The 7 Best Portable Chargers for All of Your Devices

• Photograph: Nimble

  Best Overall

  Nimble Champ

  There really isn't a best overall battery charger, because what's best depends on what needs recharging. The best charger for your phone may be useless if you need to charge a laptop. That said, one brand of battery chargers rose to the top during my testing. Nimble's Champ strikes the best balance between power when I need it, weight, and price. At 6.4 ounces, it's one of the lightest on the market, and you'll hardly notice it in your backpack. It's smaller than a deck of cards and can charge two devices at once, one via USB-C, one via USB-A. I've been using this one for several months and rarely leave home without it. The 10,000-mAh capacity has enough juice to charge an iPad, and it can keep my phone running for almost a week.

  The reason I like Nimble best is because of its environmental efforts. Batteries are not environmentally benign. They use lithium and cobalt and other rare metals whose supply chains are environmentally and socially questionable at best. But Nimble's use of bioplastics and plastic-free minimal packaging at least reduces the environmental impact where it can be reduced. 

  One USB-A port, one USB-C. Can charge tablets and smartphones. 

  $50 at Nimble (10,000 mAh)
• Photograph: Anker

  Best for Phones

  Anker PowerCore Slim

  The Anker PowerCore Slim is tiny, lightweight, and charges most phones very quickly. It can power up an iPhone three times, and the 10,000-mAh battery has no trouble topping off my Fire HD 8 tablet twice. This device should be able to charge as quickly as your phone can handle. I also use this to revive my camera batteries when I'm out and about. All of Anker's chargers come with a nice pouch case as well, which is handy for storing cords.

  One USB-A port, one USB-C. Can charge most phones two to three times.

  $35 at Amazon
• Photograph: Nimble

  Best for Tablets

  Nimble Champ Pro

  This Nimble charger is the big sister to our top pick. It's heavier than the plain Champ model—power isn't free, there's always a trade-off—but if you have several devices to keep charged, this will easily last you through a long weekend. The battery is double the capacity of the Champ, clocking in at 20,000 mAh, and roughly double the size. You can charge two devices at the same time, or one while you're recharging the battery pack itself. 

  One USB-A port, one USB-C. Can charge most tablets two to three times.

  ★ Alternative: I've also tested the Anker equivalent, the PowerCore 20 ($50), which is cheaper but lacks the environmentally friendly aspects of the Nimble.

  $100 at Nimble

• Photograph: Goal Zero

  Best for Wireless Charging

  GoalZero Sherpa 100

  Want to cut the cord? The Sherpa 100 from Goal Zero offers wireless charging of any Qi-compatible phone or device. It's marginally larger than our top pick (and has a bigger 25,600-mAh capacity) for laptops and just as spendy, but it comes with some nice features like a battery status readout. In addition to the wireless capabilities, the 60-watt USB-C port is plenty enough to charge just about every laptop on the market. The USB-C port also charges the battery though, so you can't charge a laptop and the bank at the same time. Thankfully, recharge time is speedy, with the Sherpa completely filling up just after three hours in my testing. The only downside is that all this power doesn't come cheap or light. The whole thing weighs 1.4 pounds.

  Two USB-A ports, one USB-C. Qi wireless charging. Can charge most laptops one to two times.

  $200 at Amazon
• Photograph: Powerfilm

  Best for Going Off-Grid

  Powerfilm Solar Lightsaver Max

  If you're headed out there for a while but still need power, you're going to want a solar panel. There are plenty of portable panels, but most of them are garbage. Even if you luck into a good one from a reputable brand, making sure you have enough incoming energy to charge your battery and connecting everything through the proper charge controller gets complicated, which is why I love the Lightsaver Max. It's a compact, durable, rollable solar panel and battery, all in one unit. It's genius, and I wish I'd had one back when I lived in an RV.

