Anker PowerCore Elite 20000 or different power bank?

[DarkDK]

Hi all!

I'm looking for a Power Bank that would be good for long hikes (even theoretical thru hikes). I'd be hiking with my wife and possibly my child, so the draw of the Elite is that I would be able to charge my phone, as well as hers my wife's. It does weigh more than an Anker 10000 model, but I figured it'd be a possible alternative to having 2 different Anker 10000's.

Does this sound like a bad idea? Does anyone have experience with this model? Does anyone have any suggestions as an alternative?

Thanks :)

[Venchka]

My 10,000 mAh battery takes forever to charge. It also charges my iPhone 5s many times.
2 10,000 mAh, just like 2 water bottles, affords safety in duplication and faster recharging of the batteries. If you have a two cable charger.
20,000 mAh seems like massive overkill and a pain in the Kazoo.
Wayne

[MuddyWaters]

Recharge time

Got 16 hrs or more to recharge it?

Use multiple smaller , can charge at same time

Takes 8hrs for a 10,000

[JC13]

RavPower 10K $20-30, weighs 6.8 oz. Just bought one myself as our older and heavier 11.2k(different brand) is starting to lose capacity.


Recharging Time via 2A Charger
5-5.5 hrs & 3.5-4 hrs via QC 3.0 Charger


https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B077CXT75W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Cheyou]

https://www.nitecorestore.com/Nitecore-F2-Flex-Dual-Port-Power-Bank-Charger-p/chg-nite-f2.htm

carry as many 18650 batterys as needed

[soumodeler]

That model has dual inputs for charging the power pack, and advertises a 6 hour charge time. Newer technology reduces the charge time on some even without the dual input. Anker makes some of the highest quality power packs out there. You really can't go wrong with them. I have several and they all work great.

[fiddlehead]

That model has dual inputs for charging the power pack, and advertises a 6 hour charge time. Newer technology reduces the charge time on some even without the dual input. Anker makes some of the highest quality power packs out there. You really can't go wrong with them. I have several and they all work great.

I added the bold (above)

My 2 cents:
I have an AnkerPower core 5,000
It weighs a ton. (I'm guessing 4 or 5 oz)
I also have a Goal Zero Flip 10 (so much lighter weight) (maybe 2 oz? again, I'm guessing here)
They seem to give about the same charge to my phone even though the Anker is supposed to be much higher in the stats.

So, I'm a little hesitant on the Anker hype.
That IQ powercore that I have is HEAVY!

[MuddyWaters]

That model has dual inputs for charging the power pack, and advertises a 6 hour charge time. Newer technology reduces the charge time on some even without the dual input. Anker makes some of the highest quality power packs out there. You really can't go wrong with them. I have several and they all work great.
;
Good catch on the elite model having dual inputs.
None can charge faster than the capacity of the charger blocks that you use them with. My phone will charge fast it has a special fast charge block that does 3A.

[Kerosene]

I've got an Anker 20K that I bought for my aborted hike of the JMT last year (knees). Recharge time isn't an issue if you are overnighting at a power source. Let me know if you'd like to buy it at a good discount, as I won't be doing any more long-distance backpacking until I get new knees.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

I added the bold (above)
My 2 cents:
I have an AnkerPower core 5,000
It weighs a ton. (I'm guessing 4 or 5 oz)
I also have a Goal Zero Flip 10 (so much lighter weight) (maybe 2 oz? again, I'm guessing here)
They seem to give about the same charge to my phone even though the Anker is supposed to be much higher in the stats.
So, I'm a little hesitant on the Anker hype.
That IQ powercore that I have is HEAVY!
The Flip 10 is half the capacity of the Anker. Good battery packs will avoid deep discharge, the Anker stops at around 30% charge. I can _nearly_ charge a 4000 mAh cellphone off an Anker5000.

There's no way the Flip 10 can provide the same juice as an Anker 5000.

[soumodeler]

I added the bold (above)

My 2 cents:
I have an AnkerPower core 5,000
It weighs a ton. (I'm guessing 4 or 5 oz)
I also have a Goal Zero Flip 10 (so much lighter weight) (maybe 2 oz? again, I'm guessing here)
They seem to give about the same charge to my phone even though the Anker is supposed to be much higher in the stats.

