Power Banks and Solar Chargers

[WTNUT]

As mentioned in other threads, going on an Alaskan Brown bear hunt for 16 days. Been there enough to know being rained/weathered in some is nearly a certainty.

Anyone have advise on a power bank and solar charger that has worked for them to charge phone and I-Pad? I know leave the stuff at home, and I know there is no cell service. Will have a Sat. Phone for emergency, but I can entertain myself during the long days when it is slow.


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[Roosterstraw]

I’ve been happy with anker products.

 

[11boo]

16 days will kill any power bank. Given the overcast conditions likely either several charged banks, or a decent size folding panel. We run elk camp all September on a 120w panel charging banks. Also run tent lights from the bank.

you could probably work with a 40 to 60 watt panel if it could charge a bank all day.

I doubt you can bring in all the stuff we do, but think similar but smaller. You obviously won’t be taking a big lead acid battery, but a couple 10 to 20k MAH ankers should work.

 

[WTNUT]

16 days will kill any power bank. Given the overcast conditions likely either several charged banks, or a decent size folding panel. We run elk camp all September on a 120w panel charging banks. Also run tent lights from the bank.

you could probably work with a 40 to 60 watt panel if it could charge a bank all day.

I doubt you can bring in all the stuff we do, but think similar but smaller. You obviously won’t be taking a big lead acid battery, but a couple 10 to 20k MAH ankers should work.

View attachment 561262View attachment 561263

Thanks! For the price of the hunt, I should be able to bring 2 lead acid batteries! In all seriousness, I know how remote it is there and how expensive it is just pull off the logistics of the hunt so not complaining. Blessed to go!


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[arlenmyles]

Jay at Mindful Hunter Podcast did a great review on back country charging devices.

 

[Chuckybmd]

I use an anker power 20000 mah bank and I have the anchor 21w folding solar panels. They work OK in bright sunlight, but I can’t imagine you’ll be getting much of that where you’re going.

I think I can get at least a solid four charges from the power bank. “iPhone” If I’m lucky I can charge the bank from the panels if the weather is good.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying turning the phone off to save power and reading a book or playing cards with a hunting buddy. The detox from technology is nice.

 

[WTNUT]

I use an anker power 20000 mah bank and I have the anchor 21w folding solar panels. They work OK in bright sunlight, but I can’t imagine you’ll be getting much of that where you’re going.

I think I can get at least a solid four charges from the power bank. “iPhone” If I’m lucky I can charge the bank from the panels if the weather is good.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying turning the phone off to save power and reading a book or playing cards with a hunting buddy. The detox from technology is nice.

Thanks. I feel like I am starting over. For 20 years I did nearly all DYI hunts all over the place then my business became very profitable and I have been a Pansy every since on guided hunts. My wife is enjoying me returning to my roots more than anyone she is laughing every night thinking of me out in the middle of no where for a month.


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[cck]

I brought my Anker 20,000 on a 10 day hunt in Montana. Charged 2 phones and an inreach and still had about 1/2 charge left on it by the time we got back home. Worked great

 

[Drenalin]

I have a Mophie Juice Pack as my phone case, which will recharge the phone once. Then a Nitecore NB10000 that will recharge the phone and the case once, with enough left in it for just a little more the next time. I think that last point is due to me not generally letting my battery drop below 20%. I don't have any experience with solar chargers, and probably won't based on the generally unfavorable reviews I've seen for them.

 

[Macchina]

We do a week long hunt up north and have found Solar chargers not to be worth it if you don’t already have them. If you’re buying new, go with a huge power bank or 2 decent ones.

With a 20w panel I maybe got half an iPhone charge in a week. For the same weight I could have brought another Anker 10k mAh power bank and had 3 more charges.

There is a HUGE difference between a sunny day with solar and a cloudy day (you’re changing at something like 20% rated capacity under clouds). Also there is a decent loss from the solar to the power bank then another from the bank to your device.

Get a big bank and call it good!

 

[11boo]

The thing about panels charging batteries is the rating is kind of misleading.
You see your panel has 30w of output and you do some math and figure 30w will do it. It probably would, if you could count on 30 for most of the day, and you can’t. Far too many variables in keeping a 30w output constant. Even on clear days, the panel needs moved to follow the sun at least a few times To stay anywhere near 30w.

120w in my case is likely over kill, but I’m not space constrained or packing it either, and we are usually not at camp midday to adjust the panel. Since I’m an electrician I have a fluke that measures DC wattage. Did a test on my 120w panel one day. Clear and sunny conditions. With my brand new panel charging my battery in direct sun I got 112 watts of output.
With it angled away but not shaded, 62 watts.
Angled away, and shaded, 32 watts.

the newer, lightweight power banks are pretty amazing. I will probably move to a very large one soon and ditch the 35AH lead battery

 

[Macchina]

The thing about panels charging batteries is the rating is kind of misleading.
You see your panel has 30w of output and you do some math and figure 30w will do it. It probably would, if you could count on 30 for most of the day, and you can’t. Far too many variables in keeping a 30w output constant. Even on clear days, the panel needs moved to follow the sun at least a few times To stay anywhere near 30w.

120w in my case is likely over kill, but I’m not space constrained or packing it either, and we are usually not at camp midday to adjust the panel. Since I’m an electrician I have a fluke that measures DC wattage. Did a test on my 120w panel one day. Clear and sunny conditions. With my brand new panel charging my battery in direct sun I got 112 watts of output.
With it angled away but not shaded, 62 watts.
Angled away, and shaded, 32 watts.

the newer, lightweight power banks are pretty amazing. I will probably move to a very large one soon and ditch the 35AH lead battery

There are other benefits to power banks as well. They are much better in the cold (still affected though), and usually have very decent controller boards on both the input and output sides. If you get a waterproof version this could greatly clean up your charging station (no external charger or converter needed as with the lead acid battery). Correctly controlling the charge is important for Li-Ion and also being able to keep it topped off (with a solar charger) will help it last longer. They usually have a life of about 2000-3000 charge cycles before they can't hold enough charge to be worthwhile, but this assumes something like a drain to 20% then back up. If you are only cycling between 80% and 100% they can have like 10,000 charge cycles.

You'd need another charge controller, but have you looked into the 12v lithium cells made for RV's? These were a game changer for off-grid RVing. Same footprint as a lead acid battery, but with all the benefits (and greatly increased capacity) of lithium batteries. This is the direction I'd go in a second if I was running a powered spike camp. The LiFePO4 batteries are awesome (as opposed to the lithium iron phosphate) as they have 4 times as much life.

 

[Macchina]

Also, if you have solar, make sure you keep the panel very clean. If even a single cell (the smaller squares) is dirty or in shade, that whole panel can be reduced to 10% output. Newer panels are improving this deficiency but the majority of panels output in total only as much as the lowest performing cell is generating. A leaf on a panel can ruin its output.

The folding 4-panel units are nice because even if one panel is compromised, you are still generating on the other 3.

 

[gtriple]

The updated BigBlue on Amazon works great.

 

[Boarmaster]

I been using anker for years. I originally purchased a 20k. I then purchased two 10ks. I usually take both 10ks. I just find them more handy than the one larger 20k. I can leave one at camp or in the truck charging and carry one in my pocket or pack for the day should I need it. Seems like I am always charging someone else’s phone more than mine.