a very good cost point.

[Jerry Adams]

“So there’s a 20% loss when using the charger in question?  That seems… excessive.”

chargers are spec’d in capacity (mAh) of the lithium battery which is 3.6 volts

some phones are spec’d in mAh of USB voltage which is 5 volts.

if the charger is perfectly efficient, it takes 5/3.6 = 1.4 mAh of lithium battery voltage to supply 1 mAh of USB voltage.

[DWR D]

Does anyone know if POITYL is a good, reliable brand?

Never heard of them before this post…

 

[Brad W]

Cheap and robust-Anker 313, $15 on sale now on Amazon. Not the lightest, but cheapest quality bank.

[Author]

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