Portable cell phone charger

[DukeSox]

Looking for a portable cell phone charger - one of those standalone battery packs you charge up and then carry around in case you need to charge up your phone if it's running low and you're on the move/not near a charger.

Saw this on Amazon from a quick search, looks decent, but I suspect there is some best-in-class for charging capacity/value/features that everyone uses. What do you use / are any 'features' actually important beyond the ability to just charge your phone? Gracias.

 

[Seven Costanza]

I've got a deck of cards sized Mophie pack given to me by Verizon and my wife has a behemoth Anker pack given to her by a friend. Both have worked well for a year+. No complaints with either brand.

I'd also take a look at the Amazon Basics options out there. If I had to replace either of the ones we currently have, I'd go with them. As far as I can tell, there aren't many features other than flashing lights to indicate charge remaining and every one I've ever looked at has that. You probably will be fine with whatever you end up choosing (within reason).

 

[cgori]

Basically that thing is what you get. I have an older one from Newtrent: (don't get this, it's old/overpriced now). Seems like almost all of them are roughly the same.

FYI: If you travel in Asia, theoretically anything USB over 20000 mAh might not be allowed to fly with you. (You might be successful up to 32000 mAh based on that page - however, I had a hell of a time in both Taiwan and China with even a 10000 mAh battery. It's TSA-level inconsistent.)

Features to check for:
If your phone supports fast charging (Samsung S6, etc) make sure you get something that can support that charging mode - usually this means PowerIQ, I believe. Apple stuff, it matters less, but make sure someone in a review has tested it.
Mine has the LED strip-lite indicator for how much charge remains, it's handy (100/80/60/40/20% remaining, also tells you if it is charging by flashing).
Best if it can charge 2 things (so 2 USB ports), ideally at 2+ Amps (my older one cannot do this, it has one low-current and one high-current).
Ideally it uses the same charging cable as something else you use (USB-A to micro-USB, most commonly), in the interest of reducing crap you have to pack
None of them seem to be able to charge the battery while also charging devices. If you find one that does, please let me know.

Edit: this product page seems to have a table of all the Anker battery packs, so you can trade off capacity/weight/plugs (and keep in mind the 20000 mAh rule if it matters to you).

 

[TFP]

I have this one. It's always worked great, usually gets me 2 full iPhone charges or 1 full iPad charge. Seems to charge itself fairly quickly too. Might be a newer version that's worth getting, but I like it overall.

 

[drbretto]

$29.99 for 16,000 Mah (That's what, like 3-4 full charges of today's smart phones?), 2 fast-charge ports and a built-in LED flashlight sounds like a pretty decent deal to me as long as it's not a brand that's going to fall apart in a month.

 

[jayhoz]

Get an Anker one with Power IQ. Price is right and Power IQ will deliver the max wattage your phone will safely take.

I would avoid no-name cheap batteries as they tend to charge slowly and occasionally burst into flames.

 

[crystalline]

$29.99 for 16,000 Mah (That's what, like 3-4 full charges of today's smart phones?), 2 fast-charge ports and a built-in LED flashlight sounds like a pretty decent deal to me as long as it's not a brand that's going to fall apart in a month.

That's the one I have and it works great. It charges the phone faster than most wall adapters so I use it for fast charges even when I have some random wall plug available. The flashlight also comes in handy. One downside- very occasionally the side button will get pressed in my bag, turning on the flashlight and draining the battery.

 

[Strike4]

I have this one from Zerolemon: http://amzn.to/1kGUYGZ

I work outside a lot in remote areas and it's been great.

 

[Merkle's Boner]

If you can get into the Schwab Impact conference taking place over the next few days at the Convention Center, I am sure there will be at least a dozen mutual fund companies handing them out for free!

 

[DukeSox]

You get what you pay for

Alas, I'm in NY but appreciate it.

 

[DukeSox]

the new winky faces are pretty special looking

 

[steeplechase3k]

I have this one. It's always worked great, usually gets me 2 full iPhone charges or 1 full iPad charge. Seems to charge itself fairly quickly too. Might be a newer version that's worth getting, but I like it overall.

I have the same one and would recommend it. Only problem was the USB cord was a little cheap so it ended up breaking after I crabed the cord into the little bag that it comes with and I had to get a new one.

 

[Marceline]

For the same price, this one (also from Anker) has 2 charging ports and 10400 capacity: