External Batteries aka Power Bank recommendations

[Shonryu]

Does anyone have any recommendations of a good external battery for backpacking. I need to upgrade the one I have. I'm looking for something around the 7800 to 9000 range and as light as possible. If possible list the brand name, cost, where you got it, and weight. Thanks

[Big Dawg]

There's a good deal at richardsolo.com,,, $39.57,,,, it's oly 6600 mAh, but it still packs a lot of power. I've owned this one for over a year, and it's been great. Very dependable product and company!

http://richardsolo.com/superpowerbank.aspx#.UcPkPcu9KSM

[leaftye]

Are you up for putting together your own? It may be the only way to know you have quality cells. Here are some tests.
http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexUSB%20UK.html

Put Panasonic 3400 mah cells and you can get 6800 mah with only 2 cells.

Some diy power packs even have built in lights (http://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10004474/1342603-15a-218650-single-usb-output-mobile-power-pack-bat), so you might be able to use that instead of a flashlight.

Here's a 3 cell version (http://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10004450/1340502-ruinovo-302-1a21a-318650-dual-usb-output-mobile-po) that will allow you to get 10200mah out of 3x3400mah cells. Here's a kit (http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004458/1341103-xinbo-1-15a-318650-single-usb-output-mobile-power-) that already includes those cells.

[Ironbelly]

I recommend New Trent battery packs. I have the 9900mah and a friend has the 11,000 something one. But they come in a bunch of different sizes. I found the size, weight, quality, and features all shined above the competition. I think I bought my 9900 for like 45 or so a few years back, could have been less dont really remember .

[BZ853]

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/3wattkit.php this is what I have and they have bigger options as well. But this keeps all my AAAs and phone charged. The battery back will hold enough charge for me to charge my iphone 4 twice before needing more sun.

[Shonryu]

Leaftye - I'd perfer this option. I know a lot of people who have bought these from ebay or Amazon and when they opened them up found out that they may have only had 1 or 2 batteries and the rest were filled with bags of sand. That and having the ability to change out the batteries if over a period of time stop holding their charge or just having the option to bring spare batteries that are charged to change in and out to cut down on weight when needed. I'm going to look more into this. I'm leaving for a section hike soon so I wont be able to probably consider this as an option for that.

BZ853 - Have you field tested that yet? I bought a similar set-up and the pannel couldn't get enough direct light while I was backpacking. I gave up on the whole solar pannel charger but would be curious to know about your experuinces with it.

[leaftye]

Leaftye - I'd perfer this option. I know a lot of people who have bought these from ebay or Amazon and when they opened them up found out that they may have only had 1 or 2 batteries and the rest were filled with bags of sand. That and having the ability to change out the batteries if over a period of time stop holding their charge or just having the option to bring spare batteries that are charged to change in and out to cut down on weight when needed. I'm going to look more into this. I'm leaving for a section hike soon so I wont be able to probably consider this as an option for that.

Lithium ion batteries can be dangerous. Please keep that in mind when you go outside of what I recommended in the first post. Stick with cells that are either straight up Panasonic or Sanyo, or have those cells inside. When you replace one cell, replace them all unless you verify and match the internal resistance and capacity. You don't want mismatched cells. If you might be up for saving a few bucks, you can get your cells from a brand new laptop battery. Even if they're old, new completely unused cells age very well. I recently got 6 2900mah cells for less than $10 shipped.

Fasttech ships out pretty quick for a chinese vendor. You'll probably have your package within two weeks.

Here's another option that uses AA cells, but DX ships slowly. It'll be at least two weeks before you get your package, but it could be two months.
http://dx.com/p/portable-emergency-power-charger-w-led-usb-cable-for-iphone-5-ipod-touch-5-more-white-219055

Here's a review of the type of battery pack I mentioned that has a built-in light. It's not great, but I have rather high standards for flashlights.
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/15912

And then there's the same idea that's more flashlight than power supply.
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/9733
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/9197

I should admit that I don't have any of these. I'm just going off of what other forum members like. I don't have the power demands to justify a portable power supply. A tiny Liponano charger is more than good enough for me. It's for my cell phone and flashlight batteries.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?363138-Review-of-Charger-LIPOnano