How To Pick The Right Portable Holiday Battery Pack
Portable battery chargers are increasingly common, and are particularly useful for holidaymakers and business travellers, who often need to keep their devices topped up with power while on the go. Such a device eliminates the need to find an electric power socket - at least until the charger itself runs out of juice. But with so many portable chargers on the market, how do you go about choosing one for your needs?
We've put together a guide covering all the things you should consider before parting with your cash.
First of all: what does mAh mean?
The abbreviation mAh stands for milliampere hour. In simple terms, the higher the mAh figure, the longer the associated battery will last.
1. Capacity
As you might expect, the capacity of travel chargers varies hugely, ranging from diminutive 2,000mAh (milliampere hours) charger sticks, to much larger 20,000mAh battery packs.
Questions to ask yourself:
l Do you plan to charge more than one device at a time? If so, how many?
l Which devices will you need to charge?
l How long will you be away from an electrical socket?
Mobile phones
You'll need a charger that can, at the very least, charge a given device at least once. The iPhone 10 uses a 2716 mAh battery, while the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a gigantic 4,200mAh battery. So, to charge either of these, you would need a charger with at least that mAh figure.
Laptops and tablets
Naturally, to charge a laptop or a tablet, you'll need a much bigger charger. A Microsoft Surface Pro 6 uses a 5,970 mAh battery, while an old iPad 3 is fitted with 11,000 mAh+ battery. So, to charge an iPad 3 and Mate Pro 30 at the same time, you would need a battery charger with around 15,000 mAh. If you needed to charge them more than once, you would of course need a charger with much larger capacity.
A charger with a lot of capacity might be a good idea even if you only have smaller devices. If you have several products to charge, or if you are travelling with family members who each have their own device, such a large battery pack may be ideal.
2. Weight/size
Bear in mind that chargers can be rather weighty, so you need consider how much you need that juice versus how annoyingly heavy the charger is. In general, the lower the mAh figure, the smaller and lighter the charger will be. Heavy duty chargers - for laptops or tablets - will be rather heavy and therefore less convenient. However, for many business travellers, they are very much a necessity for on-the-move work. And if you simply plan on keeping the battery in your main luggage, the extra weight is unlikely to bother you. For sightseeing day trips, a smaller charger may be a better choice - since it can easily slip into your day sack or handbag.
3. Charging time
How quickly your charger juices your devices is a separate matter to how long the battery pack itself takes to charge. In most cases, the unit itself requires an overnight charge.
If you need to charge your devices quickly, opt for a fast charger and avoid, for example, solar chargers - which can take a long time (but are fantastic for camping trips etc.).
4. The right connectors/adapters
Make sure any charger you buy has the necessary connectors for your phone, tablet, laptop etc. In most cases USB connectors will suffice, so long as you have the necessary adapters. But don't forget, if you use a laptop with a UK plug, you will need to buy a charger with a UK plug socket - or buy a suitable adapter.
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