Power bank usage

I use a small power bank somewhat frequently while traveling. When out and about all day and using my phone, I get concerned when the charge goes below 50%.
I use it at home weekly just to assure it stays in prime condition because I killed a couple of larger power banks because I didn't use them enough.

I think it depends on style of travel. If you don’t take many pictures and are driving by car where you can charge your phone , I don’t think a power bank is essential. If you are out all day and use your camera a lot, I find a power bank to be essential.

I bought my niece who went with us to London last summer one of the compact power banks. It worked like a charm. It was so much better than the larger ones that I now have one myself! (Anker brand-taking anything unreliable overseas seems silly to me)l.

My phone went into the red low power warning mode as I wandered around Rome using maps. My Anker charger was in my hotel room because it is too heavy to want to carry all day. I need to find a good, lighter charger.

I use it on virtually every trip I take. I have 3 Ankers (long story) but usually bring 2 - a larger one and then this smaller one. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Compact-High-Speed-Technology/dp/B01CU1EC6Y/ref=sr_1_129?crid=1T21KD5MU7TD9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.98UX2DRMyvCgATKJbC_2xZ5PUwQLBYpTg3edJXxZtniDusMWFikm-hfGiTrsKt20tfvoEj7T0-VrstA8V2GLpOGrGTPeUqpU7npx1Aub2RtCvMZUuS6gBubTg5z6FzwizU5-JzDL1H0fLPz5BDneyWWP_Nd3APWhHoKsO26vFMneg_LnNPICjcX3W7EeoV-0zo6ihH3pWxOTmy8n8XoZsL_8-Ho3AWn5CPiYr2yY3JIT7pv0zVwTJreph7twqDzFtTtL9s4pFMX5YXuB_W4Ldc9Rm6Uy09r1fEW2RlqnSn1HSPclPVrLHYa-n-JO2idco57ElTNXsHqvVNoJMrQ0mwVzVqVcX7yKTz10uNNGf_Y.lqqfgSuZVfcPWYIIK8G9Ox9KiGprvNxW2ZGfUsPtp3A&dib_tag=se&keywords=anker&qid=1741356191&refinements=p_123%3A3271&rnid=85457740011&s=wireless&sprefix=anke%2Caps%2C150&sr=1-129&xpid=xE6vRr4H8PNDQ

I will bring the larger one on a day trip, but if i'm near the hotel or whatever, the smaller one is fine. I will not use any power bank other than Anker.

I carry mine and use it, but mainly it is there to ensure I never miss a wonderful photo because my battery is so low. I'll never forget on a tour of Italy when we got to this wonderful little village and I was almost out of battery and didn't get any photos of it. My travel photo books are what get me through our Minnesota winters. My power bank is insurance I guess.

Thanks skunklet1771 for the link. It's in my cart.

I take and use this credit card size power bank. My phone is getting old. I get a third charge, enough to get me by through the day. They weigh ounces and take no room in my purse. I actually take two.

Somehow i keep ending up with more and more of them. I took 4 on my trip to Kyiv in January. Uses 2 on the overnight train .... amazing, I had phone/data all but about 10 min of the 20 hour trip. We'll, when I was awake at least.

Now I have one light skinny one that goes in my tiny day bag, just in case. Only needs to do one charge at most. The big ones are for long flights. Cross country stuff and even then, one is enough. None are good brands. None expensive. All serve their purpose.

I have an iPhone SE which doesn't have a large battery. If I'm going to be out all day I'll bring my lightweight power bank as insurance. It slips into a pocket easily.

I carry an Anker power bank that is slightly smaller, lighter and hooks right into your phone without a cord. Very convenient and through 3 overseas trips it has worked great. Mine is for my iPhone 12 so it’s still a lightening connection but they make the same model for the newer connector. Use ‘Anker nano power bank 621’ and you’ll find it on Amazon. It’s sort of like a big chunky tube of lipstick. I carry a small travel purse and it fits just fine.

I use a light battery made by Clutch, which also is credit card size. It fits into the snap pocket of my Bandolier phone case, which is quite convenient.
I often wear down my phone battery by taking so many pix when I travel.
Have a great trip!

When I travel, I take a lot of photos with my phone, as well as use the phone for navigation. I have a larger Anker power bank that I got in 2017 and still works great. Weighing 8 ounces, it is heavier than I'd like but I use it to charge up my phone at least once and sometimes twice a day when on a trip so it is worth the weight to me. I have another small power bank by Anker that I keep in my purse when I am not traveling.

I always carry my charging cord, and power bank in a day pack. They are light and they both are lifesavers when you are out and about. When your phone is looking for service and apps are running your power does go down faster than when you are sitting at home or in a service area. They are worth it.

On a tour two years ago to Italy I only had one power bank. My husband often used it during the day because of all the photos he took. I didn’t need it often, but when my battery started getting low I started getting anxious. So for the upcoming trip we will each bring our own.

