Portable power bank recommendations?

MSE_Laura_F

Hello,

Can you recommend a decent MoneySaving power bank or portable charger?

If you've managed to find a trusty one to suit your needs, how long have you had it, how much charge does it store, and do you remember how much you paid for it?

Thanks folks.

bob_a_builder

This one is the one I have 
23,000 mAh + has PD for faster charging  + led display of charge state  + USB A,C micro
Had it a year (used for recharging drone batteries - but never actually drained it completely yet ! )
Very good value  (I think) @ £25
Edit: Looks less good value, now I check current prices of similar units on AMZ )
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0892B32LB

400ixl

Anker are a reputable manufacturer of power banks. As for the other questions, well that all depends.

How much charge it holds and therefore what it costs depends on what you need it to be able to do. The more charge you want it to hold, the larger, heavier and costly the unit will be.

What do you need to be able to recharge and what size battery does that device have?
How many times will you need to charge the devices between when you can get to recharge?
How many devices will you need to charge at once?
What type of connections do you need (USB-A, USB-C)?
Do you want wireless charging?
Do you want one which has a digital display that tells you the charge percentage, or just has lights?

Do you have a budget in mind?

Personally I would never buy just any random Chinese manufactured brand. These battery banks run the risk of over heating and doing some serious damage. Stick to the well known and proven brands such as Anker, Belkin, Samsung, Energizer etc

Newcad

It depends what you want/need.

Personally I bought one of these (last autumns CoL) and it's great.
I got it in case of power cuts so that I could keep my phone and vapes charged.
Just to give an indication, from testing it just with the phone it can fully recharge my Samsung A13 from 15% to 100% over 6x and usually 8x.
(Obviously how long that would last you depends on how much you use your smartphone).

It's about the size of 2 phones back-to-back and came with a nice drawstring mesh bag/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/INIU-High-Speed-Flashlight-Powerbank-Compatible/dp/B07PNL5STG/

ArbitraryRandom

I agree I've got 4 anker power banks of various sizes, but I travel a fair bit for work and need to be able to charge a laptop/macbook/video equipment in an emergency. 

This is probably the one I actually use most often just to top up https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B9XHR6BG/ 

This one for heavier use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BYNZXFM2/

Things to consider are the total capacity (what are you going to need to charge and how often), but also the speed of charging (one of my higher capacity power banks can only charge a laptop when off - another when it's in use), and the actual size/weight of the power bank (so how practical is it for where you're likely to need to use it).  

It's worth getting high speed cables and wall plug as well - I know they're expensive for what looks identical to a cheaper version but they do actually make a difference. 

DigSunPap

I have this one and it lasts great. Done me well for over 2 years, still get about 4 charges out of it when its fully charged.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JIGA-30000mAh-Flashlight-Ultra-High-Compatible/dp/B08LKDCFZN/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=portable+charger&qid=1698775566&sr=8-11

cerebus

Why do you need one?

If its because your phones battery is dying , them you need a light one so you can carry it in your pocket say a 10,000ma one , if its to keep in your car then a big beefier one is what you need say a 30,000ma one 

This is the set up I have 

You need to be much more clearer on why and how you intend to use one. 

I will recommend one however that has the battery capacity as a percentage display as they make it easy to tell how much charge is left...

Don't forget to keep your power banks charged if they are for emergency use , pointless otherwise!

debitcardmayhem

cerebus said:

Why do you need one?

If its because your phones battery is dying , them you need a light one so you can carry it in your pocket say a 10,000ma one , if its to keep in your car then a big beefier one is what you need say a 30,000ma one 

This is the set up I have 

You need to be much more clearer on why and how you intend to use one. 

I will recommend one however that has the battery capacity as a percentage display as they make it easy to tell how much charge is left...

Don't forget to keep your power banks charged if they are for emergency use , pointless otherwise!

Why do you need one (big beefier) use a usb to car charger point  surely. Plus this thread is a general MSE consumer what do you recommend. Oh and if it’s for your pocket then get one that weighs the same as the same as your phone, put it in the other pocket so you aren’t lopsided.

debitcardmayhem

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerCore-20100-20000mAh-Technology-Black/dp/B00VJSGT2A?pd_rd_w=N8j4O&content-id=amzn1.sym.ec081abb-c744-47c2-b2a3-d4bed60235af&pf_rd_p=ec081abb-c744-47c2-b2a3-d4bed60235af&pf_rd_r=QWBZE2VQH280346DMENP&pd_rd_wg=Phg6O&pd_rd_r=8c9f8cdf-1b09-40fb-98c7-0d180fa9cfcc&pd_rd_i=B00VJSGT2A&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_t 
had it for 4 yrs , used it whilst in hospital for 3 weeks, charged during the day and used in the evening to top up my phone and iPad. I paid more than it costs now but very satisfied.

cerebus

debitcardmayhem said:

cerebus said:

Why do you need one?

If its because your phones battery is dying , them you need a light one so you can carry it in your pocket say a 10,000ma one , if its to keep in your car then a big beefier one is what you need say a 30,000ma one 

This is the set up I have 

You need to be much more clearer on why and how you intend to use one. 

I will recommend one however that has the battery capacity as a percentage display as they make it easy to tell how much charge is left...

Don't forget to keep your power banks charged if they are for emergency use , pointless otherwise!

Why do you need one (big beefier) use a usb to car charger point  surely. Plus this thread is a general MSE consumer what do you recommend. Oh and if it’s for your pocket then get one that weighs the same as the same as your phone, put it in the other pocket so you aren’t lopsided.

Simples I go camping and if I was to use my cars battery to power everything my cars battery would always be flat when I wanted to go home....

You do know you're saying that every person that carries a phone in a side pocket is lopsided unless they carry a power bank don't you?

Can you also explain your second sentence to me , I've already recommended two chargers so your sentence makes no sense 

lopsyfa

https://www.mi.com/uk/product/xiaomi-22-5w-power-bank-10000/ or https://www.mi.com/uk/product/10000mah-mi-power-bank-3-ultra-compact/ will be hard to beat in terms of quality and value. Have been using a Xiaomi powerbank for about 6 years now and still works well.