Power Banks/Power Stations
What power banks/power stations are you all using on the trail to charge phones, iPods, cameras and such?
Life is full of ups and downs! Hike on!
I currently use a Mophie Powerstation Pro (http://www.mophie.com/shop/universal...phones-tablets)
I used to use a Zendure A5 but found it overkill, and a bit too heavy (http://zendure.com/a-series-external-battery/)
I hear people really like the Anker line of batteries as well (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._al_bw_g107_i4)
I really like my Newtrent 10,000 ma backup. Never lets me down and the price wasn't too high. there are lighter solutions out there but I really like having the extra capacity for multiple recharges so I can use my phone for whatever I like as long as I like and still keep charged up.
I carry the Golf GF-802 (5,200 Mah). It's inexpensive, small, simple and only 4 ounces. With other strategies such as carrying a Sansa Clip+ for music to extend my smartphone batteries, this is plenty enough between charging opportunities. I don't hike with a tablet...a 5.25 inch smartphone screen is plenty big enough for everything, including my guides and maps.
Mophie Power Station Pro XL - 12,000 mAh of fun.
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Here's what I'm using, a met 2nd gen Astro 3 10,000 mucho amples/hour
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009US...WDL&ref=plSrch
I have 2 a newtrent 5400 and a non name brand 3200. Both work fine and I would use one or the other depending on what I need. I typically use them to recharge both my iPhone and Steripen, which I will do a short recharge right before bed and perhaps in the AM while having coffee.
The factors i look for in a battery pack are (and not in order):
Size, Weight, Recharge current (of the battery pack), Time to fully recharge, # of USB outlets, power rating of those outlets, flashlight option (I find this helpful but not mandatory), Cost.
That last one cost is not just the initial price but cheaper packs are more useful. I don't mind leaving a cheap pack recharging unattended, I may hesitate if I had a expensive one. Although the price of these packs has dropped a lot since I bought mine so it may not be that large a factor to go with a name brand.
And also based on my needs:
Enough power in mAh for my trip with enough to spare incase I mess up or miss a recharge, enough USB ports for what I want to charge simultaneously. The power rating of those ports (sometimes the ability to slow charge is preferred as it is more efficient)
If I were about to start a long hike I would pick up a zerolemon extended battery for my phone. They only make them for a few specific models. I current fly have a note 4. http://zerolemon.com/product/zerolem...on-case-black/
What I like about it is its all contained in one unit. There is no power loss in the transfer from battery to phone so it's more efficient. Also many newer phones support fast charging.
I was using the Anker 10,000mAh but never fully used it and it was very heavy. I also have a smaller 2,500mAh Jackery that will get me enough juice to recharge my phone about 75%. My phone has a 3950mAh battery so it will generally last me 2-3 days on airplane mode and using it for pics and maybe blogging. So the Jackery pack will get me about 5 days worth which is plenty for most everything I will do.
I use a 6400 mah Anker pack, will charge my iphone two times and a bit of a third. I've learned that for me it could be half that size and get me to town fine but I don't use my phone much, usually just a bit of web browsing if I catch a data signal. It works fine though, and I would recommend the brand.
I use my phone (iPhone6) for a lot on the trail - camera, blog, GPS, map (Guthook's app - amazing), PDF Reader (AWOL Guide in PDF), text wife to let her know I'm ok.
I found a 10,000ma battery for under $15 that so far, seems to be holding up really well. It's 10 ounces (which I count against the multi-use I get out of my phone - book reader, etc) and will recharge my phone around 4-5 times depending on how dead my phone is (usually around 20% by the time I get to charging it).
Using my phone as much as I do, I can use anywhere from 20-50% of a battery in a day (averaging around 30% daily). So carrying this - I can get about 10 days to two weeks out of a charge before I need to recharge it.
works for me; but I imagine something that recharged my phone twice would work just as well. Doubt I'll ever be much more than a week between charging up.
forgot to add - battery here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JM59JPG/ - KMASHI. got pretty decent reviews when I looked around
I use this Amazon 5600, it's cheap, small, and so far we aren't taking long journeys. It will charge an iPhone 5 2.5 times.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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