Looking for a decent power bank

Hey there, power banks can be a bit of a pain, but it's not too difficult. Phone and battery bank manufacturers usually rate battery capacity in mAh (miliamp hours). This is a measure of how much energy they can store. The bigger the number, the better, but there's always a tradeoff between capacity, size, and cost. I owned a 26,800 mAh battery bank, but it cost about $75 and was enormous. The kind of thing you'd throw in a backpack for a weekend trip or long flight. You can buy a 10,000 mAh battery bank which will fit in a cargo pocket, but it will only recharge your phone a handful of times. There are even smaller banks available, meant to be a quick top-up for your device such as the Lithium Card which fits in a wallet but likely won't even give your phone one full charge. The amount of charge you can get out of a battery bank will vary on the bank's size and your phone's battery size. If your phone had a rating of 2000 mAh, you can do the math for a ballpark estimate. Keep in mind that these banks aren't completely efficient. They're good, but not perfect. On top of that, your phone is constantly using power, so a 10000 mAh bank won't charge a phone with a 2000 mAh battery 5 times. You might only get around 3 charges due to electrical resistance and your phone's power draw.

As for actually picking a power bank, there are several options. If you want something you can cart around and charge your phone a few times, 10,000 mAh is a good size, and you can get even smaller ones for more portability. You can always get the enormous, multi-day banks, but they're quite heavy and are best suited to a bag. Also, large battery banks are restricted on flights. In the US, the FAA doesn't allow batteries with a capacity higher than 100 watt hours. That's a different way to measure capacity which equates to roughly just under 30,000 mAh. Funny thing is there's no limit to how many discrete battery banks you can bring aboard, so long as they're for personal use. Fun fact: the battery in the 2019 MacBook Pro 16-inch clocks in at a hair below that limit. One form factor that might suit you is a battery case. This builds the battery straight into your phone case and makes everything much more convenient. No cables or separate battery banks required! There are also battery banks with wireless chargers built in. They are convenient, but not very efficient and tend to be more expensive.

So, what about brands? Well, when it comes to batteries, it's best not to cheap out. Buying chinese no-name power banks can result in battery cells that wear out abnormally fast, a capacity which is far, far, far lower than advertised (I'm talking anywhere from one half to one sixth the capacity), and a fire hazard at worst. Remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco? People's phones were literally exploding and catching fire. Lithium battery cells are volatile little demons. They're basically chemical sacks with thin membranes keeping all the explody bits from touching each other. So, what to do? Stay away from shady companies. Be smart. If someone is advertising a battery bank the same size as your phone to be 20,000 mAh, they're probably llying. Personally, I suggest sticking to big brands like Anker and Aukey who already have a good reputation for making reliable chargers and cables. Stuff made by big companies like Samsung and LG is also fair game, though I've not really seen power banks from them. I've also had good experiences with Cheero Power. I owned a NuEyes headset that shipped with one and it never gave me problems. They're incredibly basic and have no load detection, so you'll have to push a power button to turn on the juice, but they're pretty cheap.

That's pretty much all I know. The most convenient solution, by far, is a battery case. Apple sells some official ones, I think. Just keep in mind you may only get a few charges out of them due to the small size. Hope this helps.