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How to Choose the Right Power Bank

Know what features that are vital to take a look at when it comes to purchasing a power bank. Since portable chargers are growing so quickly, knowing what to look for can be the difference between owning a power bank that you love or one that you hate.

Power banks are the fastest growing charging electronic and the main reason for that is because power banks are portable chargers. We use to have to use USB wall chargers to charge our devices and even though wall charges are powerful charging electronics that have many ports; the ultimatum is that you have to have your devices close to the charger for them to charge.

The thing with power banks is that you can take them anywhere, charge your devices and that way you can be more productive and get things done on your own time. And not the charger’s time. With power banks growing in popularity so rapidly, this has led to lots of charging electronic companies that now sell power banks.

It’s a good and a bad thing that power banks are so popular because there are companies that sell great quality ones; then there are companies that basically sell garbage. Which is why, in this article, I’ll be going over the main points that you should look for in a power bank.

Type of Power Bank that You Want

There are lots of types of power banks on the market and it can be hard to know exactly which that you want. The base types of power banks are ones have low power capacities and also ones that have high power capacities.

Small Capacity – These power banks are the ones that are purchased the most and the reason for that is because they’re very small. Having a low power capacity means that there are fewer batteries being used and they’re also smaller. With that said, they’re so small that they’re able to fit into your pocket or you can hold them with a single hand.

As portable as these small power banks are, the flaw with them is that they’re really only meant for charging a smartphone to its full power only single time. They also have a single charging port, at least, that’s true for most of them.

High Capacity – Having a high power capacity ultimately makes a power bank more useful, but it also makes it larger and heavier. These power banks are large enough that they won’t be fitting into a pocket quite easily, and they’re also quite heavy. However, a power capacity means two great things. It means that they’re able to charge most smartphones and tablets multiple times over. It also means that these power banks make use of many charging ports and that allows you to charge lots of devices at once.

Other Types

After explaining the two initial types of portable chargers, there are other types of power banks on the market.

For example, there are Rugged power banks. Rugged power banks are ones that have reinforcements, which makes them shockproof and they’re able to fall onto the hard ground without taking damage. These tough portable chargers are waterproof as well when their charging ports are covered by charging covers. However, it’s important to know that just because a power bank is “Waterproof”, does not mean it can go for a swim. Since there are Enclosure levels that a power bank has and certain Enclosure levels are able to take different amounts of water exposure.

There are also power banks that have built-in charging cables and these are among the most reliable types of power banks. The reason for that is because when a power bank always has a charging cable, it will always be reliable. Some power banks go so far as to have more than a single built-in cable, a USB port and also an AC Adapter to recharge the power bank.

Having an AC Adapter also allows a power bank to basically be used as a USB wall charger too.

Charging Speeds, Ports, and Tech

In most cases, power banks that have many charging ports are ones that have high power capacities. The reason for that is because a high power capacity is better able to split its power. With that said power banks that have multiple charging ports are very helpful because you can charge lots of devices at once.

However, the main thing that you need to check with a power bank that has many charging ports is the charging speeds. That’s because a charging speed of 5V/1.0A is very slow for devices nowadays. Instead, most power banks that have high power capacities and many charging ports should have a charging speed of 5V/2.0A or higher. Since most devices are able to charge at their max charging speed or close to it at those speeds.

Then there special charging technologies such as Quick Charge and USB-C. These two charging technologies, when used with compatible smartphones are able to charge devices very quickly. There are also high capacity power banks that use DC Outputs and those ones are able to charge laptops.

Brands that You’re Purchasing From

At the start of this article, I mentioned how there are lots of companies that sell power banks and that some of them are quite bad. That’s because it’s true. Not all companies that sell power banks, sell good ones. Many of them claim that their power banks offer fast charging speeds and yet the speeds that they do have are 1 Amp. Also, most of these companies have their power banks that are larger than they should be; for example, a power bank may have a power capacity of 10,000mAh and yet it’s still quite larger and heavy.

It’s vital to purchase a power bank from companies that have a reputable track record and have shown it through customer reviews. By reading power banks reviews and also with their other products, you’re able to get a better understanding to know whether or not a company is worth purchasing from or not.

Written By

My name is Usman Haq. I'm the creator and owner of ChargerHarbor.com. It's a website that is dedicated to providing reviews, tips, and news about everything charging electronic related.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. prashant

    May 15, 2018 at 6:00 am

    Can you please tell me which is the best power bank for traveling; which one will give me amazing battery backup in 1 hour of charging?

    • Ak Ahmad

      August 29, 2018 at 3:22 am

      Hello there!

      Tough as there are a lot of power banks out there but for travel purposes.

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