Dive into this: I’ll be long hiking and need light weight (balanced with needs and I need power). I’ve got the 21W solar panel. I’m considering the A1277 bank which is one of Ankers 26800 banks. It’s also one the lighter 26800 banks at 17.5 ounces vs some that are 20 ounces I believe (why is that?). Anyway I’m looking at this bank because it has double inputs which allows fast charging through two regular microUSB to USB-A cables. The solar panel has USB-A outputs which of course will not charge the bank any faster even with both cables plugged in because it’s a solar panel but the bank will charge fast in coffee shops that I visit etc. However Anker also has fast charging banks that use a single USB-C input. So this would allow me to possibly buy a slightly lighter bank because only the 26800 tank has double microUSB inputs - but a 20000 bank would be enough storage for me and I could possibly shave off a few ounces with one of the 20000 banks. To be sure though, I would want a bank with USB-C input for those coffee shop quick recharges. Now questions arise such as would it be a fine idea to buy a USB-C input bank when I also need it to plug into my USB-A output solar panel? Because using a USB-A to USB-C adapter would be required (I think!) and cable adapters have been an unreliable mess in my experience [and IS there a good adapter for this situation? (if that was the only or best solution or required)]. Also, what is the situation with using the right power adapter? Also, what is the best power bank for me where I need around 20000mah, I would like the lightest one I can, I need it to function with the solar panel and I need it to charge fast in those coffee shops. It is irrelevant how fast the bank actually charges my devices because they are basic: some AA batteries and an iphone 5SE is all I’ve got. So which powerbank would be the best for me? And I can buy any cable adapters, power adapter and whatever bits and pieces to make this work best so I have a the lightest and fastest charging bank that also works with my solar panel. And I can buy a bank that has quick charge for devices even though my iphone doesn’t benefit from it - and the big goal is to choose the lightest bank that can charge itself quickly in the coffee shop and work with the solar panel.
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The best answer is the dual input 26800 you mentioned as the solar panel is dual output.
The 21W panel you mentioned in good conditions outputs around 14W which is more than 10W you’d get from one of it’s sockets.
So dual input from dual output makes a good combination.
For coffee shops get a dual output 24W charger the same A to B cables for solar to 26800 would work from charger to 26800
I see the interest in weight, but the lighter 20000 charge at 18W vs the above 26800 at 24W so you’d get more energy ingest via the 26800.
If you ditched the solar then I’d be suggesting different.
Close one of your very similar threads
Very well thank you. Would you or another please confirm what is being referred to regarding more energy ingest via the 26800 vs the 20000? Would this be referring to just the coffee shop recharges and not the solar panel recharges? (because I want to assume the solar panel’s 14W rating would make irrelevant the power banks’ 18W or 24W rating but I ask here because I do not know tech). Another follow up question is if I went with the 24W bank instead of the 18W bank how MUCH faster do you think the 24W bank would charge? (whether just in the coffee shop or both the shop and the panel but the coffee shop speed increase is of course important to me) And I understand you cannot know but I do seek your educated guesses. Do you guess it might actually be a significant charging speed increase or just a minimal one? Please give me a guess with a percentile value such as “maybe 10% faster” or maybe “30% faster” so I can better grasp your guess. Lastly please, the 20000 banks available to me which have dual outs (and I appreciate knowing now I must buy a bank with dual microUSB inputs), would you tell me please which banks in this 20000 range are available with these dual outs and what their actual weights are? (as I’ve found a failed task to acquire this info myself). And excuse me too, lastly can you come back to confirm or can anybody else confirm what was said about the panel having a 14w max output because this may have been an error? To be sure I am not using the Anker Lite solar panel which is 14w or 15w I think and I’m using the 21w three panel. So if there was an error about my panel’s output please re-evaluate and possibly restate anything if you would.
It’s hard to give firm difference because it depends how empty are the batteries.
From 85% full they take a fraction of their max until full, so if you’re topping up a nearly full Powercore then all options will be ingesting energy at similar rates.
The 20000 18W is
If you’re charging a nearer empty Powercore then these are the quoted figures. The 26800 recharges in 6 hours, max 20W input
Yes thank you I believe that 26800 bank (model A1277) is actually the only bank for me because of its dual inputs allowing the solar panel to run both of its outputs into it (and if you are correct run more energy into the bank than a single output from that panel could do). I am currently waiting for my new thread titled something like “Is this actually the perfect solar hike?” and if it gets approved I invite you to check it out.
That 20000 bank also shows a 20hour charge time using a USB-A to C converter and that is the same as a regular USB-A cable’s charge time for a 20000 bank. So your mention of this 26800 bank having a higher wattage is relevant indeed because if all things were equal this 26800 bank would take 20hours divided by two equals 10 hours to charge (if using both inputs) [AND if this bank were only 20000mah]. So as this huge bank onky takes ~6 hours to charge the math actually indicates that this 26800 bank is charging at a rate much more than twice the rate of a single microUSB cable and that should only be attributed to the higher wattage you mentioned I think.
For camping with the odd power top up and solar, the 26800 dual input wins for 3 reasons
- it is more total stored energy to begin with, so harder to be without power
- it will take all the solar power available, 14W typically I’m good sunshine
- it will ingest power faster when empty from the wall socket, ingesting 26800 in roughly same time as 20000 therefore an hour plugged in gives more stored energy.
Downside is more weight.
There’s other options but different pros/cons.
You can go with two 10000 and plug both into solar and into wall socket. It may be lighter and harder to be left with no power due to failure.
If I used two powercore slim 10000 banks the total weight would be 15oz for a total 20000mah. With the tank however I’d have 26800mah for 17.5oz. So for an extra 2.5oz I get 6800 more mah which is an efficient decision as 2/3 the mah of a powercore slim for only 1/3 the weight. So the 26800 wins over the two slims for weight:mah ratio. And while a 2.5oz lightening would be a huge win for my backpack sorting, in this case I would allow it for the extra storage and it also simplifies things to do without the special charger or cable I’d need for those USB-C banks. And at the same time Anker’s other 26800 tanks are 20oz whereas this one is only 17.5 so I am given a feeling to like this one for its special standing among the tanks as the lightest one among them at least. And I believe the tank would still charge faster than the two slims when using the solar panel as well due to its huge wattage which does not rely on USB-C for faster charging. So thank you for your input as I believe I’ve concluded what must be the best product for my needs.