Who carries a power bank? What are some high capacity/low weight models < $50

[TauPhi111]

So I'm considering buying a power bank to charge my phone on long trips so I can run my maps and stuff for the entire week and make calls if I have too. There are sooooo many options on Amazon. I'm wondering what is the best one out there that has a high capacity (10000+ mah, 20000 preferred) and also low weight for about 50 bucks or less. Charging a Samsung Galaxy S8. What do you use?

 

[mlevimadden]

I use an Anker Powercore 10,0000. $26 on Amazon and less than 7 ounces. I can get a few phone charges out of it, and it has worked well for me so far. I don't have any experience with the larger capacity chargers though.

 

[fngTony]

Very happy with this one Anker PowerCore 13000 Portable Charger - Compact 13000mAh 2-Port Ultra Portable Phone Charger Power Bank with PowerIQ and VoltageBoost Technology for Amazon.com: Anker PowerCore 13000 Portable Charger - Compact 13000mAh 2-Port Ultra Portable Phone Charger Power Bank with PowerIQ and VoltageBoost Technology for iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories. Big thing is it actually charges at the same rate your wall charger does, not a trickle like some.

 

[ljalberta]

Used the Anker 20,000 this year. Charging an iPhone 5 and occasionally an inReach. Had 9 days on my most recent hunt and could have used a 10,000. I don't use my phone or inreach a whole lot though.

 

[Owenst7]

Something to understand with these batteries is that there is an inevitable loss of efficiency with the internal circuitry. You won't get 10,000 mAh out of a 10k battery...most testing that I've read has been somewhere around 65% efficiency, or about 6k mAh from a 10k battery. You will also loose some capacity as the cells age, further compounding the useable mAh/ounce ratio.

I've had a couple Zendure batteries since they were a kickstarter several years ago. They advertise having the most efficient circuitry on the market. I can't really attest to that because I've never tested them against anything else. I can say that in the last few months, I've run several tests on my ~4 year old, heavily used Zendure A3 and Gridder 1, and both have consistently exceeded 70% efficiency by a a couple percent.

I bought a Zendure A1 a couple weeks ago to take on my backpacking trips. It weighs 2.4 ounces and I've run a few tests under different conditions and have been getting a bit over 2,400 mAh out of it. That works out to right at 1,000 mAh/ounce. My A3 works out to pretty much the same, even after several years of use...which tells me the construction of it is of enough quality that it's really not losing efficiency as it ages.

My personal testing with that A1 coincides with my math, and I get at least a 60% charge from it on my GS8 Active (4,000 mAh battery). I've found this new phone to work fine for 3-5 days on a full charge if I leave it on airplane and battery save mode, even using it to take a good amount of pictures and leaving the Always-On display on. The 60% boost I get by plugging in the A1 will stretch me to about 5-7 days, which is really all I need it to do. The A2 at 6,700 mAh (I predict 4,700 mAh useable) would give me a full charge and then some, but at 4.8 ounces I don't really feel the need for it unless I start doing some heavy battery consumption stuff while I'm backpacking. It looks to me like Zendure is sizing all of the A series to hit that 1,000 useable mAh/ounce, so they're pretty easy to shop for if you know what your consumption will be.

I can also say that Zendure's claimed weights are accurate down to the tenth of an ounce with the three that I own. They also support charge-through, which I understand is not a feature that all batteries offer. It's nice to be able to use one outlet and leave things charging overnight, or leave several batteries plugged in to your truck while you leave, and come back to them all charged.

The only complaint I have with Zendure is that they haven't released a USB-C version of any of their batteries yet, so they would match my new GS8 active. I think that connector just came out a few months ago though, so I'm sure it will become more mainstream in the near future.

The only Anker products I have experience with are their replacement batteries for Samsung phones, and I've had no complaints. They worked just the same as the original Samsung batteries. Their construction doesn't look as durable as my Zendure batteries have proven to be, but that's just from looking at their advertising and pictures and is just heresay on my part. It's not like I strap any electronics to the outside of my pack either, so as long as they'll handle drops and occasional accidental moisture, it probably doesn't make a difference anyway.

 

[wildcat33]

Anker powercore II slim here. So far so good. It charges fast and lasts a long time.

Anker | PowerCore II Slim 10000mAh

 

[COLOelkman]

I use a 10k mAh Dark Energy Posseidon which is probably not considered lite or $50 but it is bombproof. Used and recommended by the Gritty Bowman whom I trust as I know they test their stuff. Ive used Anker replacements for my phone (older Samsung) and I'd rate them a 4 of 10. Not sayin the cheap chargers don't work but I know the DE is a great product after using mine for over 3 years.

