Powerbank recommendations please?

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MichaelNZ

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#207340 19-Dec-2016 22:50

I am looking for a decent powerbank for an upcoming international trip. Something in the region of 20Ah. I have seen a product called "Mophie" on Trade Me which looks ok. What are these like? Other recommendations please?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#1692521 19-Dec-2016 22:59

You can't go wrong with Anker chargers.

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sbiddle

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#1692546 20-Dec-2016 06:15

I recommend two branks. Anker, followed by RavPower. IMHO Anker make the best charging products on the market. My reasons for recommending these are in the many identical threads in the past discussing this same issue on here.

Since you haven't given any details of requirements (capacity is only but a small one - number of ports and QC2.0 / QC3.0 support are the most critical) it's hard to recommend anything specific.

bluedisk

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#1692578 20-Dec-2016 08:53

I have this one which I find terrific. It holds its charge well and can charge up a smart phone quite a few times. My son took it on a holiday to the Sounds and it lasted a week charging up their mobiles.

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dafman

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#1692581 20-Dec-2016 09:01

I used this 13,000 mAh Huawei earlier this year on an overseas trip and cannot recommend it highly enough. Really well built and I never exhausted the charge when travelling. Great output, charges devices quickly and has dual USB input, so can connect two devices. Really good price at Noel Leeming at moment.

maoriboy

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#1692586 20-Dec-2016 09:15

I have the AUKey 30,000mAH QC 3.0 powerbank. It's a beast and well worth the price paid from Ali Express. Not sure if that is too big to take on a plane, as I've heard there are some restrictions on the capacity of powerbank you can take onboard. Is that correct?

AuKey Powerrbank

sbiddle

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#1692593 20-Dec-2016 09:31

maoriboy:

I have the AUKey 30,000mAH QC 3.0 powerbank. It's a beast and well worth the price paid from Ali Express. Not sure if that is too big to take on a plane, as I've heard there are some restrictions on the capacity of powerbank you can take onboard. Is that correct?

AuKey Powerrbank

It varies by airline and country. You need to ensure you comply with lithium battery restrictions these days or you WILL have your batteries confiscated and destroyed. I'm aware of 2 people lately who have had battery packs removed from checked luggage at AKL international and destroyed.

Many follow the FAA and impose a 100Wh limit (which at 5V is 20,000mAh) per battery pack. You're also not allowed to carry any lithium batteries in checked luggage on many airlines including Air New Zealand.

You would not be allowed to take your AUKey for example on an Air NZ flight even if it's in carry on without prior approval from the airline. I had my battery pack size checked (it's only a 10,500) at screening at both Wellington and Auckland on Sunday.

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MichaelNZ

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#1692614 20-Dec-2016 10:19

sbiddle:

Since you haven't given any details of requirements (capacity is only but a small one - number of ports and QC2.0 / QC3.0 support are the most critical) it's hard to recommend anything specific.

I want a minimum of 2 USB connections.

I am also open to something like this.

sbiddle:

It varies by airline and country. You need to ensure you comply with lithium battery restrictions these days or you WILL have your batteries confiscated and destroyed. I'm aware of 2 people lately who have had battery packs removed from checked luggage at AKL international and destroyed.

Many follow the FAA and impose a 100Wh limit (which at 5V is 20,000mAh) per battery pack. You're also not allowed to carry any lithium batteries in checked luggage on many airlines including Air New Zealand.

You would not be allowed to take your AUKey for example on an Air NZ flight even if it's in carry on without prior approval from the airline. I had my battery pack size checked (it's only a 10,500) at screening at both Wellington and Auckland on Sunday.

Ouch. I wanted the powerbank for a trip to Philippines on Air Asia. I asked their call centre if they had USB charging on board and I was advised to bring a power bank. Was advised lithium batteries are ok as long as they are inside a device.

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JoshWright

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#1692677 20-Dec-2016 10:52

20000mah Aukey is great with Quick Charge and Lightning input (use iPhone charger to charge power bank), $40ish shipped from Aliexpress.

