Power Banks - Real Life Experiences.

[simonhill]

Wondering about getting a power bank to support my mobile phone while on the road. Often read them mentioned on here, but not sure how useful in my circumstances.

In theory, it seems a no brainer, a bit like a spare can of petrol to keep topping up with. Is it really like this?

Can you just top up for a short period, eg coffee stop. Would you get a meaningful charge. If not, are they better plugged in and essentially used in parallel.

Rather hear from you chaps than the glowing specs of the retailers.

NB I'm a hotel stayer, so no problem with overnight charging it's just that little bit extra during the day that I am interested in.

Ta an' all that.

[Jdsk]

It's now a standard part of my touring set-up,

It's charged both by my dynamo hub and from mains sockets in campsites, hotels etc. With our style of touring it never runs out, and if I knew then what I know now I might not have bought the B+M headlamp with the USB output, especially as two have failed. And my Garmin Edge 1000 is happier not plugged into the dynamo hub, but often gets topped-up at lunch stops etc.

At 16,000 mA hr it will power all of our devices for several days... the satnav, two iPhones, two Kindles, two Bluetooth headbands.

Yes, you can top-up for a short time if you want.

I only have one, but several posters have noted the advantage of having two... one can be left somewhere to charge while the other is recharging devices in the tent.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

NB I'm a hotel stayer, so no problem with overnight charging it's just that little bit extra during the day that I am interested in.

What's your usage of the 'phone and satnav during the day, please? How often are you concerned about them running out of oomph?

Thanks

Jonathan

[PH]

Whether a quick chard of a phone is worthwhile depends on both the phone and the power bank.
I use a phone for Deliveroo/Just Eat deliveries. That's at least three heavy use apps running constantly, My older iPhone which didn't support fast charging, had a powerbank permanently attached, it would last less than three hours without it. My current phone, a Huawei, will last about six hours and also supports fast charging, so half an hour will take it from 20% to 70%, but only if the powerbank supports it.

[wirral_cyclist]

Before I did the battery monitoring reset [1] on my Garmin Explore I used to give it a short charge at lunch stops so it didn't die if I was on an unfamiliar route. I have also charged my USB front/rear flashies at lunch, for those devices a credit card (5mm thick) PB is enough.
For phone charging on a tour I have a couple of 'pass through' PB's that can accept a hub dynamo charge whilst topping up a phone (or said GPS while riding). But in reality a long enough cable to my GPS from the PB located in a suitable bag (in dry conditions) is no hassle [2].
Phones could be in a jersey pocket, or a pannier/whatever so weather and cable length then aren't a factor.

[1] Basically back up all the history (if wanted) and every folder (but off the GPS) then let it drop to 0% and die [3], then do a factory reset as you recharge, supposedly recalibrates the battery monitoring.
Then replace all the rides in the history folder, drop the .fit files from each of the saved folders into 'new files' and they get poked into correct place on restarting (google this as I might not have it exactly right - or 'sequence shortened' as the phone adverts often say).

[2] Needs a GPS that will charge and work, some don't.

[3] If 0% to dead is 'enough' hours then don't bother with faffy resetting, I'm again at the point of 0% after 6-7hrs but then having 4hrs (at least) of navigation left.

[Vorpal]

I carry a 6700 mAh with 2 USB output plugs at 5V, 1A
Even when I use my phone a lot for photos & navigation, I've never used all of the phone battery, plus all of the power in the power bank. I usually charge both phone and power bank when I stop for the night, but not during the day. If wild camping, I usually make some sort of stop where I can charge things.

Prior to carrying a power bank, I did generally stop at least once per tour to charge a phone at a supermarket or cafe, even with charging possibilities at over night stops.

[Slowtwitch]

Don't use em! Phones have moved on a fair bit regarding battery life and endurance in the past 2 years. There are literally dozens of phones (including the new iPhone 13) which will give you two full days use under normal conditions and at least 12 hours screen time with GPS enabled under extreme circumstances. That's a whole day no problem. A lot of the Motorola phones have exceptional battery life. Look for battery size between 5500 and 8000mah.

Almost all of these phones support fast charging at 30/60w and now even 120w. So even a quarter hour charge will give you enough juice for another 12 hours. I have this year's Samsung Note, a big screen, power hungry monster of a phone and I get two days between charges every time, if I'm not heavy on screen time, 3 days easily. Battery life and fast charging get better with every iteration of devices. Samsung have already demonstrated a 200w charging phone that can get from 0-100% in just six minutes. 20 minutes charging is already with us. My phone is fully charged in 23 minutes.

