Battery Packs? What's good?

[Brendan]

Been using a Dark Energy Poseidon since 2016, still works great but I'm guessing that it's not as efficient anymore so I'm looking at replacing it.

I'm leaning towards buying another, but has anyone else found something else they prefer with a better Power/Weight combination that isn't going to die on me?

I do have a Goal Zero Nomad 10 panel that I use as well for charging on longer trips, generally will recharge devices at night, and then leave the battery and panel out to recharge during the day.

 

[j33]

Anker is a great brand and pretty light. My Anker Powercore 10000mah from Amazon is only 6.4oz

I have another smaller version but that 10000 mah is the lightest per mah

 

[Voyageur]

Anker is a great brand and pretty light. My Anker Powercore 10000mah from Amazon is only 6.4oz

I have another smaller version but that 10000 mah is the lightest per mah

I just made this same purchase. It has worked well at home and will get a field test next week backpacking in the Frank Church. If it passes that test, come September, it will supplement my other 10000 mah pack in moose camp. I've always been able to get by with just the one battery pack, but figured for the small weight penalty the redundancy of two packs was worth it.
Hope this helps.

 

[Planopurist]

I’ve been using the Dark Energy as well. I think they upgraded it in the last year or 2.


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[Btaylor]

Have an Anker 21k that's 3y/o and still works well and added a 10k last year for whitetail hunting in areas w/out or spotty cell signal that drains the phone. Also use them for charging camera and headlamp.

 

[Dos Perros]

Anker is a great brand and pretty light. My Anker Powercore 10000mah from Amazon is only 6.4oz

I have another smaller version but that 10000 mah is the lightest per mah

x2

I have 2, having bought the second after I thought I lost the first. I'd buy a third.

 

[FOXDIE]

Another Anker Powercore user here and I echo all the positive points everyone else has made so far.

 

[archp625]

I would get the DE Poseidon Pro. You said so yourself that the one you have now has been good with zero issues. Why not get the next version?

 

[Hondo]

I used to carry a Goal Zero Venture 30 but switched to a much lighter and compact Anker Powercore Slim 10k.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

ANKER, use a 6700mAH & a 10000mAH all winter in minus degree temps on thermal scope N' scanner & they work amazing

 

[mcseal2]

I have both an Anker 21k and a Dark Energy about the same age as yours. Both have worked well. I prefer the Dark Energy in my pack due to the covered ports. The Anker usually stays in camp and I use it each night, keep the DE in my pack just in case. I have a headlamp, In Reach, Steripen, phone, and small back-up light that are all rechargeable.

I've never fully burned through the Anker alone without recharging it via solar in AK on hunts of up to 11 days. I hardly use the Dark Energy, but feel better having it. I've had batteries pretty low by the time I got back to camp and would have needed it if I'd spent the night out. I like that the DE has a light built in also I can use in a pinch. My Anker does not have a light.

In camp the Anker lives in a gallon ziplock with the charging cords poking out a corner at night. I want it to stay dry and there is always a chance my shelter could be wrecked by a bear or weather.

Most times I think a larger pack makes more sense than a solar panel. If it's a really long trip or one where you will have long days of sun where you are stationary long enough to set up a panel for hours solar might make sense. If that isn't the case, a big Anker at camp and a small battery in the pack makes the most sense to me.

 

[Loper]

I just bought the Anker Powercore Slim 10,000 PD recently and am a little annoyed that it doesn’t comes with a USB-A to USB-C cord as I don’t have a way to charge it. It only has a USB-C to USB-C cord. To charge it I’d need a USB-C wall charger, which I learned after the fact.

It’s probably a great power bank, but I’m probably going to return it and get the non-PD version. I don’t need to rapidly charge the power bank and don’t want to have to worry about having a specific wall charger for it.

It’s on me that I didn’t catch this before buying it and hopefully others don’t make the same mistake.

 

[Sdliven]

I have used Anker for years in the field and they never disappoint.


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[Desk Jockey]

I have a dark energy and it works fine. No complaints at all. For non outdoor use, I have become an anker fan And will likely go that route when the time comes.

I live in fear that when my dark energy dies, I will be in the back country somewhere when I find out it has failed. I also find that I need the ruggedizarion features less than I expected. It is usually in a waterproof or resistant bag in my pack and when I use it to charge it is usually under cover. I don’t toss it around and it just hasn’t gotten that beat up. I might feel differently if I was a more “hardcore“ user - river guide, hunting guide, manly man hunting celebrity like @Aron Snyder - but for a guy like me that spends 10-20 days a year in the woods between hunting and and backpacking, some of the features are just overkill.

again, nothing wrong at all with dark energy, but after a few years of use, I understand my needs better. when it dies, I will probably replace it with 2x anker packs each having about half the capacity. that way I will have some built in redundancy if one fails. Pricing that strategy up, I expect it will be about half the cost of a new dark energy and will save an once or two.

 

[camelcluch]

I had a dark energy and it took a crap. I now have a Rav Power. It’s a fraction of the cost for more power and faster charging. I also get a lot more charges but the DE is built to use as a bear club.

 

[Pro953]

The Anker stuff of great. I have one of the 10K units I have used for 6-7+ years. Just recently I looked battery packs up again thinking I could find something lighter/more powerful but not much has changed changed in that time period. The Anker 10K is still one of the top for power/weight.

Hopefully we get a jump in battery tech in the next decade and these things will size down even more.


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[gelton]

I have one of the original DE that is on its last leg. I am happy to see that they have new batteries in stock as there was about a 4-6 month window pre-covid where they were entirely sold out.

Great customer service and the thing is built like a tank, I just don't see it being 3x better than an Anker which has alternatives for larger milliamps at less than 1/3 the price, so I am going to give Anker a try this time around.

 

[Totoro]

Great info here fellas, thank you!

 

[Sealee12]

I will pile on here with another vote for the Anker Slim 10000mAH. You Can pick them up on Amazon for $20.

 

[Brendan]

Great feedback everyone. Will probably jump on both a DE and an Anker - That way I have the option of both or either....