Batwing

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#1692686 20-Dec-2016 11:09

The top recommendations don't seem to be able to be sourced locally.

My cygnett 8000mah does pretty good, 2 x 2.1A output charges my Nexus 5X pretty fast at the same time as another device.

Had it over a year now and still use it a couple of times a week.

I would love a battery with USB C input and output though to save carrying multiple cables. The Xiaomi pro 1000mah seems to only do have the job though, and doesn't output as fast as the cygnett.

sbiddle

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#1692759 20-Dec-2016 11:49

MichaelNZ:

Ouch. I wanted the powerbank for a trip to Philippines on Air Asia. I asked their call centre if they had USB charging on board and I was advised to bring a power bank. Was advised lithium batteries are ok as long as they are inside a device.

USB charging on most IFE systems is like cheap USB chargers and power banks - pretty much useless. You need smart chargers.

Plug most modern phones into the Panasonic eX2 or eX3 systems on Air New Zealand (or any other airline using the same systems) and you'll see it struggles and charges at incredibly slow speeds which is something I've mentioned on here and posted photos of. My Z5 could only manage 330mA which would mean it would take over 9 hours to charge. Compare this to my QC3.0 Anker (my Z5 is only QC2.0) that outputs around 1800 - 2100mAh. Many other phones won't charge much faster.

Batwing

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#1692761 20-Dec-2016 11:52

Can confirm, charging in flight and using your phone can be a net loss of charge.

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jonb

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#1693141 21-Dec-2016 10:51

The Sense 6+ I ordered from AliExpress about a month ago arrived today. Seems to be a sweet spot between performance, power (20000mAh) and features - lcd charge level and 2x usb ports (1x 2.1A, 1x1A output). Was US$17 .

dafman

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#1693145 21-Dec-2016 10:59

MichaelNZ:

sbiddle:

Since you haven't given any details of requirements (capacity is only but a small one - number of ports and QC2.0 / QC3.0 support are the most critical) it's hard to recommend anything specific.

I want a minimum of 2 USB connections.

I am also open to something like this.

sbiddle:

It varies by airline and country. You need to ensure you comply with lithium battery restrictions these days or you WILL have your batteries confiscated and destroyed. I'm aware of 2 people lately who have had battery packs removed from checked luggage at AKL international and destroyed.

Many follow the FAA and impose a 100Wh limit (which at 5V is 20,000mAh) per battery pack. You're also not allowed to carry any lithium batteries in checked luggage on many airlines including Air New Zealand.

You would not be allowed to take your AUKey for example on an Air NZ flight even if it's in carry on without prior approval from the airline. I had my battery pack size checked (it's only a 10,500) at screening at both Wellington and Auckland on Sunday.

Ouch. I wanted the powerbank for a trip to Philippines on Air Asia. I asked their call centre if they had USB charging on board and I was advised to bring a power bank. Was advised lithium batteries are ok as long as they are inside a device.

The powerbank is only $199 at Repco, so if you purchase, NL should price match. I am going to purchase one of these to keep in the car for emergency jumpstarting our Outback.

But for charging phones/tablets, I'll keep using the Huawei I linked above - it hasn't missed a beat, charges devices quickly (even with two devices connected), holds a charge extremely well, and looks great in all metal case.

dafman

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#1693438 21-Dec-2016 18:11

Ok, so I purchased the Powerall from NL today. This will live in the car for emergency jump start. It looks good, comes with AC cord, jumper leads and combo charging cable with micro USB, lightning and Apple 30 pin. I've taken photos alongside the Huawei.

Huawei 13,000mAh. $69 NL. Metal case.

Powerall 16,000mAh. $199 (price match to Repco). Plastic case.

1eStar

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#1693541 21-Dec-2016 21:56

I have purchased Pineng brand power banks and been very happy with them. The fact that China does knockoff copies of the Malaysian original tells you something. The biggest issue ordering online at this point in time is finding a vendor who will ship them internationally. The Aukey I ordered from Aliexpress over a month ago seems to me like it will never arrive, I'm about to trigger buyer protection.

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