Best Power Bank (Portable Charger) Under $30? Let’s find out!

Summary

This video compares over 20 affordable battery banks under $30 to determine the best option for charging phones and devices on-the-go. It tests the maximum output and capacity of each battery bank, measuring volts, amps and watts. It finds the Anker 737 has the highest output but costs $92. The top picks under $30 are the Nu B61, K, and Bashes brands which scored A's in every category, offering fast charging speeds, decent capacity and competitive pricing. The video promises future reviews on solar charging and larger power banks.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video compares different battery banks under $30 to find the best one based on maximum output, capacity, and recharge time
• 👌 The Nu B61 performed the best overall with high marks in output, capacity percentage, and recharge speed
• 🔋 The Anchor 737 had the highest output at 131W but was expensive at $92
• ⚡ The K came in second for combined USB-A output at 20W
• 🔋 The Bashes, Nu B61, and Sophia had the fastest charging speeds from 14-17W
• ⏱ The Nu B61 took only 5.3 minutes to add 1Wh of capacity - the fastest charging relative to capacity
• 📏 The S22 Mini was the most compact at 73cm3
• 🔋 The Nu B61, K, Bashes, and Sophia got top marks for performance relative to price
• 📝 The video creator will test solar charging in a future video
• 👍 Viewers are encouraged to suggest future video ideas in the comments

Q & A

What are the key tests performed on the battery banks?

The key tests performed are: maximum output test, capacity test, and recharge time test.

Which battery bank had the highest maximum output?

The K brand battery bank had the highest maximum output at just over 18 Watts for a single USB-A port.

Which battery bank had the highest capacity?

The Anchor 737 had the highest capacity at 68.7 watthours.

Which cheaper battery bank charged the fastest?

The Nuu b61 charged the fastest among the cheaper battery banks, at around 17 Watts.

How long did it take the Anchor 737 to fully recharge?

The Anchor 737 took only about 48 minutes to fully recharge, very impressive.

Which battery bank was the most compact?

The S22 mini was the most compact at approximately 73 cubic cm.

What were the top performing cheaper battery banks?

The top cheaper battery banks were the K, Nuu b61, and Bashes. They earned A's across all test categories.

What was the preferred battery bank pick?

The preferred pick was the Nuu b61. It matched the K's performance at a cheaper price and had slightly higher capacity.

Were solar charging capabilities tested?

No, solar charging capabilities were not tested due to weather constraints. This is suggested for a future test.

What event is the author attending related to off-road recovery?

The author is attending the Matt's Off-Road Recovery games in March.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Testing and Comparing Battery Bank Capacity and Performance

This paragraph tests and compares the capacity and charging performance of several low cost battery banks under $30, including the S22 Mini, Miti, Love Ley, X9, and others. It measures the max power output using load testers, simulates charging 1 or 2 devices, and determines the S22 Mini, Miti, and X9 have lower output wattage compared to others.

05:01

😀 Comparing More Expensive Battery Banks like INU, Sophia, and Anker

This paragraph tests and compares more expensive battery banks between $20-30, including INU, Sophia, iWok, Bassis, and Anker brands. It measures charging speed, capacity, number of ports, and more. The Anker provides the fastest charging speed but lower cost options like INU and Bassis also perform well.

10:04

😀 Testing Large Capacity Battery Banks like MG, RG VOD, and Good

This paragraph tests several large capacity battery banks that claim 25,000+ mAh capacity, including MG, RG VOD, and Good brands. However, testing shows most do not reach their advertised capacity, with Anker 737 providing the highest at 68.7 Wh out of a claimed 24,000 mAh capacity.

15:07

😀 Comparing Battery Bank Charging Speed and Efficiency

This paragraph compares charging speed by calculating minutes needed to add 1 Wh of capacity. The $92 Anker charges incredibly fast, adding 1 Wh in under 1 minute. More affordable options like Nu, Bassis, and Sophia take only around 5 minutes to add 1 Wh capacity.

20:07

😀 Final Analysis and Recommendations on Best Battery Bank

In the final analysis, the Anker 737 is the best performing battery bank but is expensive at $92. For under $20, the Nu and Bassis offer the best bang for buck in terms of capacity, charging speed, and efficiency. The author recommends Nu as the best value battery bank.

