Portable chargers, also known as power banks are among the most useful charging electronics on the market. They’re the fastest growing currently and one of the main reasons for that is because they’re able to go anywhere with us. Most of us use USB wall chargers for most our charging needs and it makes sense as USB wall chargers feature lots of charging ports and fast charging speeds. However, the main flaw with them is that we have to stay close to charge our devices and it’s not possible to go far because the devices that you’re charging are connected by a cable.

Power banks change all that as they’re able to with us and charge our devices at the same time. One of the best parts of a power bank is just how varied they are. That’s because there are many different types of portable chargers on the market and they each have their up and downsides. With that said, there are also lots of companies that now sell power banks because they know that many consumers are purchasing them. However, there’s a good and bad side to that.

The good part of a lot of companies selling power banks is that there’s competition and that drives competition to improve on current products. The downside is that since a lot of people are looking to purchase a power bank, there are quite a lot of cheap power banks that are being sold to make a quick buck. That is why I have created a list of features that you must take note of when you’re going to purchase a power bank.

Also Read : Wireless Power Bank

The Power Capacity and Size

Knowing the power capacity of a power bank before purchasing it is one of the most important parts because the power capacity can be low enough that it can only deliver a single full charge to a smartphone. Or a power capacity can be so high that is can deliver five full charges to a smartphone. So that brings us to the two main type of power banks on the market. Mini and High Capacity.

Mini Power Banks

Power banks that are Mini in size are the ones that have low power capacity since the power capacity of a power bank will dictate its size and weight. These power banks are among the most used type because they’re so small that they’re able to fit into your pocket and you’re able to hold them in a single hand to charge your smartphone.

As portable as these chargers are, it’s important to keep in mind that they lack quite heavily in the Power department. Since they have low power capacities they’re really only able to charge most smartphones about once or twice with their 3,000mAh to 5,000mAh power capacity. They also only use a single charging port most of the time with a slow charging speed. However, newer Mini power banks are now beginning to feature faster charging speeds.

High Capacity Power Bank

Power banks that have higher power capacities are ones that aren’t nearly as popular as low capacity ones. The main reason being that these type of power banks are a lot larger and heavier so they won’t be fitting into your pocket and neither are you able to hold them for long periods of time. The main reasons that these power banks do sell are the great amount of prowess that they hold.

Since they have high power capacities they’re able to charge most devices like smartphones and tablets numerous times over. They also make use of multiple charging ports and that means that you can charge multiple devices at once. At this point, these level of power banks also features special charging tech like Quick Charge, USB-C and some even have the ability to charge laptops by using DC Outputs ports.

Amount of Ports and Speed

Having multiple charging ports is something that is mostly present with high capacity power banks and the main reason for that is because more power can be split up. However, just because a power bank has lots of USB ports does not mean that it’s a good one.

Instead, you have to know what each of the charging ports is capable of before purchasing. Since a power bank can have 3 ports but if all of those ports are only capable of charging at 5V/1.0A then that is a very slow charging speed for most devices. However, if a power bank has each of its 3 ports at a charging speed of 5V/2.0A then that’s better because most devices are able to charge at or near their max speeds.

The Many Different Types :

I already mentioned the two main types of power banks that are present with all of them. Such as them having low or high power capacities. However, it goes much further than that because power banks are versatile and are able to have other attributes. I’ll just name two quite popular ones.

Built-in Cable Power Banks

Power banks that have built-in cables are ones that are always going to be reliable since they will always have cables. With most stationary electronics like USB wall chargers and car chargers, we have cables that stay with them. That isn’t always true for power banks and there are times when someone might take a power bank on-the-go with them and forget a charging cable entirely.

That’s where power banks with built-in cables come in as they’ll always have the cable that you use the most with them. Not only do some make use of a single built-in cable, but they also have two built-in cables with power banks and make use of USB ports. There are some power banks that also have a built-in way to recharge such as an AC Adapter or a USB cable.

Rugged Power Banks

Power banks, just like any electronic are fragile and if you drop them then they’re most likely going to break. Which is why there are Rugged power banks. These type of chargers have reinforcements that allow them to withstand drops onto hard ground and they’re also resistant to water.

One of the most important things to understand about Rugged power banks is that most of them have different Enclosure levels. Some power banks have their waterproofing level to only withstand jets of water. More high-level Rugged ones are able to be immersed into water. So you must check the Enclosure level that each power bank has before purchasing it or else it might get damaged because it wasn’t built to withstand immersion into water.

Power Bank Brands

You must take a good look at who you’re purchasing your power bank from and the main reason being is that there are a lot of companies that sell power banks without any real value. Which is why you have to know and purchase your portable chargers from reputable companies such as Anker or Aukey. Both of those companies offer some of the best power banks on the market because they feature the latest tech, and their power banks are actually quite small regardless of how high the power capacities are.

Also, they have a great warranty that ensures that they put a lot of trust behind their products so they won’t stop working after just a few weeks of usage.