If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that just because you work from home, that doesn’t mean you have to actually be inside yours. With a power station or power bank, you can charge your laptop, phone, and any other necessary work devices wherever you are, whether that’s the patio or a campsite at a National Park.
They are also perfect for keeping your important devices charged while you’re traveling, on the sideline at your kids’ games, at the gym or anywhere else.
Here at Power Ridge®, we’ve been hard at work developing a line of these types of products that will keep your life fully charged.
Before we get going, it might be a good idea to clarify the differences between a power bank and power station. Generally speaking, the term “power bank” refers to smaller, more handheld products like the Power Ridge® X-100, while a power station, like the X-300 is a larger, higher capacity item that resembles a generator.
Now that we have that covered, here are 5 things to keep in mind before buying a portable power bank or station:
Battery capacity: The capacity of a power bank or station determines how many times it can charge a device, based on the amount of power it can hold which is measured in milliampere-hours (mAh). The higher the capacity, the more times it can charge your device before needing to be recharged itself. Consider how many times you need to charge your device or what you’re wanting to power before choosing a power bank or station with the appropriate capacity.
Output current: The output power of a power bank refers to the amount of power it can deliver to your devices, usually measured in watts (W). The output power of a power bank is calculated by multiplying the voltage (V) and the current (A) of the output. Current is the amount of electricity that flows through the output, and it is measured in amperes (A). The higher the output current, the faster your devices will charge. So, look for power banks or stations with higher output currents for faster charging.
Output Ports: Make sure the power bank or station has the right output ports for your devices. If you have multiple devices with different charging ports, look for a bank or station with multiple output ports that can charge multiple devices simultaneously. Also, different types of ports may have different output power, so keep that in mind. For example, USB-C ports generally offer higher output power compared to USB-A ports. So, if you have a device that supports fast charging through a USB-C port, look for a power bank or station with a high-power USB-C output.
Input Ports: Input ports are important to consider because it determines how fast the power bank or station can recharge itself. Think of the bank/station as a container that holds water. The charging rate is like the rate at which water is being filled into the container. The amount of water that can be added to the container at any given time is limited by the size of the container's opening or spout, which we can think of as the power product’s input charging port. Look for power banks or stations with fast charging input ports such as USB-C to ensure faster charging times.
Portability: Like we talked about earlier, power stations and banks come in different sizes and weights depending on how much juice they can store and how many available outlets. The portability will usually depend on its size and weight. If you plan to carry it with you, you may want to choose a smaller, lighter power bank that is easy to carry around. However, keep in mind that smaller power banks may have lower capacity.
What We Offer: Real, portable power from Power Ridge®
We hope this blog answered some questions and got you thinking about how a power bank or station can keep your life fully charged. If so, we’ve got a couple options listed below that you can purchase directly from us at Power Ridge® on our website Shop Westfield Outdoors®.