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Love,
Your Bear
http://bearalc.wordpress.com
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Guest blogger, Matt Bancroft. |
Hi All, I thought I'd fully outline my testing notes from the Power Bank battery pack I ordered and plan to use for ALC. There is little to no power available in camp each night so it's a good idea to invest in a battery pack.
THE PRODUCT:
The pack is a 12,000mAh battery that should charge an iPhone 5 (1440mAh) 8.3x from dead (12000/1440=8.3). This model has 4 USB ports for simultaneous charging of 4 devices. Weighs less than a pound.
AMAZON LINK:
http://amzn.com/B008YRG5JQ ($40)
KNOWNS:
REPORT:
- I did not charge the pack before testing. It arrived showing 4 bars of power, 100%.
- I charged my iPhone while it was on, connected to WIFI and Verizon.
- I did not charge my Garmin 800 (800mAh) during this testing
- I used the iPhone as I normally would, which used more power than leaving it in airplane mode like I will during ALC.
I was able to get 8 partial charges out of the pack before it got to 1 flashing bar of power ( < 25%). I plugged my iPhone in with about 20% left and charged it up to about 96% most days, while leaving the phone on and connected (it will charge faster and with less energy if turned off or in airplane mode). The 8 partial charges means the pack was able to charge my iPhone 537% (a little over 5 full charges, if the iPhone was dead).
RESULTS:
- 8 partial charges of the iPhone = 5.3 full charges from dead.
- Partially charging the iPhone 6x (each night on ALC) leaves me with enough power to charge my Garmin 800 2.4x from dead (I don't expect it to die every day).
- With 1 bar blinking, the battery pack still has less than 25% charge.
CONCLUSION:
I think this is enough power to keep my devices charged during ALC. Your mileage may vary based on your phone and Garmin, and amount of use.
POST-ALC UPDATE:
This pack worked perfectly! I was able to charge my iPhone and Garmin every night on the ride and never ran out of power!I've been using a similar product from Anker since the beginning of the ride. The one I purchased in 2011 lasted for two years and I just replaced it with this one. FYI: the higher the mAh, the more charges you get out of it. I carry two chargers with me, a smaller one and a larger one. They were enough to charge my iPhone and my Garmin for 80% of the ride (I recharged them both at one camp).