On reddit, there is lively discussion about which power bank is the best ultralight option. With a cautious rant about remembering to just not using much power.
I am looking however for something more specific. I will be fast packing. That means that I do not want to stay in towns for too long to charge my 5000mAh superlight power bank for several hours. I need something that charges FAST.
I have the INUI 27 000 mAh power bank. This beast can charge with astonishing 100W. So with 50% charged, I can refill the whole thing in about 30 minutes. Amazing! Problem: It weighs 500g.
So, what are the lightweight, quick recharging options? I do not care how fast the power bank charges itself. QC or PD are not that important to me. Only how fast I can recharge it.
I gotta say I disagree.
Even the best solar panels (best being lightweight, rugged, and decent output) are usually 500g without a battery pack, and then you have to tinker with it and haul it in the open.
Real-world testing with a highly recommended solar panel, the Nomad 10W, says you can charge a 10k battery roughly every 2.5 days in “good” conditions.
A good 10k battery bank (nitecore 10k @150g) + the Nomad 10W (500g) = 650g
Now on day 1 with these nearly ideal conditions you’re going to have 10k mAh in your power budget
Day 2 you have (10000/2.5) = 4000mAh solar power for a total of 14k mAh
Day 3 you have 18k mAh
Day 4 you have 22k mAh
Day 5 you have 26k mAh
Day 6 you have 30k mAh
For a whole week you have 34k mAh.
The alternative is you use your 650g budget to buy as many nitecore battery banks as you can afford. That’s 650g / 150g = 4 10k battery banks.
That’s 40,000 mAh in 600g vs 34,000 mAh in 650g during nearly ideal conditions.
Break even doesn’t happen until midway though day 9. 9 days of ideal solar conditions to break even and begin seeing a benefit to bringing a solar cell.