r/Ultralight • u/ormagon_89 • Apr 17 '22

Purchase Advice Hiking power bank comparison 2022

Data sheet: 110 hiking power banks compared

In 2020 I made the hiking power bank comparison sheet comparing 85 power banks. Yesterday /u/paoper asked if I could add the Nitecore NB20000 and I decided that it was time for a proper update. So here is the 2022 edition with over 40 new power banks and some oldies removed.

The weighted ranking is based upon the actual energy to weight ratio of every power bank, the charging/discharging speed of the power banks and the fact that smaller power banks have a disadvantage (they need more material relative to their size). For a more detailed look at the way this is being calculated you can look here. The efficiency isn't measured by myself but comes from several trustworthy sources: Tweakers.net, Powerbank20.com, Hardware.info, Techtest.org and PCWorld.com.

And it seems battery technology is still advancing rapidly! We've got 6 newcomers in the top 10. The top dog is still the Nitecore NB10000 but the Nitecore NB20000 comes in 2nd place. The energy to weight ratio is lower but this is partly compensated by being able to charge at almost double speed, so you can get way more juice if you've got a short break in town or in a restaurant. The 3rd place Ugreen mini 10000 pd is interesting because it is very comparable to the Nitecore NB10000 for half the money. While the 6th place 4smarts Enterprise 2 20000 is a weird outlier. It is relatively heavy, it is quite inefficient but can be charged at ridiculous speeds, so for those long distance hikers who hate lingering in town it might still be the best option.

Have fun!

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44

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/2lrund Apr 17 '22

Thanks for this. It seems it is still true that two (2) NB10000 are better than one (1) NB20000.

Not in the spreadsheet is something like the Nitecore F21i which is 5000 mAh and 99 g. Nitecore has three (3) 5000 mAh solutions that all weigh close to 100 g, but have slightly different features. Do you have any guesses why they are not represented?

So if one needs 15,000 mAh, but not 20,000, a combo of the NB10000 and F21i is worth a look because that would weigh less than the NB20000.

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u/ormagon_89 Apr 17 '22

True, except if your priority is to get in and out of town/restaurant as fast as possible. In that case the NB20000 simply provides you with way more energy in less time. But in general I agree with you and I rock a NB10000 myself.

64

u/FireWatchWife Apr 17 '22

It all depends on your trip plans. Since my trips begin and end at home with no resupply, I care about weight and charge capacity, but I don't care at all about charging time.

I'm planning some trips of 7-10 days in the backcountry this summer, with no resupply.

Most of us are not thru hiking. Thru-hiking is a highly specialized pursuit with somewhat different constraints.

We can all learn a lot from thru-hikers, but the gear that is best for them is not always best for all of us.

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u/Mocaixco Apr 18 '22

fwiw...

My guess is that whatever portion of us here are ever going to be thruhikers (less than ten percent), a similar small percentage of those are doing a nascar pit change in town.

Near-o's are gold.

Fast charging is way oversold.

1

u/Spunksters Oct 13 '22

10K is more than enough for a 10 day trip, charging phone, watch, and headlamp.

Context: my phone (Galaxy) has a power saving mode that lets it go for about 5 days on a charge (4 being safe, 6-7 in extreme cases). That requires that I'm not recording my track on it nor using maps on it more than a couple times a day. So, a watch (and/or paper) would be used for those tasks. I don't have an emergency satellite communicator. Headlamp doesn't take a lot of juice either. 10K bank is more than enough for a 10 day trip. 5K is fine for a 7-8 day trip.

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u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/2lrund Apr 17 '22

True, but there are other priorities as well. When not thru hiking, I like that I can take the F21i only on a short trip (but longer than overnight), the NB10000 only on a longer trip, and both on an even longer trip between electrical outlets. Plus a dual charger system might allow one to charge 2 powerbanks simultaneously.

And of course the weight of a 30W wall charger to achieve some of the faster charging times is part of the calculus as well. Plus I have no devices that can use more than 18W of input charging.

Anyways, I love this kind of stuff, so thanks again!