Keywords

💡battery bank

A battery bank is a device that stores electrical energy and allows you to charge your devices like cell phones while on the go. It is a major theme in the video which compares different brands and models of battery banks in terms of factors like capacity, charging speed, size, and cost.

💡capacity

The capacity of a battery bank refers to how much electrical charge it can store, measured in milliamp hours (mAh) or watt hours (Wh). Battery bank capacity is an important evaluation criteria in the video, with higher capacity meaning the ability to charge devices more times before needing to recharge.

💡charging speed

Charging speed refers to how quickly a battery bank can be recharged to full capacity. The video compares charging speed by tracking the watts and time taken to fully recharge each model. Faster charging was preferred.

💡size

Size comparison in terms of weight and volume/cubic centimeters is another evaluative criteria for battery banks. More compact and lighter battery banks are generally more portable and convenient.

💡cost

The video considers battery banks in various price ranges under $30 and evaluates their performance relative to their affordability. Best value for money is a major consideration.

💡rating

The advertised or rated capacity in mAh for each battery bank model is compared against actual measured capacity to check accuracy of ratings/claims.

💡analyzer

Analyzers are devices used in the testing process to assess metrics like volts, amps, and watts for the battery banks under controlled discharge loads.

💡watts

Wattage measurements during both charging and discharging are tracked to evaluate power delivery capabilities. More watts generally equates to faster charging.

💡load

Controlled electrical loads are applied during discharge testing to evaluate performance limits of each battery bank.

💡grade

An A to F letter grade system is used to evaluate overall performance based on measured metrics like capacity, charging speed, size, and cost.

Highlights

The first test compares maximum output for each battery bank.

The S22 mini is lightweight at only 106g and made in China.

The S22 mini delivered about 11 Watts total from its USB-A ports.

The Miti power bank performed slightly better at 12.61 Watts.

The X9 power bank performed the best yet at over 15 Watts total.

The KOL power bank delivered over 20 Watts total.

The Nuu power bank charged at 17.27 Watts, one of the fastest.

The Anchor 737 charged incredibly fast, in only 40.8 minutes.

The Anchor 737 had the highest capacity at 68.7 Watt-hours.

The Nuu B61 charged the fastest relative to its capacity.

The S22 mini and Miti were the most compact power banks.

The Anchor 737 is the overall best performer.

The Nuu B61 is a great value choice under $20.

The Bashes also performed very well across all tests.

Let me know if you'd like to see a review of larger power banks.

Transcripts

a battery Bank allows you to charge your

cell phone while you're on the go so the

question is which battery bank for under

$30 is the best well let's find out and

the first test we'll compare the maximum

output for each of the battery Banks

then we'll see which battery Bank offers

the most capacity finally we'll see how

long it takes to recharge a completely

drained battery bank at a very

affordable price of only $9 is this s22

mini this is a very popular power bank

with about 9,000 of these units sold in

the last 30 days this power bank is

supposed to deliver 5,000 milliamps

which should be enough to charge most

cell phones they claim that their

battery is constructed using Advanced

compression technology this allows the

battery to be half the size and weight

they claim you can charge two different

devices at the same time the s22 mini is

made in China and the s22 mini is very

light at only 106 G I use two different

battery analyzers to test out the usba a

ports on the power Banks the analyzer

provides information on the volts in the

top left corner and amps is on the right

and finally the information in watts is

just below the volts the analyzer allows

me to increase the power power Demand on

the power bank until the power bank is

overloaded and gives up I increased the

voltage until the s22 made it to 11.13

wats I continued to increase the power

demand from the s22 and the voltage and

amps dropped quickly and finally gave up

let's move the USB cable to the other

port and see how it performs and 11.25

watts is very close to the same as the

first port and that's all the second

Port can deliver let's simulate charging

two devices at the same time using two

usba ports I'll connect Port two to the

other tester Port one is supplying one

amp or 5 watts to the tester and I

gradually increase the power Demand on

both testers and the S2 is giving all it

has at 6.11 Watts on the right side

tester and 4.91 Watts on the left side

tester that's a total of 11 Watts so

whether you're charging one device or

two devices all you're going to get out

of the S2 is a total of 11 Watts USBC

ports are a little trickier to test and

the two analyzers that I just use won't

always work and the USBC cable that I'll

be using can handle up to 240 WS which

is PL plenty I'll use a tester that'll

keep track of the charging speed for a

Samsung s20 plus and the s22 is charging

at just over 5 Vols at 1.36 amps so 5

amp * 1.36 volt equals 6.86 Watts that's

a pretty slow charge let's see if the

s22 can do any better charging a

Chromebook and the s22 is still

performing about the same at 7.3 Watts

which is a very slow charge at a price

of $14 is this miti power bank what's

nice about this deal is you get two

different Power banks for $14 each power

bank is rated for 5,000 milliamp hours

just like the s22 mini the miti is a

very popular brand with 6,000 units sold

in the last 30 days the miti is made in

China and the miti weighs 116 G I bought

two miti power Banks and neither of them

has a functional USBC for charging

devices so the port is only good for

charging the power bank Let's test the

usba port and Mii made it to

12.61% Ley brand it's a 15,000 Mah dual

USB power bank it claims to offer fast

charging capability it also claims to be

compatible with all smartphones and USB

devices this power bank uses a

highdensity Lithium Polymer battery the

love Ley is made in China and it's 215 G

for the love Ley the type-c on the love

Ley is only for charging the power bank

starting off the usba test on the left

side port and the love ly power bank is

performing the best yet holding steady

at

13.29% over the miti I'll go ahead and

connect the love lady power bank to both

testers the analyzer on the left is

using about 5 watts and the tester on

the right made it to about 8 1/2 Watts

before the love lady ran out of love

that's a total of 13.43 Watts at a price

of only $17 is this X9 brand about

10,000 of these units sell every 30 days

making this a very popular power bank

the manufacturer claims it can charge

most cell phones 8 to 10 times

considering the price it offers a very

large capacity at 26,800 Mah hours it it

has four different outputs and a 2.5x

fast charge it can charge four different

devices at the same time and the X9 is

by far the heaviest yet at 372 G the X9

has one USBC in and outport and three

usba outs let's go ahead and see how the

X9 performs using the two ports and the

X9 is performing quite a bit better than

the previous three brands after dialing

in both analyzers to find The Sweet Spot

the X9 is holding steady at 6.76 Watts

on the left side tester and 8.49 on the

right that's a total of just over 15

Watts the best yet and the X9 USBC is

delivering more than twice the wattage

compared to the s22 mini at

14.87% to about 2 amps or about 10 watts

and will connect the other usba port to

the other tester and the kol is

performing even better than the X9 and

it's 10.65 Watts on the left tester and

9.93 on the right that's a total of just

over 20 watts and the USBC on the K is

performing by far the best yet at 20.15

Watts we'll be testing two different

portable chargers made by Inu The First