So, I'm a little hesitant on the Anker hype.
That IQ powercore that I have is HEAVY!

Comparing apples to apples, or at least as close as I can find, the listed weight of the Goal Zero Flip 10 is 2.4 ounces for 2600mAh.

The Anker Powercore+ mini 3350mAh is listed at 2.56 ounces.

So 28% more battery for an extra .16 ounce? I’ll take the Anker all day.

Not hype.

[soumodeler]

The Flip 10 is half the capacity of the Anker. Good battery packs will avoid deep discharge, the Anker stops at around 30% charge. I can _nearly_ charge a 4000 mAh cellphone off an Anker5000.

There's no way the Flip 10 can provide the same juice as an Anker 5000.

That matches with what I see with Anker, you get about 80% of the stated capacity. You also have to take into account battery efficiency. You will always lose a percentage while charging to heat. Anker, with high quality components, tends to be in the 20% range. I have heard that some of the cheap knockoffs have a 50% or more loss.

[fiddlehead]

That's not the one I have ^.
I know what the specs say.
I'm talking from my experience of charging my phone with these 2 different chargers.
Of course, I have not done a scientific experiment with exact percentages starting (on my phone) or ending and time.
I pretty much only use the Anker from my pickup truck as there's no way I would carry something so heavy.
If you try that flip 10, you might find that it does a good job and is half the weight.

[soumodeler]

;
Good catch on the elite model having dual inputs.
None can charge faster than the capacity of the charger blocks that you use them with. My phone will charge fast it has a special fast charge block that does 3A.
Good point on the charger, should have mentioned that. Lots of multi output chargers now have some version of Quick Charge, just a matter of finding one to meet your needs, for both phone and battery pack. Some only offer the Quick Charge on one port, with 1A on the other. To add to the confusion, some specs are in amps, others are in Watts.

[soumodeler]

That's not the one I have ^.
I know what the specs say.
I'm talking from my experience of charging my phone with these 2 different chargers.
Of course, I have not done a scientific experiment with exact percentages starting (on my phone) or ending and time.
I pretty much only use the Anker from my pickup truck as there's no way I would carry something so heavy.
If you try that flip 10, you might find that it does a good job and is half the weight.
I think you are missing the point. Of course a bigger battery pack is going to weigh more. My example was to show that for the nearest product I could quickly find that Anker makes to the flip 10, the Anker is basically the same weight with a larger capacity.

If if you are getting less than 2000mAh from a 5000mAh pack, something is wrong or you really have more charge left in the pack.

[fiddlehead]

By the way, I see they are not sold in the states, but the OnePlus phones have a special cable and charger called a "dash charger".
The cable cannot be twisted and I read somewhere that it uses fibre optics somehow to charge the phone.
It charges very quickly using 5v I believe and mine charges from 30% to 95% in 35 minutes!
Means everytime I stop at a restaurant or similar for a quick bite, I get almost a full charge.
Doesn't quick charge with power banks though, only the special plug in thingy and their special cable.
I love this phone.
128 GB capacity too.
Took thousands of pictures and a bunch of video on my last hike and it only used up about 40% of the storage.
I bought mine online.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but figured I'd clue you in on something that is a very positive deal for me (Dash Charger)

[MuddyWaters]

By the way, I see they are not sold in the states, but the OnePlus phones have a special cable and charger called a "dash charger".
The cable cannot be twisted and I read somewhere that it uses fibre optics somehow to charge the phone.
It charges very quickly using 5v I believe and mine charges from 30% to 95% in 35 minutes!
Means everytime I stop at a restaurant or similar for a quick bite, I get almost a full charge.
Doesn't quick charge with power banks though, only the special plug in thingy and their special cable.
I love this phone.
128 GB capacity too.
Took thousands of pictures and a bunch of video on my last hike and it only used up about 40% of the storage.
I bought mine online.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but figured I'd clue you in on something that is a very positive deal for me (Dash Charger)

Its a 4A charger system
Which is obviously faster than qualcoms 3A fast charge

Rest of what they spew is misleading garbage. A battery has internal resistance. It takes a specific voltage across across it to achieve given charge rate. This is same for all. Higher current = higher terminal voltage across battery, and higher battery heat. Fast charging is bad for batteries due to the heat. Batteries dissipate heat poorly. To achieve the necessary voltage at the battery requires not losing it in the cable do the resistance there, or in charger circuitry, which is why Qualcomm goose the voltage up from the charger. A very low voltage drop cable will do the same thing with lower voltage supplied. My heavy-duty anker cables charge faster than lighter Duty cables . The extremely tiny wires in light duty cables simply can't pass the current without substantial voltage loss, leading to slow charge rates. Most of these were intended to function in the half amp charge rate area.

