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.
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The nitecore is generally well regarded for it’s weight savings.
10k mAh, IPX5, 18W / 22.5W fast-ish charging, all under 150g
How fast can they be recharged though? From what I have seen, they take hours.
Yeah, only with 18W. Means over two hours to fully charge them. Do not wanna hang out that long anywhere.
Battery packs have a pretty fixed density-to-mAh ratio. I recommend looking for fold-out solar chargers with lower capacity. Less weight and can strap the solar cells on top of your kit so it charges while you’re out and about. It will charge slow but you walk slow, and it eliminates the need to stop into town to store up. Something around the 5-10k mAh should be plenty if you can charge it in the sun. Sucks when it rains but should charge even on cloudy days.
REI has a few options specifically chosen for their weight.
I think those are the shittiest power banks to get because the heat guarantees the batteries in the bank won’t last nearly as long as they should (and also reinforces the need for the charging to be slow to minimize adding to the heat buildup), creating needless waste. The panel should be separated from the bank so the batteries in the bank can be put somewhere where they can remain cooler while charging…
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.
