Battery Banks For Backpacking Review
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- čas přidán 20. 07. 2024
- I picked up 5 battery banks that are marketed at people who spend time in the backcountry and tried my best to figure out which one was best across a number of different categories.
5 banks tested are the Goal Zero Venture 75, Anker 525, Anker 325, Nitecore Carbo 2000, and Biolite 80 PD
Link for the Anker 525 20,000 mah
amzn.to/3Onwbch
My apologies for constantly referring to the Nitecore as Nightforce.
Also here’s another video I did explaining my entire backcountry power setup.
Complete Battery System For The Back Country
• Complete Battery Syste...
0:00 - Intro
3:13 - Mindful Reviews
4:09 - Objectivity
4:40 - There is no “best”
5:14 - Categories assessed
5:49 - Notes about power packs
9:03 - Price
10:42 - Weight
11:08 - Size
12:41 - Ports
16:25 - Cables
17:16 - Weather resistance
23:33 - Charging capacity
38:53 - Final scores
Mindful Reviews
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Jay Nichol
jay@mindfulhunter.com
www.mindful-reviews.com/
www.mindfulhunter.com/
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Not a hunter myself, but a backpacker. So my needs in the field are similar. Really appreciate your thoughtful and multi-situational approach.
Appreciate the feedback and happy my content is useful for more than just hunters.
I didn't know I needed a 50 minute talk on power packs but that was super helpful and you kept me interested the whole time. Great review
Bro I’m still shocked every time I put one of these out people sit through them. In my head this was gonna be 20 mins. Finished recording was like damn it’s an hour again lol.
@@MindfulHunter how long it takes is the LEAST important factor in my mind. I want to hear the no BS solid analysis of these products and just went to amazon to look at those 525's and found them right now for 44 bucks!! Added that 525 to the cart and one of the Nano II's as well. If for no other reason, I can get faster charge times, and since I upgraded my phone to the Iphone13 pro last year (larger battery capacity) from a 7s, I now feel it might be worth it to get the larger battey pack as well. If it takes an hour to hear the details...then thats what its going to take. THIS IS WHAT GEAR addicts do....LOL I hope we get a part two on this though that discusses the solar options or add ons to pair with this set up. Is it necessary, etc. ...thanks bud!
@@rbljackson I can definitely do a solar version. Also not sure if you saw the backcountry power management one i put out last summer. Complete Battery System For The Back Country
czcams.com/video/Wl4GKTNJp_M/video.html
@@MindfulHunter I did watch that one but wasn’t able to locate that solar charger on Amazon or other sellers at the time. Not sure if I had the model wrong or what the deal was.
@@rbljackson this is the one I have. I need to get better at posting links in the description.
amzn.to/3TRsZ9H
Outstanding and thorough review once again, Jay. I appreciate you putting these together for us hunters so we don't have to spend so much time researching before we decide on gear. Keep them coming. Anyone watching this should head over to mindful hunters and join our group. It's definitely a place for those hunters who love the outdoors.
Appreciate the support bro. Love doing these.
Always compiling excellent information so the viewers/listeners can make decisions based on personal need. Keeping it strong. 💪
Thanks bro!
This man works hard for his viewers every week. Great review as always Jay. I currently abuse my Energizer 20k Power Bank bought at Walmart $50. It weighs 13.75 ounces. 2 years now with it, -19 coldest it’s been sitting Whitey’s in the Koots.
That bunny just keeps going and going :)
Even though I'm not a hunter by any means, this review helped me a lot. I truly respect your mind frame and the way you analysed all of those products. Keep up the great work.
Appreciate the feedback!
Best, most concise reviewer I have seen on CZcams. Going on a lifetime hunt with my son to the Bob (in MT) on horseback for 8 days/7 nights.
Good luck! And thank you!
Excellent video. As someone else mentioned who knew I’d spend the time watching a 50 minute review and explanation of what to look for when buying battery banks when I only was looking up the Goal Zero product but it was well worth it. I will be buying one of those USB testers and the GZ Venture 75. While I no longer hunt big game your CZcams channel looks like it has some other reviews of interest to a back country camper in things like headlamps, backcountry food and first aid kits etc. Subscribed.
Always nice when my content is useful for those outside the hunting community as well. Thanks for the support!
I really appreciate the thoughtful analytical reviews. Your reviews are the only ones I really “Listen too” everyone else is obviously biased
Thanks man. That means a lot.
Regardless of the units reviewed, the information you provided is Gold!
Thanks man. Really hope that’s what most people take away from this.
Thank you so much for this detailed review! Trying the Anker 525 for a 4-day backpacking trip. My old Goal Zero says it’s full but can’t charge my phone once. I had no idea I had to use the bank throughout the year to keep it working fully.
