Best Power Bank for Backpacking

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This is a gear review about the best power banks for backpacking 2023.

These lightweight and portable battery packs for backpacking and camping allow you to keep all your electronics charged for several days.

For many people, it is a choice between taking the Best Portable Solar Charger for Backpacking or taking the Best Power Bank for Backpacking. Some people take both. Either way, keep reading about these lightweight power storage batteries.

I’ve been using and testing several backpacking power banks over the years and have learned which ones are good and which ones are not.

Below I have brought together the best power banks for backpacking, that you can get your hands on right now.

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Best Battery Packs For Backpacking 2023

The Best Battery Packs For Backpacking in 2023 are:

• Anker 733 Power Bank
• Nitecore NB 20000
• Anker 737 PowerCore III Elite 25600
• Anker 313 PowerCore 10000
• Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank
• Anker PowerCore 20,100 mAh Portable Charger
• Nitecore NP 10000

The Anker 733 Power Bank (GaNPrime PowerCore 65W) represents the latest cutting-edge battery technology and was released in mid-2022, so is brand new. This newly released product from Anker is both a wall charger and battery saving you from needing to carry a wall charger around with you when you are on the move. Most power banks do not have this feature which makes it unique on this list.

The Anker 733 Power Bank has 2 USB-C ports and 1 USB-A port and you can use all three at the same time to charge multiple devices. And when I talk about multiple devices, it can even charge a laptop as well as standard smartphones and tablets.

With 10000 mAH of battery storage, it can charge an Apple iPhone 13 a total of 2.1 times. When you are hiking or backpacking that should be enough for most people. But if you are also carrying a backpacking camera, Handheld Hiking GPS, or GPS Hiking Watch then it will be handy to charge all of them at the same time.

The unit weighs 11.3 oz / 320 grams which is acceptable considering you will no longer need to carry a wall charger with you. And comes with a 2-year warranty.

Overall, the Anker 733 Power Bank uses technology that is far more advanced than other power banks in this review. As a result, this new product is the best power bank for backpacking and hiking. It is already proving very popular and rightfully so.

The Nitecore NB 20000 is a popular choice for backpackers and hikers who want a large power bank capacity at the lightest possible weight. Anyone who is thru hiking should take a good look at power banks like this one.

It comes with a decent 20000 mAh capacity. But it is the 3 USB outputs and 1 USB-C output that is rated at 45W that is impressive. That is enough to charge some laptops, although if you are backpacking I can’t see that as being something that will impress you.

Overall, if you are looking for an ultralight battery bank for charging your devices when backpacking or hiking then this could be the one you are looking for.

The Anker PowerCore III Elite Portable Charger has a 25,600 mAh cell capacity, which means it holds more power than a lot of portable chargers on the market. This product has two USB-C ports, with an 60W output, which is quite high for a portable charger, high enough to charge most laptop computers.

It comes as a package with the high-speed 515 wall charger. This allows the battery to be completely recharged in only 2.5 hours. I remember only a short couple of years ago a battery bank with this capacity would take more than 12 hours to charge!

Hence, you charge your phone at top speed, so you won’t have to wait around for your phone to charge. There is also one extra USB-A port, so you could potentially charge three devices at once at the same time at a high speed.

With the Anker PowerCore III Elite Portable Charger, you have everything you need to charge whatever you need on your backpacking adventure. This portable charger will charge your phone and or even your computer no matter where you are.

This portable battery pack for backpacking will charge in about 3 hours which makes it perfect for thru-hikers.

It comes with a travel pouch to keep it safe, while it is kept in your rucksack, and also has an 18-month warranty.

This is the best portable battery charger for thru-hiking, backpacking, or traveling. If you going backpacking with a camera, phone, drone, and other electronics, then this is for you.

The Anker 313 PowerCore II 10000 has one port which means the 10,000 mAh power can focus on just one device, making it ideal for someone who is backpacking. The single port produces 18W of power, which means your device can charge at its top speed.

This power bank not only quickly charges your devices but can charge itself really quickly too. With a quick charge USB wall charger, this power bank can reach full battery in just 4 hours.

This is a very minimalist power bank, that is light enough to carry around. The Anker PowerCore II can fit easily in your hands or any small pocket to keep it safe, while you are moving.

This is a reliable power bank that will charge your chosen device quickly and effortlessly. It may look simple, but it works well and does everything that you need it to.

Overall, this is the best battery bank for hiking backpacking.

The Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank can charge your devices in just a couple of hours. Unlike other models on this list, this power bank isn’t compatible with quick charge, so charging your devices might take a little longer, but it can still charge your devices quickly.

This Anker PowerCore power bank is one its slimmest models, and only weighs 7.5 ounces. This is a slim and quite small power bank and can be easily carried around. It can be quite easy to forget where you put it as it’s so light, it can be unnoticeable.

This product has a decent battery and would be able to charge your phone fully two times before it would need to recharged itself. This is a very simple power bank that doesn’t have any other features. It has one port, so you can only charge one device at a time.

When you need to recharge your power bank, the Anker PowerCore Slim takes just under 6 hours to reach full power. This is a very portable charger that is lightweight and easy to carry around. It is a great option to throw into your back, just in case so you don’t end up with a dead phone.

The Anker PowerCore 20 is a compact and sleek power bank. This power bank can charge most phones from 0 to 50% in about 50 minutes max. It weighs only 12.5 ounces, as little as a can of soup.

With a 1 amp phone charger, this power bank can take 20 hours to charge, but with a 2 amp charger this power bank only takes 10 hours (overnight) to charge its battery.

This product can charge any device multiple times. The design of this power bank is very simple, yet the matt finish helps keep the surface free from fingerprints.

It comes with an inner metal shell that protects the LG batteries, and a polycarbonate outer layer gives you a smooth surface to look at that doesn’t scratch. This is the current portable battery bank that I use for thru-hiking. I used it on the 3 thru-hikes to date which is over 8000 miles of abuse while hiking. It still works perfectly, however, with all the newer and faster charging batteries on the market it is showing its age.

Overall, the large battery capacity makes this one of the best battery banks for backpacking and thru hiking.

The Nitecore NP 10000 is an ultralight battery bank for backpacking and thru-hiking. With only 10000 mAh of battery capacity, it is enough for most people on shorter backpacking trips.

It features carbon fiber to keep the weight light and the strength high. Not only is it strong and light but it is efficient at charging your phone when out hiking.

Overall, this is one of the best portable power banks for ultralight hikers wanting to save every gram possible but still be able to recharge their phone.

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Buyer’s Guide

If you are going on your next backpacking trip you might want to consider purchasing a power bank. You don’t really want to risk your phone running out of battery and then if something goes wrong there is no way to get in contact with someone to help you.

Whether you call them portable power packs, portable battery packs, power banks, portable batteries, rechargeable batteries, or any of the hundred other names, I have some info below that you should read.

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Weight

Most power banks are quite slim now and therefore quite light. You want something that is easy to carry around. You want to be able to throw it into your bag or a pocket and for it to be quite noticeable.

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Capacity

You need to consider how often you will be using the power bank on your backpacking trip. You’ll also need to consider what devices you will be taking with you and often you expect to be charging them.

It is important to buy a power bank with a large enough battery so that when you do need to charge your hiking camera, phone or ipad, you know that your power bank can handle it.

You don’t want to get into the third day of your backpacking trip and find that you can’t charge your devices again because the battery of the power bank isn’t big enough to make it through the rest of your trip.

Always try to have a larger battery capacity than what you think you will need. You’d rather have some power left than barely making it through the journey.

The capacity of your power bank is important, because you never know when you may need your phone and if you can’t charge it because your power bank doesn’t have enough battery, you could end up in trouble.

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Solar Charger

For some hikers and backpackers it can be a choice between a solar charger or a battery bank, some even use both.

For anyone hiking through the desert regions of the world a portable solar panel is a great option to charge your devices. If solar is something for you I wrote a detailed review of the Best Solar Panels for Backpacking that you should check out.

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Ports

It does depend on how many devices you intend to take with you and will need to be charged. For a lot of people, one port is enough as they only use it for their phone. While if you bring multiple devices then two or more ports may be needed.

The number of ports a power bank has can be a good and bad thing. You could take turns to charge devices, if your power bank only has one port, but sometimes it is easiest to charge multiple things at once.

It is up to you, but sometimes 2 ports is better than 1, especially if you need two devices charged quickly.

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Input And Out Charging Speeds

The faster you want your devices or the power bank to charge, then results in a faster battery pack input and output rates. It would be ideal to have a quick charging power bank, so then there is less waiting round for devices to charge.

Makes of phones all take different amounts of time to charge, as do different makes of power banks. What you want is something that can charge at a reasonable length.

The power bank is known for taking a while to charge, but ideally you would want to be able to charge it overnight, so then it is ready to take with you during the day.

It is important to look into the input and output charging times, because not everyone wants to wait hours for their phone to charge and not everyone can wait 10+ hours for their power bank to charge. You need to find charging speeds that are reasonable for you.

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Conclusion

We have given you a list of the best power banks that you can use on your next backpacking trip. You want something that is durable and will be able to keep you connected to the world, in case something goes wrong.

You want to be able to rely upon your power bank to charge your devices as quickly as possible. All of the power banks we have mentioned above will get you through your next backpacking trip easily.

Overall, the best power bank for backpacking and hiking on the market in 2023 is the Anker 733 Power Bank.

And the best ultralight power bank for backpacking is a choice between the Nitecore NP 10000 and the Nitecore NB 20000.

Other worthy lightweight powerbanks:

• Anker 733 Power Bank
• Nitecore NB 20000
• Anker 737 PowerCore III Elite 25600
• Anker 313 PowerCore 10000
• Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank
• Anker PowerCore 20,100 mAh Portable Charger
• Nitecore NP 10000

Frequently Asked Questions

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