One cost $20 this is a very popular

charger with about 85,000 reviews and

over 10,000 units sold every 30 days the

manufacturer claims you can charge an

iPhone up to 78% in just 1 hour the

battery capacity is 10,000 Mah hours

made in China and the nuu weighs 206 G

and the nuu has two usba ports and an

In-N-Out USBC and the Nu's usba

performed well at

15.36% 15 watts and the USBC on the nuu

is performing about the same as the kol

at just over 20 watts also the price of

$20 is this Sophia brand it's a 15,000

Mah fast charging portable phone charger

it has a built-in iOS cable and a typ-c

cable which supports almost all smart

devices up to 22.5 Watts the sfia is

made in China and is 251 G for the sfia

and the usba port is performing just

about as well as a Cel power bank at

17.72 wats let's test the built-in USB C

cable first and a built-in USBC is

making about 16.4.1 Watts before giving

up and the built-in lightning cable

performed almost as well at just over 14

watts and the USBC in an outport made it

to almost 15 watts charging a cell phone

or about 5 Watts less than the K in the

Inu also at to price of $20 is this iok

brand it claims to be a 9,000 Milah

Ultra compact power bank includes a

built-in cable it's compatible with many

different iPhone models made in China

and the iok is fairly light at 175 G in

order to test the iwok I'll have to use

a couple of adapters and an additional

analyzer and the iwok made it to just

over 14 watts before powering down at a

price of $20 is this fiab brand it's a

small portable charger for the iPhone it

has a 5,000 Mah capacity they claim

it'll charge an iPhone between 1 and 1

and 1/2 hours this mini power bank

supports pass through charging in other

words you can charge your iPhone while

charging the power bank the fob brand is

made in China and the fob is the

lightest yet at 99 G just like the iok

I'll have to use used a couple of

adapters and an additional analyzer to

test the fob and the fob didn't perform

quite as well as the iwok at 11.69 Watts

at a price of $20 is this bassis brand

it's a 20 wat fast charging 10,000 Mah

slim battery pack it claims to be the

fastest charging power bank within $20

it has nine built-in safety protections

to protect you and your device made in

China and it's 249 G for the bashes and

the bashes claims to make 20 watts let's

test the usba port first and the bashes

perform well at 177.23 WS before the

device began to power down and a USBC

Port is advertised as a 20 W power

supply and it performed is advertised at

just over 20 wats at a price of $22 is

this Anchor Brand it's a 10,000 mAh

battery pack with power IQ charging

technology it claims to be one of the

slimmest and lightest Chargers on the

market it can deliver up to 12 Watts the

anchor is made in China the anchor slim

weighs 242 G and the anchor slim can

only charge devices using its usba Port

the other two ports are for charging the

power bank and the anchor slim only made

it to 12.7 Watts before experiencing a

voltage drop and powering down and the

second portable charger that we'll be

testing that's made by nuu cost $22 it

claims to offer a 22.5 watt Speedy

charge it also has a 10,000 M hour

capacity charges up the two different

devices at once it also includes a

flashlight the nuu is made in China 209

grand for the nuu the nuu has two usba

ports and one USBC with just one of the

usba ports attached to the Tester the

nuu made it to

15.84% portable outdoor waterproof solar

power bank it has dual 5volt USB ports

LED flashlight with a Compass it's

supposed to be waterresistant shock

resistant and dust proof the durow is

made in China and the dur Capo weighs

229 G the durco PO has two USB and one

USBC and the USBC is only for charging

the power bank and the dero pal ran out

of power at just over 13 Watts which is

quite a bit less than many of the other

power Banks testing the usba ports at

the same time the left side port made it

to 7.2 watts and the right side 6.05

that's a total of just over 13 Watts at

a price of $26 is this kist brand it

claims to have a 25,800 Mah capacity you

can charge two different devices at once

it fully recharges itself in 8 to 12

hours with a 2.1 amp input charger and

the urist weighs 328 G and the UST has

two usba ports and a USBC and yurist

only made it to 12.11 Watts before the

power bank powered down testing the usba

ports at the same time and Yus only made

it to 6.18 Watts on the left side tester

and 5.14 on the right side that's just

over 11 Watts total and the USBC

performs slightly better than the usba

ports at just over 13 Watts at a price

of $30 without the coupon or $24 with a

coupon is this mg brand it claims to be

waterproof dustproof and shockproof it

claims to have a super bright flashlight

it claims to offer a 42,800 Mah capacity

made in China and the mg is by far the

heaviest at 514 G the mg has two usba

and one USBC port for only charging the

power bank testing just one of the usba

ports ports the mg made it to 13.89

Watts before overloading and powering

down testing both of the usba ports the

left side port made it to 7.02 watts and

the right side 7.16 Watts that's a total

of just over 14 watts which is quite a