My pleasure. Glad it was helpful.
Great review. Keep them coming. Hopefully you will do a tripod review soon.
Got a few planned in the coming months actually. And thanks for the feedback.
a deep dive that was super useful and helped me make a meaningful decision!
Awesome!
Hell ya great review yet again Jay, pumped to see everything else you talked about that ur putting out! Honestly the more i watch your channel the more other channels start to bug me on all the sponsored bull! Lol nd more I feel like making my own non sponsored channel
Thanks bro! And do it! We need more of the good guys lol. Or I just gotta start the Mindful Reviews Network lol
@Mindful Hunter you bet, and I might start lol and what do u mean by network, I'm a member there already,
Awesome review, I'm going backpacking soon, and aspire to start hunting. this is a huge help so thanks bro.
👍
You give some of the best reviews that I have listened to or read! I, like many of us, greatly appreciate the time you take to create such great content and the way you can get us to think about our gear! Have you used the Nitecore with a rating of -40C/F?
I have not. I had very bad results with two nitecore devices so don’t trust them anymore.
This is awesome! Going backpacking next year and think I will get that goal zero and the nomad 20 solar with it. Thank you for the video
👍
Great review! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
High quality information.
Thanks man!
Awesome review.
Thanks bro!
Awesome video man
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Great job and Information. Thank you.
👍
Based on your video and detailed information, I ordered the Anker 525 and 30w micro charger. New price was $49.99 for the power bank and $19.99 for the charger. Thank you again for your in depth video. 👍😎
Man is this a helpful video. Got a lot out of the recommendations here.
Glad it was helpful!
Something important to note is that the best power banks only have around 75% efficiency and the cheaper made ones tend to average around 60%. This means that on average you may see 25-40% power loss exhibited during the charging cycle of your devices and your 10000mah pack is really only good for 6-7.5kmah worth of charges. Which in theory, makes a 20000mah pack the more optimal choice in this scenario.
Excellent point. The Anker has really surprised me in its ability to maintain a charge through the years for the price point.
Great review! I don’t think that weighting the categories after the fact compromises your integrity. Have you ever used one of those insulated electronics bags to keep everything warm?
Thanks man. I have not. I’ll look into them.
Great topic
💪
I know it's not a 20,000 but I would have loved to have seen the Dark Energy Poseidon in this test. They advertise a "ruggedized" power pack pretty hard...
Overpriced marketing hype for an underpowered unit.
Thanks for the thorough review. Very helpful information!
Your advice about charge cycles and using them regularly is on the right track, but incomplete.
As long as you have found a system that works sufficiently well to keep your battery packs lasting long enough to meet your expectations, all is well.
But if you want to retain the greatest charging capacity in the lithium ion cells for the longest lifespan of the unit, it is best to maintain a roughly 50-60% charge on the device while in long term storage. Checking on the state of charge every few weeks or couple months is a good idea to make sure it is maintaining that 50-60% charge or topping it up a bit if it has dropped. Then before you are taking it on a trip, you can charge it to full to make sure you have the full capacity available for your outing.
There’s a wealth of knowledge available on the science and chemistry behind why this is best practice for lithium ion battery packs if you’re interested in the details behind it. (Though there is also some bad advice out there on the topic as well.)
Cheers!
Appreciate the feedback and the additional info! Very helpful.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but you said the Anker 5 was the only one with a major discrepancy between claimed and actual input wattage. The table you put up shows the goal zero had a claimed input of 60 and actual input of 31.4. Is that correct?
I’d have to go back and check it’s been a while. At the end of the day the Anker 5 is my go to.
Good review but my approach is different.
While All-In-One power Banks are very convenient, I prefer to use 18650/21700 cells for power storage and use something like Xtar PB2s as a charging/discharging device.
Assuming you use Lithium cells in your other devices, that gives you much more flexibility and potentially reduces the weight.
Never even heard of that. I’ll check it out.
On quality and the battery output to devices there is one caveat. Lower charging rates can come from having a lower C rating on the battery, which doesn't necessarily make for a lower quality battery. Lower C rated batteries can have higher recharge lifespans for comparable quality batteries.
Sometimes they're cheaping out and sometimes they're making am educated tradeoff. Generally the only way to tell is to start monitoring temperatures during charges and of course dismantling. If they used something like 20 or 24 gauge wire they cheaped out. I'm my experience cheap wire and bad solder points are the surest signs of them going full on cheap out. Both of those things would likely require slower charging to avoid burning out the internals as well.
That said, great video!
Really appreciate the thoughtful comment. Totally makes sense.