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[Beendare]

Another Anker guy here good stuff/reasonably priced....i have the big brick one [overkill] and a couple smaller units.

So using my phone as a GPS and taking pics with it on airplane mode most of the time in Alaska
Edit;
As a reference for guys using their phone on airplane mode for 10 days in the field with the GPS app, mine an iPhone 7+. Its crazy how little using it like this drains the battery. I used the alarm, for photos [appx 50] and with the GAIA app and maps I had downloaded prior to the hunt. ...I did make a couple short calls a couple /textscalls when we had service for a very short time between moves and I listened to an audiobook for a few hours. My phone would avg about 10-20% battery loss per day. I was shocked how little it used....the small 10k unit was fine and i never used the big one.

i suppose if you have cell service and are calling your GF every night...you can throw the above info out the window. Normally your phone is constantly searching for a tower or a wifi it can latch onto. Without it doing that, the battery usage is minimal. My phone alone would last for 4-5 days with no charge on airplane mode on that hunt. I topped it off a few times from 50% to keep it juiced,JIC

 

[mfllood3800]

RavPower on Amazn
They are like 18500 each and I carry 2 cause hey are light and cheap.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

I use an Anker Powercore 10,000. $26 on Amazon and less than 7 ounces. I can get a few phone charges out of it, and it has worked well for me so far. I don't have any experience with the larger capacity chargers though.

This. There is a newer upgraded one that is $30 ish and I get four full charges out of it on an iPhone 6 or 7. I've got two of these Ankor 10,000s, but will only carry one.

 

[Daniel_M]

Costco. WinPlus $50. Almost 20K mAh.


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[Gunnersdad49]

Just used an Anker 2300 on a 10 day trip in the cold. Used phone as a camera and GPS. I probably charged the phone 5 times. Power bank never showed less than full

 

[530Chukar]

I've been using the Anker 26800 all summer and it's been working great for me. I went 12 or 13 days at home and work charging my iPhone soley off the Anker so I've been impressed. $60 at amazon now.

 

[gdog]

....Anker Powercore 10000. I've bought 4 of them for myself, wife and kids and all have worked great. Looking at picking up an Anker solar panel as they rate pretty high.

 

[jherald]

Picked up a couple Dark Energy chargers at a good price just to try out. They have served fairly well so far. I'm able to charge my phone with it without any issues. Served well on a few sheep hunts, so far so good.

I get almost 4 full charges on Iphone7 with one bank.

 

[rgroves79]

Very happy with this one Anker PowerCore 13000 Portable Charger - Compact 13000mAh 2-Port Ultra Portable Phone Charger Power Bank with PowerIQ and VoltageBoost Technology for Amazon.com: Anker PowerCore 13000 Portable Charger - Compact 13000mAh 2-Port Ultra Portable Phone Charger Power Bank with PowerIQ and VoltageBoost Technology for iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories. Big thing is it actually charges at the same rate your wall charger does, not a trickle like some.

Used the same one this year with good results. I had to do slightly less than 2 full charges to my S7 over the course of 5 days. Phone on airplane mode and running Gaia with GPS enabled for most of the day plus texting the wife through an Iridium GO in the evenings and listening to podcasts for about an hour at night before bed.

 

[WoodBow]

You can get a 10k one that is slim for $10 in the checkout line at walmart. It even has a digital readout of power level. I was really considering spending the money on a poseidon. I am glad I did not. For my purposes, this served me just fine. Need more power? Buy two. I have an s7 and just kept it off while in the mountains. I powered it on to take pics and use maps. I was able to make a call to the wife from one location. Once my power level started getting low, I would just charge it back up. I don't think my battery pack ever got below 50% but I was not using my phone heavily.

 

[colobow]

What's the brand and model of the $10 one?



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[ColoradoHunterHiker]

I have used the MoPower from Amazon (I think it's $17 right now) for the past couple seasons. Probably not as durable as the dark energy ones, but serves its purpose for me..

Video on backcountry charging I did here: Backcountry Chargers

Good Luck!

 

[Kevin Dill]

Who carries a power bank? That would be me now.

Just came off a hunt and saw how useful one can be on extended backcountry trips. Cell phones, satellite phone, camera...almost anything. I just bought a Zendure A5 after doing the research.