Your guide to choosing a power bank for your travels in 2023.
Whatever the device, a portable charger is a must for making sure your battery stays up toward 100% and ready for photos, GPS and texts when you’re out exploring. Here’s how to choose the best power bank for your needs, from how much charge you need, and to whether it’s safe to take on the plane.
What to think about when buying a power bank?
First, consider what device(s) you’ll be charging — this affects the capacity, type of ports and wattage you need, as well as special features. For example, if you only need the power bank for one iPhone 14, a magnetic attachment will give you handy wireless charging. For a set of headphones or two phones, a 10K or 20K power bank is ideal. If you’ll need to charge tablets or laptops as well, you’ll want a power bank with a higher wattage. Think about safety, too — only buy from a reputable brand that clearly displays compliance markings such as CE and UKCA.
Consider how much charge your power bank needs.
When you have limited opportunities to recharge your power bank, you need to know how much charge you’ll get from it before it needs recharging itself. The amount of charge in a power bank is measured in mAh (milliamp hours), and the most common sizes available are 10,000 and 20,000. A 10K power bank is a safe bet, giving you enough power to recharge an iPhone 14 one and a half times, or a phone and other accessories (such as headphones) at the same time. All our power banks come with 100% charge, so you can get going right away.
How long does it take a power bank to recharge?
This depends on how much charge it had left in it and what charger and cable you’re using. If there’s a feature called “Power Delivery” (PD) aka USB-C PD, this will charge and recharge faster than a power bank without it. If you’re charging a connected device at the same time as recharging the power bank itself, it will take longer to recharge. However, our power banks have a “power pass-through” feature that allows you to charge the connected device and power bank together, giving you two fully charged devices at the end of the charge time.
Can you take a power bank on a plane?
The good news is that you can take your power bank on board with you as long as its capacity is 27,000mAh or below, but you’ll need to take it as a carry-on rather than checking it with your luggage. Our best power banks for air travel are the 10K Power Bank or the 20K Power Bank.
Choosing the best power bank for your needs.
The right power bank for you will depend on where you’re taking it. If you’re looking for one that’s great all-round for a weekend away, the new 10K Fast Wireless Charger for Apple Watch + Power Bank is ideal and is even a fast wireless charger for your Apple Watch at the same time. When you’re off to a festival with limited recharging opportunities, make it the 10K Power Bank or the 20K Power Bank so that you can get several phone charges out of it. If you’re traveling light for a day trip, the 5K Magnetic Wireless Power Bank will fit in your pocket and attaches to your phone magnetically for convenient wire-free charging.
Our favorite travel power banks:
_MPP242_MagneticWirelessPowerBank5K+Stand_FPK_WH_Shot1_Web.png?sw=280&sh=280&sm=fit "Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand, White")
