Now is a good time to buy this must-have travel accessory
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AmazonIf you're planning on traveling this summer, there a number of tech gadgets and accessories that you should take with you, but one stands above the rest: an external battery pack.
I learned that from experience. Last summer, I missed a tight connection and had to spend the night in a hotel in Frankfort. The problem was that everything I packed, including all of my travel adapters, was in my checked luggage. All I had on me was what was in my backpack. Thankfully that included a battery pack, like this one, so I was able to text my family and keep them up to speed on when I would actually be getting home.
Since buying my first external battery pack a few years ago I've stuck with Anker batteries; they're pretty light, inexpensive, and have never given me any issues. Anker has a number of different external batteries which vary in physical size, battery capacity, and number of USB ports. I've chosen to highlight this one in particular, because it fell back to its original price after a price spike, and has one feature that makes it ideal for travelers: fast charging.
In Anker's tests, this battery can charge a phone with a standard charging port 16% in 35 minutes. That's pretty standard, but phones with Qualcom Quickcharge 3 compatible ports can be charged 80% in the same time, which is a substantial improvement. Phones that have Qualcom Quicksharge 2 compadible ports can be charged 55%, which is a slight drop off, but still way faster than your standard phone. If you have a phone that's capable of fast charging, this battery is a no-brainer.
Even if your phone charges at the normal rate, for the price, this battery's capacity is pretty great. It has more than enough juice to fully recharge an iPhone 6S Plus or Galaxy S7 multiple times and even enough to fully recharge an iPad Mini. Apple users actually end up benefitting the least from this battery, as they don't support fast charging; but the next iPhones are only a couple of months away and very well could.
Slip this small battery pack into your backpack, so you don't have to worry about finding a travel adapter or open outlet in an airport or on the road.
Anker PowerCore 10000 with Quick Charge 3.0, $21.99, available at Amazon