Thanks, skunklet! I have ordered the small Anker. I am very happy with the brand; thanks for saving me a search :)

I use this Anker charger - it has a built in USB C plug so I don't have to bring a charging cord with me when out and about.

One thing I learned about many portable chargers is you should not leave them plugged in to a charging cord for long periods of time. I used to leave mine charging all the time - until the last one's battery literally swelled up to almost bursting, which I discovered the day before I left on a long trip (overnight Amazon saved the day).

I have the same one CL has. You can use your phone while charging without an additional cord.

I stopped using one years ago. I never needed to use it and I take lots of photos.

I carry several electronic devices and I find that a power bank to be essential for travel. I take about 400 photos per day with my phone. I snap and delete mistakes until I get a good one (e.g. strangers stepping into shot, crooked horizon, better composition, poor exposure, etc). I find my battery will run low by mid day. Every time I sit down (lunch, coffee, bus etc), I top up my phone with my Inui 10,000 mah powerbank. Sometimes on the run, I hold the powerbank back to back to the phone and continue to take pictures while charging. The power bank is about the same size as the cell phone. I also use the power bank to charge Bluetooth devices like wireless earbuds, tablet and my smartwatch. If I use the power bank to charge devices, I do not need to bring dedicated chargers for each device. All I need to do is have one charger to charge up the power bank.

Like funpig, I take lots of photos and delete 3/4 of them. I do edit each "keeper", though. I either edit on my phone at night, or at home with a laptop. I also hate crooked horizons, but I can easily edit photos to fix that later. And I almost always crop photos. And editing makes the photos take up 1/4 of the storage space due to .jpeg compression.

As for chargers, I just want to add that buying a big, advertised name brand for more money is ok, but not necessary. I'd look carefully at the milliamp-hour capacity on the label. I have a larger one like funpig's 10,000 ma-hour one. I'm sure it weighs the same as his, as the battery inside is just a commodity, bought by the manufacturer of the charger. If I also bring a 5,000 ma-hour charger, it will be half the size and half the weight. What I'm saying is that the expensive charger brand name can't disobey physics. If it is half as heavy, it's not because they have a smarter, better design, it's because it has half the capacity.

Read the capacity of the charger, and learn what is the capacity of your cellphone battery.

I carry two with me daily when traveling. One smaller one and one larger one.

And use at least one of them daily.

I never want to be caught out again without one like I was in my home city on November 13, 2025.

I just got the INIU (regular size - boasts it's the slimmest 10,00 power bank). The weight doesn't bother me - unless I plan on using it wrong? Our trip is coming up soon. If our phones need charging while out and about Europe we'll charge them in our small cross body bag (not in our pockets, etc.) where at this point the weight isn't a deal breaker. Am I doing it wrong?

Am I doing it wrong?

Heck no. There are a lot of form factors, credit card (small), cylindrical, flat (like your's I guess). What ever fits where you want to carry it. If your cellphone has a 4,000 ma-hr. battery (pretty common), and you charge it once a day, then a 5,000 to 8,000 ma-hr. one would do that. If you just top it off a bit at the end of the day, a credit card sized 2,000 ma-hr. one would be lighter to carry.

As I said earlier, it's mostly not a quality thing, but a ma-hr. capacity thing. And a form factor you like. I've bought quite a few of them for $5 or so at flea markets and yard sales. I usually bring two power banks on a trip, and don't use them much.

Also note, many trains and a lot of tour busses have USB ports or 240 vac outlets now, so I always bring a long (6 foot) USB charging cable, and an AC charging adapter.

If you travel with a partner, and have similar, recent phones, you can probably transfer power if needed. My wife and I both have Samsung phones (Galaxy S10), and I could enable "Wireless Power Sharing" and charge her phone with mine by putting one on top of the other for a while, like on a train.

Sounds to me like you're doing everything RIGHT! I have the same charger and kinda 'freaked out' the other day (while traveling) when it was in a deep pocket, not lost. On this trip I've been reminded that whether it's peace of mind/insurance, or a necessity, they're worth every ounce and penny.

I forgot to add a reminder: These power banks have lithium-ion batteries in them, so they are not allowed in checked baggage. Bring them in your carry-on

Judith,

I think it really depends on how you travel. I’m a traveler who packs very lightly and just moves to the next town instead of taking day trips, so my B&B is typically in the center of the historical city. Whenever I take a short afternoon break, I go ahead & plug in my phone.

I also enjoy roaming a bit without a map app guiding me, unless I have a timed entry ticket.

If you’ve ever needed it in the past, you might want to carry it just for the days you plan to be in that situation again.

I also carry the same charger as CL (this one) although I admit it usually gets used by others in my travel groups ;). It's good for a charge or 2, lightweight, reassuring to have on hand whether I use it or not. I have another larger, more powerful charger that I often also bring that is useful for in-room charging if an outlet is not handy - but I don't usually toss that one in my day bag.