I have several EAFU banks, I used to use Anker but I found them rather heavy and bulky, like yeah, aluminium? (seemed to be some sort of metal or something bulky in there) is nice but not exactly ultralight and thet didn't have a LED display (which gets over your issue about 'which battery is full, they tell you), and it eventually packed up on me during a camping trip. I was close enough to civilisation to do an Amazon drop and got the EAFU and it was night and day, lighter, faster and better. Yes I was sceptical (well reviewed but 'who are they?", etc)
I split the two packs into a travel one for trips cos I often basecamp then return to the tent which has the solar charging the bigger one, this means I can carry lighter charge and then reload it from the bigger one which drip charges from solar. And yes, they work with solar, I had issues with the Ankers not liking solar that much.
What really sold it to me is I used the smaller one and kept that day-to-day charged, but forgot the bigger one, so it hadn't been charged for at least 6 months. 100% battery still. I was amazed. The EAFUs also came with free USB reading lights and a built in torch. So not going back to Anker.... don't think they make 20000mah ones though, but they have fast charge, USB-C in/out and multiple USB-A ports for outs.
Appreciate the info. I’ve actually never even heard of those before. I’ll check them out.
Check out advertised vs rated capacity. The 20,000mah battery pack is only at 3.7V. The true rated capacity for the 5V USB output is 14,800mah.
Good to know. Thanks.
My only issue with the goal zero is how they charge. The charge port is very easy to break. I’ve broken 2 this year just because the USB style port.
Good feedback
Thanks for the info! I guess if you were worried about weather and condensation you could always throw em in a zip lock back or something 🤷🏻♂️
I have a little dry bag I carry all my electronics in. Like a mini dump sack.
Thx - Jay
My pleasure Tom
where do i buy the nightforce?
🤦♂️
In order to see if your power bank will be able to charge your laptop you need to see if the advertised USB C PD (Power Delivery) Rating is sufficient for your specific device. For example I will never buy a PowerBank lower than 65W PD if the device's specs ask for 45W PD. Just my opinion. Also I would never consider a Power Bank that does not have Bypass Charging capacity and a Trickle Charge feature.
👍
I am debating to get the Nitecore NB10000 Gen 2 Quick-Charge USB/USB-C Dual Port 10000mAh Power Bank. It is $60 and weighs 5.29 oz. Nitecore or Anker? 🤔
For me I go Anker. I’ve had too many issues with Nitecore now.
Any chance you are going to compare backpacking solar panels? It's hard to tell a difference between the popular ones.
Yes. For now I’ve had great luck with the Anker 21W off Amazon but will look into more.
Do you think the folks at Nitecore might get a little pissy about repeatedly getting called nightforce? 😂
Dude I wanted to shoot myself in the face when editing lol. Every single damn time LOL. I even wrote an apology in the description.
Pretty bad u gotta warn ppl not to get too emotional while discussing battery packs😂😂😂
Right?!? 🤦♂️
41:00 for the final answer
42:05 for the final 2
My answer: Anker 525
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I appreciate the time, and effort you put in this, although I think 50 min is way to long. I had to skip to the end, cause who has time for that? A 10-15 min video probably could have covered what you needed to say about each charger. I mean you spent 5 min just talking before even getting into looking at the specifics of the chargers.
Each to their own. I specially make highly detailed technical videos for people who are interested in long form reviews. My advice is to use the time stamps. Take what you want and leave the rest. Or go watch someone else who make content more in line with what you’re after.
Niteforce, Niteforce, Niteforce. Nitecore! All good though.
I almost punched the monitor when editing this video LOL.
Just a thought you take two 10000 packs. If one breaks you still have one.
Small weight penalty but definitely an option.
Niteforce LOL!
I almost lost my mind editing this LOL
@@MindfulHunter good job well done! At least you kept it consistent through the video and you did reference it in your vid description
41 minutes in, "we are gonna take the rankings and throw it all out".
🤷🏼♂️
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Most of the time I like to live by the phrase of “two is one and one is none”. You can’t always live by that when going into the backcountry. I still carry two 10,000 packs instead of one 20,000 pack. Fire starters, headlamps, knives, underwear and socks are items I carry more than one.
I’ll agree with all of the above except socks and underwear. 😉
@@MindfulHunterEveryone has their setup and what works best for them. I slipped on a rock during a water crossing. Even after wringing them out I hated the soggy, slippery feeling the rest of the day. Since then I’ve carried an extra pair. I also like the feeling of a “fresh” sock to sleep in.
@@jaxbeach09 I bring an insulated thermos/coffee mug. I love being able to pull out a hot cup of coffee while I’m on a break hiking. We all have our chosen luxuries. 100%
@@MindfulHunter The little comforts and luxuries are like a little reset and can positively get you back in the game.
Nitecore not nightforce😅😂
I almost lost it editing this. So many times!!!