I use this little OMARS portable charger for backpacking. It is very light, compact, and has enough charge for me for a few days.
The Bottom Line
(5 / 5)
- Compact
- Lightweight
- 10,000 mAh
- Powerful enough for 4-5 days backpacking
- Fairly cheap
Purchasing
As far as I can see, this power bank is available only from Amazon, often for well under £15.
Use
The power bank features two regular USB charging ports, which charge at 5V/2.4A (which is already better than many wall chargers). It also has one USB-C that can charge at 5V/3A (and a micro-USB for recharging). Depending on the type of phone, it offers 2-5 charges before needing to be recharged: they advertise 2.2 for a Galaxy S8, 3.6 for iPhone 8.
Charging the bank itself can take as much as seven hours when using a basic wall charger (at 5V/1A), but charging from a USB-C or a beefier wall adapter (which are very common nowadays) hugely reduces time.
I take mine on backpacking trips up to around five days – I have a beefier charger for longer trips. I use it to charge my phone and my Garmin Instinct watch (review coming soon). When out hiking my phone only needs charging every few days, but I charge my watch daily as I use it all the time.
Suitability
This charger is a great option for ultralight backpacking on a budget because it stores enough charge for mosts trips or sections between re-stocks. At only 207g (7.3oz), it’s super light, and very compact too: it is 14cm by 7cm, and just over a centimetre thick.
It is entirely suited to my needs and I would highly recommend it.
Quality
Unlike many chargers I’ve tried in its price range, the Omars portable charger is very sturdily made. While it’s not waterproof, it is fine getting slightly wet occasionally (from personal experience only. This is not advertised by the manufacturer). I keep mine in the ‘brain’ of my pack (the Vango Contour 60:70), and the damp it occasionally experiences is, I’m sure, far from good for it, but it hasn’t caused any issues.