Putting some charger circuitry in the charger block instead of the phone can reduce a little bit of weight out of the phone but at the same time requires you to always use that only branded charger block, possibly for control of the charge, which is obviously a little bit of a downside. This little bit of circuitry you would generate a tiny amount of heat compared to the heat of the battery charging, claiming that the charging at a 4A rate is cool because of this seems quite a bit. misleading

Regardless it sounds awesomely fast for charging your phone. I've been watching the OnePlus models since they appeared.

Back to charging the big backup batteries......
They required 2 Amp Chargers to achieve reasonable charge times. I should try my 3 A Qualcomm charger block with my 10000mah battery and see if it's actually faster with a good cable. Trying to charge my 10,000 with somebody else's small 1A block one time led to the smell of melting plastic. So plan on bringing a big heavy good 2Acharger block and cable.

[fiddlehead]

Its a 4A charger system
Which is obviously faster than qualcoms 3A fast charge

Rest of what they spew is misleading garbage. A battery has internal resistance. It takes a specific voltage across across it to achieve given charge rate. This is same for all. Higher current = higher terminal voltage across battery, and higher battery heat. Fast charging is bad for batteries due to the heat. Batteries dissipate heat poorly. To achieve the necessary voltage at the battery requires not losing it in the cable do the resistance there, or in charger circuitry, which is why Qualcomm goose the voltage up from the charger. A very low voltage drop cable will do the same thing with lower voltage supplied. My heavy-duty anker cables charge faster than lighter Duty cables . The extremely tiny wires in light duty cables simply can't pass the current without substantial voltage loss, leading to slow charge rates. Most of these were intended to function in the half amp charge rate area.

Putting some charger circuitry in the charger block instead of the phone can reduce a little bit of weight out of the phone but at the same time requires you to always use that only branded charger block, possibly for control of the charge, which is obviously a little bit of a downside. This little bit of circuitry you would generate a tiny amount of heat compared to the heat of the battery charging, claiming that the charging at a 4A rate is cool because of this seems quite a bit. misleading

Regardless it sounds awesomely fast for charging your phone. I've been watching the OnePlus models since they appeared.

Back to charging the big backup batteries......
They required 2 Amp Chargers to achieve reasonable charge times. I should try my 3 A Qualcomm charger block with my 10000mah battery and see if it's actually faster with a good cable. Trying to charge my 10,000 with somebody else's small 1A block one time led to the smell of melting plastic. So plan on bringing a big heavy good 2Acharger block and cable.

You MUST use their cable (OnePlus')
I decided to bring a shorter, lighter weight cable on my hike and realized it wouldn't dash (fast) charge without their cable.
I was in Bangkok and searched all the big electronic stores there.
So, since the OnePlus is not sold in Thailand either, the cable was not available and the best cable I could buy would NOT fast charge the phone.
So, I ordered another cable from them and had it shipped to Croatia where we picked it up a week later.
Once again, I got the super fast charge.
It's the main reason I bought the phone and that was a year ago.
I still have the phone and have had no issues with it.
And i use it hard.

Anyway, thanks for that lesson on chargers and voltage.
I'm heading out for another hike in 10 days and hope my phone and Flip 10 hold up to the Tasmanian weather. (will for sure be wetter than the Balkans)

[DarkDK]

Thanks for all of the responses, everyone!

So it seems like the general consensus is to perhaps get 2 smaller power banks that also have quicker recharge times.

I think I'll probably take a look at getting the 10k models, which unfortunately never go on sale since Anker knows I want to buy them and hates me :)

The Anker power banks probably are over-hyped, but what I like about Anker is their customer service. They're usually pretty good about trying to make things right.