How to choose the best power bank for travel?

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Hoe kies je een goede powerbank voor op reis?

Are you going on a trip soon? Then a power bank is an absolute must-have for your travels. A smartphone with a full battery is indispensable nowadays: your tickets are digital on your phone, you navigate via Google Maps, and even on a terrace, you often order via your mobile. Without a phone, you can quickly run into problems during your holiday or at a festival.

Because you use your smartphone a lot on the go, the battery drains faster. And imagine being in an unknown city with a dead phone – you naturally want to avoid that. With a power bank for holidays or a power bank for festivals, you always have extra power at hand. This way, you remain reachable, can take photos, and follow your route without worries.

Not every trip is the same, so not every power bank suits every situation. In this blog, you'll discover how to choose the best power bank for your trip, so you're always prepared for your journey.

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Why do I need a power bank when traveling?

When traveling, you'll be using your phone a lot from now on. Your tickets, directions, entertainment, and music are all on it. In addition, you'll probably want to take some photos or a video in between. In short, you often need your phone when you're traveling. Sometimes you can charge your phone on the train or plane, but certainly not always. Therefore, it's very convenient not to be dependent on that. Of course, you want to avoid the conductor coming by and you not being able to show your ticket because your phone is dead.

Furthermore, it's possible that you're traveling somewhere where electricity is not a given. For example, at a campsite or in a mountain hut. At a campsite, there often is electricity, but only in the common area or near the toilets. Still, it doesn't feel comfortable leaving your new smartphone alone near the toilets, but you also don't want to stay next to it the whole time. Then it's better to leave your €30 power bank near the toilets than a new expensive phone. Then you can charge your phone at night with that power bank while you sleep.

Power bank for a sunny holiday

On a sunny holiday, you can often charge your phone and power bank at least once a day. You don't necessarily need a large power bank for a sunny holiday. However, it can be handy to take a smaller one with you, for example, to the beach or on a day trip. When you use your phone to read a book and listen to music, it can still drain quickly. A power bank ensures that your phone will last all day. With a 10,000 mAh power bank, you can charge your phone approximately 1.5 to 4 times (depending on the model).

Our advice:

  • A 10,000 mAh power bank is more than enough.
  • If weight and space aren't a concern for you, you can always opt for a 20,000 mAh power bank.
  • Note: Not every power bank is allowed on the plane. Want to know more? Read our Power Bank Airplane Blog .

Powerbank at the campsite

When you go camping, you may not have access to electricity for one or more days. Especially if you go wild camping. A power bank with which you can charge your smartphone several times is ideal. In addition, you may also want to charge other devices such as earphones or your GPS. With a 20,000 mAh power bank you can charge your phone approximately 3 to 8 times (depending on the model).

Our advice:

  • A 20,000 mAh power bank is desirable
  • Want to charge multiple devices? Make sure the power bank has multiple charging ports.
  • Choose a wireless power bank if you don't want to hassle with cables. Handy for hiking or walking.

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Powerbank for a festival

Nothing is more annoying than losing your friends at a big festival and having a dead phone. A power bank prevents this problem and is an absolute must-have for every festival.

Festivals can last 1 or more days. If you're going for one day, a smaller power bank is enough, because you can simply charge your phone at home at night. If you're going for a whole weekend, you'll ideally want a larger power bank. Often you're in the middle of a field where there's no power available. You'll ideally want to be able to charge your smartphone at least twice with your power bank.

Also handy at a festival is not having to bring cables. With wireless charging, you don't have to bother with the cable in your pocket or bag. Many newer phones support wireless charging with Qi2 or via MagSafe. In any case, all iPhone models from iPhone 12 onwards support this, but also various Samsung S-models and Google Pixel models. Want to know more? Read our blog "What is Qi2 and how does it work?".

Our advice:

  • Day festival: 10,000 mAh
  • Weekend festival: 20,000 mAh
  • Choose a wireless power bank if your phone supports it.

Powerbank for backpacking

If you want to travel the world with all your stuff in a backpack, you want to have as little weight on your back as possible. If you travel to a place where you are guaranteed power every day, such as the West, a power bank with 10,000 mAh will be enough. If this is not a certainty, the extra 200-300 grams for a 20,000 mAh power bank is definitely worth the certainty.

Our advice:

  • Do you have access to power every day: 10,000 mAh power bank
  • Not sure if you'll have access to power every day: 20,000 mAh
  • Combine a power bank with a compact charger , so that you can charge your power bank, smartphone and possibly other device at the same time at night.

Powerbank for winter sports

During winter sports, you often use your phone more intensively than you might think. This includes navigating, checking the piste map, arranging to meet up with others, quickly looking something up on the go, or taking photos (find tips for this in our blog on winter photography). Added to this, cold can significantly impact your smartphone's battery life: unfortunately, your phone has to work harder to stay warm enough. This means there's a good chance your phone will run out of power faster than usual.

Precisely for this reason, a power bank is a smart addition for winter sports. Especially if you're on the slopes all day or traveling a lot, it's nice to have a backup readily available. In most cases, a 10,000 mAh power bank is more than sufficient for this. With it, you can charge your phone approximately 1.5 to 4 times, depending on the device. If you want extra capacity or to charge multiple devices, you can also opt for 20,000 mAh. Do keep in mind that these are larger and heavier to carry.

Our advice:

  • For a ski holiday, 10,000 mAh is usually the best choice.
  • Would you prefer to take some extra reserve? Then 20,000 mAh is recommended.

Conclusion

Depending on your trip or vacation, the best power bank for you will vary. Keep in mind: The more capacity your power bank has, the heavier and larger it will be. So, if weight and size aren't important, a larger power bank is always a good choice and you won't have to worry about running out of battery. If you're walking a lot (backpacking) or have limited storage space (at a festival), a small, lightweight, and wireless power bank is the best choice.

  • 10,000 mAh: Sun holiday, day festival, backpacking with access to power.
  • 20,000 mAh: Weekend festival, camping, backpacking without guaranteed power.
  • Don't want the hassle of cables? Choose a wireless power bank.
  • Charge multiple devices at the same time? Make sure the power bank has enough ports.
  • Combine the power bank with a compact multi-port charger to charge your power bank, smartphone, and any other device simultaneously overnight.
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