bit less than some of the other brands

also at a price of $30 is this RG VOD it

has a battery capacity of 38,800 Mah it

also has four USB outputs compatible

with iPhone as well as Android made in

China and the RG VOD is also pretty

heavy at 430 G and the RG VOD is a

pretty large and heavy power bank but it

only produces a little over 12 Watts

testing just two of the four ports at

once the left side port is just over 6

watts and the right side is a little

over 6 Watts so that's a total of 12

Watts for the RG VOD charging the

Chromebook with the RG vod's USBC Port

it only made it to 12.38 Watts which is

quite a bit less than many of the other

brands at a price of $32 without the

coupon or $27 with it is this good brand

it claims to have a 36,000 Milah

capacity it also has four cables and six

outputs it can also be charged using

sunlight it has a 15w fast charging

capability the good is made in China and

a good AAA weighs 425 G andig good is

also a pretty large and heavy battery

bank but it performed quite a bit better

than the RG VOD at 1783 Watts with one

usba using two different usba ports the

good continue to outperform the RG Voda

and the left Port made it to 6.67 watts

and the right side 10.73 for almost 18

Watts total the good also has a wireless

char charger which did work properly the

USBC port on the power bank delivers

13.71% six Watts all the previous power

banks cost $30 or less but the anchored

737 cost $92 it's supposed to have a

24,000 Milah hour capacity it claims to

offer $1 140 wats of high-speed input

and output you can charge your iPhone

Samsung MacBook Dell or even your airpod

pods made in China and the anchor is are

heaviest yet at 640 G and the anchor

performed almost as well as the good at

16.94% provides a lot of good

information with just one USBC connected

to the computer the anchor is delivering

93.6 WTS I did test the accuracy of the

Anchor's display and it's right on

target with a second USBC connected and

charging a second computer the total

output is 130 WS very impressive

charging two computers and the phone the

total is just over 131 Watts which is

pretty close to its 140 watt rating and

the $92 anchor offers by far the highest

USBC charging speed at 131 Watts however

the USBC charging port for the K nuub

b61 and bashes perform well at around 20

watts single port usba charging output

varied by quite a bit but the K came out

on top at just over 18 Watts several of

the other brands weren't too far behind

at around 17 Watts if you need to use at

least two usba ports at once the total

combined output was the most with the K

at just over 20 watts good finished in

second place at just over 17 I just

finished topping off all the batteries

so let's measure the total wat hour

capacity for the s22 and the miti I'll

drain the batteries at a discharge rate

at around 10 watts and it's been close

to an hour and a half and both batteries

are completely drained both of the

battery banks are supposed to have a

capacity of 18.5 W hours and they both

came up a little bit short 14.3 went for

the s22 mini and 14.29 for the miti and

the love Ley power bank is up against

the X9 and the love Ley is rated for

55.5 wat hours and the X9 is rated for

99.2 and the love Ley power bank is

supposed to make 55.5 hours but it only

delivered 41% of its rating at only 22.5

W hours n X9 is rated for 99.2 w hours

and it only delivered 55% of its rating

at 54.8 n w hours andol and the nuu are

fully charged andol is rated for 95.5 W

hours and the Nu is only rated for 37

and the K really struggled at only 26.5

which is only 28% of its rated capacity

and the Nu is still growing strong and

the Nu is finally added juice at 32.7

wat hours which is actually pretty good

at 89% of its rating and it's the sfia

versus the bashes the Sofia is rated for

55.5 hours and the bashes is rated for

37 and the Sophia delivered 50% of its

advertised capacity at 27.75 w hours and

the bashes perform quite a bit better

than the sfia at 3.46 wat hours which is

82% of its rating and it's the anchor

slim against the nuu both units are

supposed to make 37 wat hours and the

anchor slim only made it to 26.05 wat

hours or 70% of its rated capacity and

the Nu outperformed the anchor at 29.92

wat hours which is 81% of its rating and

it's the mreg going up against the good

and the mreg is rated for 158.4 wat

hours and it really struggled at only

52.11i and it only delivered 50.5 n

which is 38% of its rating and it's the

durkop going up against the kkus and the

duropal gave up very early at only

21.33% of its 74w hour rating and the

Urus is supposed to have a capacity of

95.5 W hours and it only made it to

50.76 which is 53% of its rating and

it's the RG Voda against the anchor and

the RG VOD is rated for 1436 W hours and

it came up way short at only 65.4 the

anchor did a lot better at 68.7 hours

the most of all the power Banks I had to

test the iok by itself and it made 22.9

W hours which is 69% of its rated

capacity I also had to test the Fiat by

itself unfortunately it only made 10.96

WS missing its 18.5 W hour rating by

quite a bit if it's all about capacity

the anchor 737 came out on top at 68.7

