Rechargeable Headlamps and Excess Power Bank Drain?

I don’t know the answer, but here’s how I’d find out:

Get an inline USB voltage / amps / capacity meter:

and let it measure how much power goes into your Nitecore (and out of power bank).  You can also use it to assess the power bank’s true capacity (spoiler alert: it’s less than advertised, sometimes a lot less), the power banks efficiency (energy in versus energy out) and the energy demands of your other devices.

There are voltage / amp meters for about $1 including shipping which are very handy for comparing chargers and cables and discarding the really lousy ones, but these meters that add mA-hr measurements go for $4 each, including shipping on eBay out of China.

When I’ve measured some of my small rechargeable headlights, the amp draw is quite low – 0.02 to 0.04 amps for a few hours until it is charged (versus my iPhone that charges at 0.8-0.9 amps).

Thanks, David! Going to order a usb voltmeter when I decide on a battery pack, which I’m delaying for a few months in case new technology hits the market. Mainly to ensure my cables aren’t bottlenecking, but now also to check battery efficiency, whether a Nitecore headlamp will drain my battery excessively, etc.

When you say the amp draw on some of your rechargeable headlamps is low, that just means that they take longer to charge, yes? Or would a slower draw somehow lead to lost energy? Trying to figure out why some reviewers report energy loss with the Nitecore; whether it’s a specific product issue or a class of products (i.e. all small rechargeable headlamps) issue.

I love the random knowledge I learn when preparing for a big trek and I’m grateful to have access to y’alls collective experience; thanks for sharing!

FWIW, the modern PCT has plenty of places to recharge electronics and power-banks.  Most of the time it’s tableside, so I’d go with a 2 USB port system – I’d like a lightweight one that swivels as wall plugs get crowded.

Slightly off-topic.  Just keep an eye on yr stuff as some small towns have meth-head populations who’ll steal unattended electronics and major gear (heard about it and saw it happen to my tent neighbors at the Cascade Locks campground several weeks ago).

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“When you say the amp draw on some of your rechargeable headlamps is low, that just means that they take longer to charge, yes?”

John, yes.  Each battery chemistry has a particular, ideal, rate of charge.  Regardless of its size.  Example: the large lead-acid battery in your car, a small one for a scooter or a bank of them in a golf cart should all charge over the same period of time, just at different amperages corresponding to their capacity.  My current favorite headlamp, the Petzel Bindi, is pretty small but gives me plenty of 1 lumen  time (reported as 45 or 50 hours, measured by me as 51 hours) which is enough for an established trail but also goes to 200 lumens for a bit of route-finding, etc.

But even that little battery takes several hours to recharge, albeit at a low amperage.  More broadly, I’m liking my rechargeable Bindi headlamp, small (half a thumb drive) handheld LED light, larger Nitecore TIP 360 lumen compact handheld light, and my rechargeable UV SteriPen.  Earlier this year, I run them all down while timing/counting the use, wrote all that data on the devices themselves and now leave for each trip with a fully charged device and no extra batteries.  Previously, with replaceable batteries, there was always that debate about putting new batteries in versus risking the battery being low versus bringing an extra set.

“Or would a slower draw somehow lead to lost energy?”
Hopefully the Powerbank doesn’t have a lot of standby losses, but I don’t know.  When you turn it on, you’re energizing some circuits but hopefully those use little more energy other than their output.

I like short, multi-outlet charging cables.  6-12 inches long.  2, 3, or 4 outlets.  Then any wall charger or powerbank can be charging multiple devices at once.