Battery banks: that's so 2016!

[MarcusT]

Don't use em! Phones have moved on a fair bit regarding battery life and endurance in the past 2 years. There are literally dozens of phones (including the new iPhone 13) which will give you two full days use under normal conditions and at least 12 hours screen time with GPS enabled under extreme circumstances. That's a whole day no problem. A lot of the Motorola phones have exceptional battery life. Look for battery size between 5500 and 8000mah.

Almost all of these phones support fast charging at 30/60w and now even 120w. So even a quarter hour charge will give you enough juice for another 12 hours. I have this year's Samsung Note, a big screen, power hungry monster of a phone and I get two days between charges every time, if I'm not heavy on screen time, 3 days easily. Battery life and fast charging get better with every iteration of devices. Samsung have already demonstrated a 200w charging phone that can get from 0-100% in just six minutes. 20 minutes charging is already with us. My phone is fully charged in 23 minutes.

Battery banks: that's so 2016!

And if you are more than 2 days away from an outlet?

[francovendee]

I bought one and used it quite often. I've since bought a new phone and I rarely need the power banks now.
As the phone gets older I'm sure I'll be using the power bank more often

What happened to phones which had easily replaceable batteries?

[st599_uk]

I bought one and used it quite often. I've since bought a new phone and I rarely need the power banks now.
As the phone gets older I'm sure I'll be using the power bank more often

What happened to phones which had easily replaceable batteries?

With the new EU Ecodesign regs and US laws against anticompetitive prevention of repair, hopefully phones will get replaceable batteries back (and be designed to be upgradeable).

Would be great if more countries followed France's lead and subsidised repairs.

[Jdsk]

What happened to phones which had easily replaceable batteries?

With the new EU Ecodesign regs and US laws against anticompetitive prevention of repair, hopefully phones will get replaceable batteries back (and be designed to be upgradeable).

Batteries that are interchangeable by hand will always take more volume than those that aren't. My guess is that most people would rather have smaller size 'phones or bigger batteries than this facility.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

Interesting experiences with the longer life of modern 'phones. But my biggest power consumer is the satnav, and I have other devices. The USB battery pack helps enormously with those.

Please could people include if they're using their 'phones for navigation.

Thanks

Jonathan

[foxyrider]

Don't use em! Phones have moved on a fair bit regarding battery life and endurance in the past 2 years. There are literally dozens of phones (including the new iPhone 13) which will give you two full days use under normal conditions and at least 12 hours screen time with GPS enabled under extreme circumstances. That's a whole day no problem. A lot of the Motorola phones have exceptional battery life. Look for battery size between 5500 and 8000mah.

Almost all of these phones support fast charging at 30/60w and now even 120w. So even a quarter hour charge will give you enough juice for another 12 hours. I have this year's Samsung Note, a big screen, power hungry monster of a phone and I get two days between charges every time, if I'm not heavy on screen time, 3 days easily. Battery life and fast charging get better with every iteration of devices. Samsung have already demonstrated a 200w charging phone that can get from 0-100% in just six minutes. 20 minutes charging is already with us. My phone is fully charged in 23 minutes.

Battery banks: that's so 2016!

And if you are more than 2 days away from an outlet?

or can't afford an all singing and dancing 2021 phone?

[foxyrider]

I take my 2600mAh example with me most rides, it's been a GPS saver quite a few times when time/temp have affected battery performance and when i've been at a campsite with no suitable charging facility (you'd be surprised how dastardly some sites are!) I've never needed to but it will top up my lights too.

I can't afford a posh phone, my ancient Blackberry (think 10yo) will charge fully from the PB in @ 45 mins, the Garmin (its a 520) @ 15 mins. I will probably look at a bigger capacity example at some point but for my current useage what i have is sufficient.

[francovendee]

What happened to phones which had easily replaceable batteries?

With the new EU Ecodesign regs and US laws against anticompetitive prevention of repair, hopefully phones will get replaceable batteries back (and be designed to be upgradeable).

Batteries that are interchangeable by hand will always take more volume than those that aren't. My guess is that most people would rather have smaller size 'phones or bigger batteries than this facility.

Jonathan

I'm not sure I agree, buying a new battery against throwing or paying for an expensive repair the current models may be a big factor. Of course there will always be the 'must have' who want the slimmest phone.
We really do need to stop buying stuff. Possibly the best thing anyone can do to help climate change.