What is the best portable charger?

Travel

Jared Curl

What is the best portable charger?

Hey everyone - what's the best portable charger you've found? It's become a necessity, given that we travel quite a bit (including outdoor excursions), plus I just think it's a good ... idea to have a high capacity power bank on hand in case of emergencies. There are so many different portable chargers out there and they can be pretty pricey so I want to make sure I'm getting the best one. Any suggestions? Read more

Top Community Picks

#1 iMuto X6L Pro Portable Charger

Discussion highlights:

  • Lots of power capacity - 30,000 mAh
  • "Quick Charge" saves time
  • Compatible w/ most USB-powered devices
  • Handy to carry in waterproof bag
  • Easily check battery %
  • Good for family use
  • Great asset during emergencies
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#1 iMuto X6L Pro Portable Charger

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Discussion highlights:

  • Lots of power capacity - 30,000 mAh
  • "Quick Charge" saves time
  • Compatible w/ most USB-powered devices
  • Handy to carry in waterproof bag
  • Easily check battery %
  • Good for family use
  • Great asset during emergencies
Check price on Amazon

Top comments:

Carl Behrens

I definitely recommend the iMuto Portable Charger. It was indispensable for my recent week-long backpacking trip. It has 2 USB ports (one with "Quick Charge" capability), a Type-C input/output port, and a Micro-USB port with which to charge the power bank itself. It was able to charge my phone from almost nothing to 80% in just over half an hour, using the Quick Charge port. It did this several times throughout the trip before it's battery got low. This thing is an investment, as it is compatible with just about every phone, as well as tablets, MacBooks, and probably a few other types of devices I'm missing. The package included a USB to micro-USB cable (for charging the power bank), a micro-USB to Type-C adapter, a little drawstring waterproof pouch, and instructions. It's quite a heavy gadget—definitely not pocket-sized, but with 30,000 milliamp hours capacity (in English: that's a LOT of power), I'd expect nothing less. The unit keeps itself cool when charging, is simple to operate, and reads the remaining battery percentage on its little screen when you press the side button.

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Shari Pierce

iMuto's power bank is a lifesaver—literally. Thankfully I had the charger with me while traveling out of the country, and it kept my phone going while I was very lost trying to find my hotel. So I was able to use my GPS and Google translate to help me find my way. It was a little over 24 hours from airport to hotel before I could recharge the power bank. I was so glad I had it with me!

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L. Churchill

The iMuto portable charger is the best I've seen, packing tons of power. My family was recently caught in a pretty bad storm that caused about a multiple-day power outage. This handy device can charge 3 devices at once, so it continued to charge our phones and laptops as needed. It is invaluable, especially when you get in an emergency situation like that. If you need something dependable, I'd say this is exactly what you want.

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Top comments:

James Hall

I like the Belkin power bank. Works fast and kept me going through a lot of public transportation and walking when I studied abroad last semester. My one gripe is that it ... indicates its battery level through these 4 little LED lights (each one represents 0-25%). It was hard for me to clearly tell how much power I had left in it. Read more

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Cori Dahl

I'm happy with my Belkin "Pocket" Power Bank (though, it's hardly pocket-sized—it's actually quite big and heavy). It's got a good amount of power. I used mine hooked up to my ... iPhone through an entire day walking around Chicago, so I'd say it probably fully charged my phone around 5 times. I just wish I had something a little easier to tote around with me for all that walkingRead more

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Top comments:

Karl Spalding

Miady has a 2-pack of portable chargers that's affordable. My wife and I took them on our vacation, and they helped our phones last through each day. They're both compact,... with 4 LED light dots to indicate the battery level (when all 4 are on, it's at 76-100%). I do wish I could see the actual number instead of just 4 lights—25% is a large gap to try to guess at how much battery is left. Read more

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Tina Quinn

I got Miady's 2-pack of power banks as a "his and her'' gift for myself and my husband. They're slim and light, so I can easily just keep one in my purse when I'm on the go. My ... husband's fits in his pocket along with his phone.Read more

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Daniel Williamson

@Tina Quinn, does yours hold a charge well? I have these, but after a few weeks of use, they are struggling to fully charge. I had one charging for 3 days straight, and it's still ... only at about 25%. Read more

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Top comments:

Shelly Marsden

I like that POWERADD has such a tiny, compact charging stick. It only charges most phones about 1-1.5 times, but it fits in my purse perfectly. However, it gets so hot when ... it's charging, I feel like it's a fire hazard. It's almost too hot to touch. So now I have to just leave it out in the open when it's charging my phone (kind of defeats the purpose of being "portable"). Read more

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Alice Ramsey

@Shelly Marsden, I really liked my PowerAdd power stick, too, when I first got it. It was so cute and convenient, but now it's totally dead after only 2 months! Won't charge... up or anything. I'm still glad to have had it. It was fun while it lasted—just didn't last very long. Read more

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Top comments:

Robert Lopez

I tried an Anker PowerCore+, because I heard it's a great brand. I loved the high power capacity—it could keep my phone charged a whole week. But after that, it now fails to hold ... a charge at all. It's showing that it still has some battery, but it won't charge itself or any other devices. It's basically dead and doesn't know it. For the price I paid, I'm disappointed at what little use I got out of this. Read more

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Eileen Waters

I liked how versatile Anker's portable charger was, and thought it would help my device-happy family during travel. After just a few days, while charging my computer, it stopped working ... and felt quite hot. I thought it needed more power, so after it cooled off, I plugged it in to charge up. Again, it got very hot, this time to the point where I couldn't touch it. I had to cut off the power to that room and wait for it to cool so I could unplug it. Read more

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Top comments:

Ryan Pham

I was excited about getting Hiluckey's solar charger. But customer service informed me that it takes roughly 3 days to charge in the sun, depending on conditions. It also takes ... about all day just to charge my phone. That's a lot of waiting to be able to use a phone—and sometimes, I can't afford to wait that long. I'm an outdoor enthusiast and spend plenty of time away from electricity, so I thought this would come in handy. I'm disappointed by how not-helpful it is. Read more

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Janie Hernandez

Hiluckey has a solar charger that seemed cool. I got it for a backpacking trip, but once it arrived, I realized it was quite hefty, which is not favorable when trying to carry as light ... a pack as possible. It helped at the beginning of the trip, but after a couple days, it couldn't charge any of our devices OR charge up itself. Seems like a cool idea, but this one fails to carry it out well. Read more

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