  The solar panels are waterproof and made with marine-grade connectors, so they'll stand up to just about anything. The package rolls up to about the size of a large Maglite flashlight and weighs 1.5 pounds. The 60-watt-hour battery will charge most phones at least three times before you need to recharge it. The solar panel can recharge the battery with about six to eight hours of full sun in ideal conditions. In real-world conditions—for example, when it was strapped to the top of my pack while canoeing—it fully recharged each day. Or it certainly charged more than enough to keep my devices topped up. Plug it into the wall and it'll be recharged in about 3.5 hours.

  If the price of the Max is too high, there's also the smaller Lightsaver, which is $129 ($152 at Amazon) and features a 3,200-mAh battery but lacks the waterproof panel. Still, if you're backpacking, the 5-ounce weight is much more appealing.

• Photograph: Amazon

  Best for the Rest

  Panasonic Eneloop AA/AAA Charger

  Got devices that don't charge via USB? Yes, they're still around. I have an old, but still great, GPS device that runs on AA batteries, headlamps that take AAA batteries, and countless other odds and ends that need batteries. After running through several brands, I've found Eneloop rechargeable batteries to be the longest-lasting and most reliable. This Panasonic charger can recharge any combination of AA and AAA batteries in less than three hours, and it includes four AA Eneloop rechargeable batteries.

  $30 at Amazon

• Photograph: Jackery

  A Great Portable Generator

  Jackery Explorer 1000

  If you want to power more than a few devices for more than a few days, you need a portable generator—or portable power station, as these are sometimes called. Think of these as the lithium-ion replacement for the old gasoline-powered generators. Couple one of these units with a few portable solar panels and you'll have everything you need to spend significant time off-grid. But given the cost, it's worth considering—do you really need one?

  If the answer is yes, the Jackery Explorer 1000 is a solid place to start. It strikes a good balance between ease of use, power, and capacity. It may not be enough to run your air-conditioning (it has a max output of 1,000 watts), but it should be able to handle just about anything else. I've used it to power everything from a table saw to a small refrigerator, as well as to charge up all my usual gadgets. It's well-made and portable (22 pounds) and is roughly the size of a small cooler. 

  In my capacity test, it managed slightly better than its advertised 1,002 watt-hours. Charging it up does take a while, particularly if you're using solar panels (sold separately), which took about a day and a half. I strongly suggest at least 200 watts worth of panels.

  $1,000 at Amazon
• Photograph: Getty Images 

  Why You Should Avoid Cheap Stuff

  Battery Safety

  Many years ago, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 gained notoriety when its batteries caught fire in a series of incidents. There's been a steady stream of similar, though isolated, incidents ever since. However, despite the high-profile coverage of batteries gone wrong, the vast majority of Li-ion batteries are safe.

  The chemical reaction that occurs inside a lithium-ion cell is complex, but as in any battery, there's a negative and a positive electrode. In lithium batteries, the negative is a lithium-carbon compound, and the positive is cobalt oxide (though many battery makers are moving away from cobalt). These two compounds cause a reaction that is safe when controlled and delivers energy to your devices. When the reaction gets out of control though, you end up with earbuds melting in your ears. What changes a safe reaction to an uncontrolled reaction can be any number of things: excess heat, physical damage during use, physical damage during manufacture, or using the wrong charger. 

  The three basic rules that have kept me safe (thus far) through testing dozens and dozens of batteries are: 

  1. Avoid cheap cords, chargers, and outlet adapters.
  2. Make sure batteries aren't exposed to excessive heat (over 110 degrees).
  3. Regularly inspect batteries for signs of damage.

  Avoiding cheap wall-outlet adapters, cords, and chargers is the most important. These are your most likely source of problems. Those chargers you see on Amazon for $20 cheaper than the competition? Not worth it. They probably got the price down by skimping on insulation, leaving out power-management tools, and ignoring the basics of electrical safety. Price alone is no guarantee of safety, either. Buy from reputable companies and brands.

  Then there's heat. Too much of it can cause all manner of problems, both in terms of discharge and in terms of safety. Avoid heat, and pay attention to your batteries when they're charging. If your device gets overly hot when charging, this can be a sign of problems. Similarly, beware of any swollen, bulging, or otherwise misshapen batteries.