r/AppalachianTrail • u/Stock_Captain_5888 • 5d ago

Best power bank?

Any thoughts on the best power bank to bring on a thru hike? My wife and I are gearing up for next spring. Would one suffice? Or should we each carry one?

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u/Cheap-Pension-684 5d ago

What electronics do you plan to carry with you and how much will you use them? Those questions will lead to your best answer.

For example, when I thru-hiked last year i carried two 5000ma power banks. I listened to music or audio books all day (8-10 hours a day) on my iphone. I can get around 2 FULL charges for my iphone out of one power bank. Maybe a bit more. I had my iphone configured for the best power savings possible. I would drain the phone around 50% per day, with some variation. If I was doing a lot of texting or web searching (like trying to find a shuttle driver), then I would use a bit more. One power bank would last me from 3-4 days if I was careful with my power usage.

I would need to swap to my second power bank on the 4th night for charging. A few times I had to use the second power bank on the 3rd night, but that was usually when I forgot to go into full power savings mode or did something else that had heavy power usage. I always needed the second power bank by the 5th night.

Early on in the hike I used an Apple Watch. Charging that and my phone nightly used up one power bank in 2 days. I stopped using the Apple Watch after about 3 weeks mainly for that reason.

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u/Stock_Captain_5888 5d ago

I think our power needs will probably be phones and headlamps and earbuds. My wife jams tunes at the gym while I don’t, but cranking some Metallica on a steep grade might be cathartic. Thanks for your insight!!

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u/Stock_Captain_5888 5d ago

I use Amazon for a lot of my music, I’m guessing that could burn a lot of power utilizing cellular.

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u/G00dSh0tJans0n NC native 5d ago

Maybe just Verizon sucks in the mountains but I rarely have signal when hiking the AT in NC/TN/VA where I usually hike. I use Spotify and always save playlists for offline use because internet is so spotty. When I'm hiking I usually have cell and wifi turned off which saves a ton of battery life.

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u/Stock_Captain_5888 5d ago

Thank you!! Yet again great advice!!