WS the RG VOA finished in second at 65.4

and x93 at 54.9 another way to consider

performance is to compare how the power

bank perform based upon their rated wat

hour capacity and the Nu b61 did the

best making it to 89% of its rating

bashes finish in second at 82% and nub

41 81% now that we've drained all the

batteries let's see how quickly they can

be charged I'll be using an analyzer

which will keep track of the Watts as

well as the amount of time it takes to

charge the power Banks I'll also be

using a type-c power adapter which will

support up to 45 watts of charging

output and the s22 mini is charging at

8.7 wats while the s22 is slow the miat

is even slower at only 6.4 watts and the

nuu is by far the fastest so far at

around

17.27% in 2 hours and 54 4 minutes and

the K took almost an hour longer than

the Nu at 3 hours and 49 minutes and the

X9 took just over 8 hours to reach 100%

charge let's kick off charging our next

round of power Banks and the love ly

power bank is charging pretty slowly at

8.6 watts and the sopia is charging at

about twice as fast as the love LTI at

around

16.63% the love ly is finally finished

charging in 6 hours and 23 minutes and a

Sophia is fully charged and it did

perform well in around 4 hours and 7

minutes and the bashes was a little

faster than the Sophia in only 3 hours

and 54 minutes and the Inu needed almost

4 hours and 12 minutes which is about

the same as a sopia and the anchor slim

is very slow at almost 5 and 1/2 hours

let's kick off charging our next round

of power Banks and the good is charging

pretty slowly at only 8.3 watts and the

M rag is even slower at around 5.7 and

the durco pow is also pretty slow at 8.3

watts and the RG VOD is just as slow as

a durap poow at around 8.3 watts and the

Urus is doing a little bit better than

the RG Voda at around 10.65 Watts I'm

using 140 W charger on the anchor since

it claims to charge and discharge at 140

watts and the anchor is starting off at

115 Watts but it is charging at a higher

rate of speed by the minute it's been a

few minutes now and the anchor is at

almost 131 watts and it's only been 46

minutes and the anchor is almost fully

charged and the anchor is fully charged

in only about 40 8 minutes very

impressive and the durow is fully

charged in 5 hours and 6 minutes and the

urist has a much larger capacity than

the durap pal and it's fully charged in

just under 8 hours and the good didn't

do so good at just over 9 and 1/2 hours

and the RG Voda took even longer to

charge at almost 10 and 1/2 hours and

the M really struggled at almost 13

hours and 8 minutes let's kick off

testing our final two battery Banks and

fob is charging it around 10.2 watts and

the iwok is charging quite a bit slower

than the fob at just under 7even watts

and F is finished charging in about 2

hours and 33 minutes and the iok is

finally finished charging at 6 hours and

25 minutes not including the $92 anchor

737 the power banks with the highest

charging Watts include the bashes Nu 61

sfia and kol the charging rate ranged

from 14 to 17 Watts which had a huge

impact on charging speed the fiab and

s22 mini did charge very quickly but

they have a very small wat hour capacity

on the other hand the Nu b61 K Bashas

and Sophia charge relatively quickly

consider considering their capacity

possibly a more helpful way to make

sense of input current and charging

speed is to consider how many minutes it

takes for the battery Bank to gain one

wat hour of energy storage and the $92

anchor is simply amazing at less than 1

minute to charge a full wat hour of

energy finishing in second place is the

Nu b61 performing extremely well at only

5.3 minutes to bank 1 wat hour when it

comes to power Banks there's quite a bit

of difference regarding size if it's all

about size the s22 mini is the smallest

at approximately 73 cubic cm the miti is

is also very compact at around 80

finally the fiab is at 85.4 so which

battery bank is the best I've converted

raw scores into an 8 through F grading

scale to help make sense of the results

andil earned A's in every category and

seems like a great battery bang for

under $20 my personal favorite in the

battery bank that I would choose is the

Nu b61 it also earned a in every

category and outperformed the k for

charging speed and has a little bit more

storage capacity the bashes also earned

a in every category but a storage

capacity is a little bit less than the

inuse finally if power bank size and

money isn't the factor the anchor 737 is

by far the best because of the time of

year in weather I didn't have a chance

to test a solar charging capability of

the power Banks if I put together

another review on power Banks I'll try

to include this in the next review

please let me know if you'd like to see

another review on larger power Banks

also I'm going to be at the Matt's

off-road recovery games this year in

March so if You' like to know more about

that event please check out the video

description all the videos in this

channel including this one are viewers

suggested so if you have a video idea I

hope you'll take time to leave a comment

thanks so much for watching please take

care and look forward to next time