The Best Portable Power Banks: Tested

Power your electronic devices on the go with these tested picks.

Cameron Martindell| Published August 11, 2023

20 reviews with an average rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars
A portable power bank charges up a phone at a camp picnic table.

From cell phones to headlamps to satellite communicators, for many of us, electronics are now part of the backcountry experience. But the juice to run them doesn't grow on the trees.

Whether you're looking for a lightweight power bank to keep your smartphone charged in the field, or a device big enough to keep a fridge running at home during the next power outage, look no further. With the help of a crew, I tested a range of power banks, higher-capacity portable power stations and even a solar panel—all to find the best devices available at the co-op to keep your batteries charged.


Test Results

For quick recommendations, check out our roundup below, or scroll down for more in-depth reviews.

Many electronic devices like smartphones can last a day with a full charge, but if you take lots of photos and videos or use a GPS-based navigation unit or tracking app, it's wise to carry backup power.

Small and lightweight, the Goal Zero Flip 24 tucks easily into a pocket, day pack or purse, making it ideal for traveling. I lead day-hiking trips in national parks, and this unit lives in my hip pack when I'm guiding. With it, I've been able to bail out several clients who'd depleted their phone batteries and otherwise wouldn't have been able to snap a sunset or a landscape. With a capacity of 6,700 mAh, the charger was able to top off my phone several times.

Bonus: The palm-sized Flip 24 is a cinch to operate. There's no "on/off" switch. Flip out the single USB-A plug and start charging. Just be careful not to push it back too far, which can break it. The Flip 24 only has a single port, but it was fine for one person charging smaller devices. Buy here.

Bottom Line: A simple-to-use, pack-it-and-forget-it option for most day adventures.

Testing Stats:

  • Test charge cycles: 45
  • Testing locations: California, Colorado, Utah

This unit from BioLite is now my go-to for any trip I do in the two-to three-day range, including international travel. For a backpacker, the 1.5 pounds may feel heavy, but the tradeoff was worth it for me to ensure I had enough power to keep all of my devices running—especially since I take a lot of photos and videos. The biggest advantage of the Charge 80 PD Power Bank is in the fast-charging USB-C Power Delivery (PD) port, which delivers up to 18 watts. That's enough power for tablets, phones and a 13-inch laptop. The Charge 80 also has two USB-A output ports. All three ports can be used simultaneously.

With rounded edges and corners, it's durable and easy to jam anywhere into my pack. The hard plastic cover also slides in and out of pockets, though there's just enough texture on the surface for a sure grip. It also sports a four-light charge level indicator and a button to check the level. And it's available in smaller capacities, in the Charge 20 and Charge 40 sizes. Buy here.

Bottom Line: Packing a power punch, this durable unit is easy to take along, whether on the trail or during travel.

Testing Stats:

  • Test charge cycles: 25
  • Testing locations: Colorado, Norway, Utah

If you're one of those campers who needs to stay connected on the go, the Yeti 200X from Goal Zero is the power solution for you. There are numerous ways to charge up this brick: Plug it into a wall at home before leaving, into your car via a 12V charging cable or recharge it while you're off-grid using Goal Zero solar panels (sold separately). Either way, you should have enough energy to charge a smartphone 20 times. It charges multiple devices too. As long as you use a USB-C cable, you can charge laptops, cameras, phones and tablets. Buy here.

When serving a group of power-hungry device users on a camping or overlanding trip, the Goal Zero Yeti 500X delivered with so many port options. With four USB (2 USB-A and 2 USB-C PD) ports plus two A/C ports, there was room for everyone in the family to charge a range of devices at the same time. On one group trip, we tested this unit with four adults competing for power while camping in the Medicine Bow National Forest in southern Wyoming. The Goal Zero 500X delivered, even providing a steady stream of juice to power a portable, electrically controlled pellet grill for delicious BBQ chicken.

The portable power station offers a steady 300 watts and can handle surges of up to 1,200 watts. The screen of the Yeti 500X notifies you when a power surge has passed—such as the startup of the grill—and when it was OK to plug in our other devices. The screen also displays approximately how much time remains on the battery at the current draw and how much power the battery receives from any power source.

To keep the Yeti 500X topped off during a testing trip along Colorado's Switzerland Trail west of Boulder, we connected it to the Boulder 50 solar panel. (You can also plug it into a wall outlet using the included cable, or the 12V charger aka the cigarette lighter in your car with a separate cable.) Tipping the scales at 13 pounds, this lithium-ion battery isn't light. But we would set it up by the solar panels and then leave it, so weight wasn't a concern. Buy here.

Bottom Line: Bring in the juice to sustain all power-hungry uses at base camp.

Testing Stats:

  • Test Charge Cycles: 22
  • Testing Locations: Colorado, Wyoming

Of the larger portable power stations we tested, we think you get the most bang for your buck with the BioLite BaseCharge. The 1,520 Wh unit weighs 28 pounds, much lighter than the competition we tested with comparable battery capacity. Its handles are integrated into the unit and is easy to carry with two hands (those with a strong grip can one-hand it). The sleek design with rounded edges and corners makes it easy to pack in the car, and it's stout enough to pile things on top of. We tested this unit on several group outings, including with eight adults on a two-night Cub Scout camping trip in the Colorado Rockies. The BaseCharge kept our BioLite AlpenGlow 500 lanterns running (the scouts loved the disco party feature). For groups half our size, BioLite also makes a smaller BaseCharge 600.