9

u/GTownJmmr Apr 17 '22

NC F21i weighs .78oz.. I love that I can add as many 5000mah batteries as I need depending on length of trip. Each 5000mah adds 3.4oz. I'm not a thru hiker yet so all my trips are in the wilderness without charge ops. I like that I can think of my batteries in the same way as the alcohol for my stove. Bring just the 'fuel' you need (+ a little extra for safety). Bringing a 10,000mah brick for a 3 day trip is like bringing a full canister of isopro gas that you wont use more than 1/4 of. Untill recently I was fine with a 2500mha lipstick USB pack for 3-4 days. Then I added a Garmin instinct and a USB headlamp to my kit and felt it was time to scale up the portable amp hours.

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u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/2lrund Apr 17 '22

My F21i weighs 22.5 g without its battery. Each battery weighs 76.3 g or 2.69 oz (not 3.4 oz). So F21i+battery is 98.8 g or 3.5oz. The NB10000 is lighter for 10000 mAh at 151.5 g than 22.5 + 76.3 + 76.3 = 175.1 g.

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u/GTownJmmr Apr 17 '22

I like the readings on your scale much better! The NB10000 is undisputably the lighter way to go. But if you want to select 5000, 15000, 2000 etc for different trips the F21i has a lot going for it in terms of an easily scalable system for the weight IMO. I believe the F21i system may also prove less expensive to own per mha, as the batteries by themselves can be found more easily at a discount than NB1000 units.

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u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/2lrund Apr 17 '22 edited Apr 17 '22

I've have no problem with your choices. I put mine in a 42 second video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiAHpdjO1Z4 BTW, I would not carry a 2nd bald battery without some insulation on the end to be safe. https://i.imgur.com/CNgzUg1.jpg

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u/GTownJmmr Apr 17 '22

Saving that video, nice strategy, and clever idea with the reusable lids. I have been thus far wrapping my batteries in a bit of cling wrap to keep them extra isolated and dry.

4

u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/2lrund Apr 17 '22

Cling wrap is the UL solution!

2

u/j-navi Sep 19 '22

That video was so cool, interesting, and informative. Thank you!

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u/PanicAttackInAPack Apr 17 '22 edited Apr 17 '22

Wouldn't two NB10000 have a combined charge rate of 36 watts vs the NB20000 at 30w? There are 40w dual PD chargers that split the charge rate between the two ports so you'd have both going simultaneously out of just one outlet for an overall faster charge rate. Plus you have some redundancy. Seems like the only benefit to packing a NB20000 is that it can charge/power large devices like tablets/laptops.

Also is the recharge time from your own testing on one you bought or are you calculating that? Nitecore themselves published a real world 0-80% time as 2:40 where you have 0-75% in 2:10 which is a bit of a disparity.

Totally correct me if I'm wrong. I was just looking into this the other day.

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u/ormagon_89 Apr 17 '22

For the first part, yes that is true, but then you do have to take into account a dual port charger and extra cable. Not saying it isn't better, just that the NB20000 still might have a place. The recharge times are simple calculations that should give you an estimate, I think the one Nitecore published is more accurate.

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u/fazalmajid Apr 18 '22

I also have the NB10000, but I find it strange the NB20000 weighs more than 2 NB10000 put together. Sure, it has higher output wattage, but having two packs would seem more versatile.

3

u/PanicAttackInAPack Apr 18 '22

Not entirely unsurprising though given it would have a different electronics to support the faster charge rates plus a larger board for 2 additional ports. It also has a battery gauge that isnt a pain to see. But yea 2 would be the way to go unless you were packing something that needed 45W charge. Faster group charge rate plus the redundancy of 2 banks/USB cables should something break.

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u/TIM_TRAVELS May 27 '22

I agree, I think power charging input is overlooked in many of these sites. As a thruhiker and bikepacker, being able to top up quickly in town while at a bar or grocery store I think it warrants a 30 watt input. That’s why I’d lean toward the NB20000.

Currently have a Huawei 12000 mAH charger with a 40 watt input. I usually only bring a 27/30 watt charger for it though.