External battery (power bank) for travel - my mini-review
I'm sure most people already know about such a mega useful thing while traveling as external batteries (power bank). But I, as always, lag behind progress, my smartphone appeared quite late, and I registered on VKontakte later than everyone else. Therefore, I got these devices just recently. But two at once, one for himself, the second for his wife. Hear how convenient it is! When you go non-stop for a week in a row and take a lot of photos, shoot videos, sit on your phone, a power bank is a must.
The content of the article
Which power bank to buy
Nuances when buying
Brought out for myself a few points that should be taken into account when choosing a power bank’but.
- Entrance 2A. This parameter is not indicated on all sites, but it is important and it depends on how long the external battery will charge. This is especially true for large capacities, like 10,000-20,000 mAh. Otherwise, you will have to wait a day, while at the hotel you only spend the night.
- Output 2A. The larger the output, the faster the connected devices are charged, if, of course, they allow more current. But don't worry if they are not meant then they «will take» as much as necessary.
- Charging 2A. If you have a 0.5-1A charge, then the 2A input on the battery will not help, it will still charge very slowly. For example, native chargers for Samsung phones are usually only 1A. It would seem that if so, then the phone is not «will take» more than one ampere, but no, it takes and charges 2 times faster. I specifically bought a third-party 2A charger for travel.
- Be sure to read the reviews, how much the external battery actually holds. Some high-capacity batteries (20,000 mAh) have the sin of containing only half of the declared capacity, especially compact ones. It must be understood that the smaller the battery is in size, the smaller its capacity, it directly depends on its size.
Battery Specifications
Power bank with Aliexpress
Life hack - when shopping on Aliexpress, you can get cashback up to 11% through the EPN service (they have a browser plugin, an application for phones). I wrote everything in great detail in my instructions, what is it and how to use it.
I have already been advised a lot of things in the comments, and I myself also looked like I still read the reviews. Indeed, it makes sense to take a power bank on Ali. It will be released several times cheaper. You can always read the comments on how the real capacity corresponds to the declared one. Often, stores buy these devices in China and then resell them in Russia several times more expensive. I think it's easy to wait 3-4 weeks for delivery.
For 10.000 mah for $ 15 - this one is very convenient for me
For 10.000 mah for 17 $
External battery HIPER Power Bank XP10500
Capacity: 10500mAh
Input 1.5A
2.1A output for each port (there are two of them)
Weight: 235 gr
Price: 2400 rub
I didn't want to wait, I needed a powerbank urgently, so I bought Hiper. What I liked the most is that it has two ports. This is very convenient because you can charge two devices at once. In terms of size, I chose something similar to my smartphone, so that it would fit comfortably in the side pocket of my pants or in a belt bag, or so that I could carry it in my hand, but at the same time, so that it would be enough for several charges. Therefore, I took such a capacity, there are also large ones, but practice has shown that 10500 mAh is quite enough for me.
The factual check showed that the capacity is slightly less, as is often the case with similar devices. My phone with a 2100 mAh battery was charged almost 4 times, that is, it came out somewhere between 7500-8200 mAh. It is clear that the test is imprecise, but nonetheless. Charging from an outlet (I have 2A charging specially for all devices) is very long and takes more than 10 hours. I don’t understand at all what this is connected with, whether my charge is not 2A, or the input here in reality is not 1.5A, but 1A. If not for this, then there would be no complaints at all.
The battery is turned on and off by swiping your finger along the strip (like in phones). It is cut down by itself after a few minutes, if nothing is connected to it.
External battery HIPER Power Bank XP10500
Power bank for travel
Samsung s5 mini, HIPER XP10500, Rombica NEO MS50
Comparison of thickness of power bank and phone
Why do you need an external battery
At the moment, I always have a smartphone with me, action camera, and mirrorless. I have 2 additional batteries for the camera, but they are enough for a maximum of 1 day with active use. I didn't buy anything for the action camera, since the operating time is about 1.5 hours, which is enough for me for 1-2 days. The saddest phone situation. In standby mode, it can lie for 3 days, but if you turn on the 3G, navigator, often climb somewhere to look, then half a day is enough in the best case. Therefore, most often I use an external battery to recharge my smartphone. This is especially true for long flights, for example, you can fly 9 hours from Moscow to Bangkok, calmly use the phone, write something, watch movies or listen to a webinar, without fear that he will sit down and will not be able to go online or call upon arrival. Previously, I just tried not to use my smartphone on the plane or charged it from a laptop, but then the laptop sat down much faster.
It's great that all my 3 devices are charged from USB, and you can charge two at once! This was an important nuance when choosing what to buy. Now I always have a reserve and I know that I can use all devices and not save battery.
I will list the main cases when you need a power bank when traveling. I will not talk about the fact that he is very useful in the metro when you drive around the city on business all day, this is already obvious..
- Long flight. You can use your smartphone at the airport, on the plane, and upon arrival.
- A long trip, when you are on your feet for a day or not at all sleeping in a hotel. Sometimes there is no way to charge all your devices once a day. I had a similar problem during long bus journeys, when you go night or day.
- As a backup source. It so happens that in inexpensive hotels there is only one outlet, and it is easier in the evening to charge alternately devices from an external battery, and put it on charge overnight so as not to jump up in the middle of the night and change charging devices.
- Hiking tours. As a rule, 1-2 weeks without recharging and output only in external batteries, no more.
P.S. What do you use? You can already eat something more advanced and I again fell behind?