Nine outputs include a smattering of USB ports; a wide wireless charging platform on the top deck; and a single high-power port (HPP) input to recharge the device from a wall socket or by connecting it up to four solar panels (sold separately; BioLite recommends the SolarPanel 100). The display shows the stats like time to empty or a full charge, but also has a watt-hour odometer that can be reset whenever we wanted to better track and understand our power usage over time. Buy here.

Bottom Line: This easy to carry power station boasts good power management display for devices that draw modest to medium power.

Testing Stats:

  • Test Charge Cycles: 7
  • Testing Locations: Colorado, Utah

If you're looking for a reliable option in case of the next power outage, consider the EcoFlow DELTA Max, which packs 2kWh capacity to power your fridge, house lights or other appliances.

The unit's most impressive feature is how fast it charges up. Our testing confirms the DELTA Max revs from empty to 80% full within an hour when plugged into a wall outlet—and then in just another 45 minutes is fully charged. You can also speed up the process by combining two sources, whether solar charging, car charging, using a wall outlet or plugging into an EcoFlow Smart generator (sold separately). Such rapid charging is a godsend to those who often forget to keep these batteries topped off. And when a storm starts to brew, hinting at a grid outage, you can plug in the Delta Max to tank up quickly before the main power goes out.

We're curious to see whether this quick charge ability endures, even at the mid-point or later in the unit's life cycle—EcoFlow says the unit has enough durability for 500 cycles to 80% capacity. Nevertheless, among all the units tested for this guide, the DELTA Max's charge time was fastest. Buy here.

Bottom Line: Benefit from this beefed-up power station's rapid re-charging capabilities to power mutiple devices for in a pinch or emergency.

Testing Stats:

  • Test Charge Cycles: 23
  • State: Colorado

Buying Advice for Portable Power

When buying a portable power bank or station, consider first how you plan to use it the majority of the time. How much power will you need for the kind of use you envision? How many devices will you be charging? How long will you be off the grid? Will you be mobile or stationary (and if mobile, will you be on foot or in a vehicle)? What features are crucial to you? Think hard about these needs before you buy. Underestimate them and you may run out of power before your adventure is over. Overestimate, and that bigger and heavier kit might be more of an anchor than an enhancement.

For a more in-depth buying guide, consult our article, "How to Choose Solar Chargers and Portable Power."

Storage Capacity

Storage capacity
tells you how much charge the power bank can hold for later use, when you're ready to recharge your devices. Capacity is measured in milliamp hours (mAh), Amp hours (Ah) or watt hours (Wh). (Anything with a capacity about 100,000mAh will often switch to using "watt hours"). As capacity increases, devices get larger and heavier since they rely on internal batteries to function.

Portable power banks provide lower output, up to 10,000mAh for the Goal Zero Flip 24, for example, and are best for short-term power needs; they can charge up an iPhone roughly two to three times. Portable power stations like the BioLite Base Charge 1500 and the EcoFlow Delta MAX are larger, high-capacity devices that are capable of powering small appliances or serving as emergency backup. They're also designed to charge up multiple devices at a time, and often have USB outlets, an AC (standard "wall outlet") outlet, or a 12v outlet.

How Much Power Will You Need and for How Long?

This is one of the trickiest variables to calculate. Think about all the devices you need to keep charged and how much you'll use them. If you only use your mobile phone for occasional photos or videos, you won't use much power. If you use it frequently for a lot of purposes, you will use more power. Obviously, the more power you need, and the longer you're off-grid, the larger battery capacity you'll need—unless you supplement with a mobile recharging system, e.g. solar panels. By comparing the storage capacity in your device to that of the power bank or station, you can get an idea of how many recharges you have available. A power bank with 10,000 mAh would ideally be able to charge an iPhone 14 (with 3,279mAh battery) at least two times.

All the products in our lineup are made with lithium ion batteries. This may matter if you plan to take a portable power bank on an airplane; TSA requires that spare lithium ion batteries, including power banks and cell phone battery charging cases, with 100 watt hours or less be carried in carry-on bags.

Features

Features are often similar within each class of portable battery, though there are always exceptions. Most of the smaller batteries come with still-prevalent USB-A output ports, though USB-C is gaining popularity.

Larger units typically have AC ports but not wireless charging. (The BioLite 1500 is an exception.) Larger units also vary in how powerful the inverter is in ramping up the wattage output. This changes how much total power can be pulled from the battery from multiple ports at the same time. Most camping uses don't draw much, but just because a battery has six AC ports, it doesn't mean you can use them all at once. Everything plugged into the unit still needs to total up to less than the wattage allowance. The main reason to consider a higher watt battery is for remote construction work where corded power tools are being used.

Other features that vary among sizes include what sort of screen (if any) is on the unit and how easy or difficult it is to read the screen in direct sunlight. Most units with screens will show the current charge of the battery, how much longer the battery will last under the current load, and how much power is being drawn at any given moment. Some of the units offer a smartphone app to monitor this information.

PRO TIP: Consider checking how much power you have used in the first half, third or quarter of your trip. From this you can gauge how long the battery will last and manage accordingly.

Methodology

My wife and I have years of experience using portable power sources and spent over two years taking these specific units (and others) on road trips, camping trips and through mock and real power outage situations. We adjusted the weight of our scoring depending on the use case scenarios. For example, for vehicle-based adventures, the weight of the unit was not of much concern. For single-person versus group use, the number of ports and maximum draw rating was taken into consideration. Other factors we took into account in rating these units include ease of use, ergonomics, packability/storability, price, capacity, output, charging times and durability.

Authors

Photo of Cameron Martindell

Cameron Martindell

Cameron is an adventure travel and expedition writer; follow him offyonder.com. He has adventured on all seven continents, has a decade of mountain search and rescue experience and has served as an Australian bush firefighter.