Anker powercore II Slim 10000

Featuring a simple design, durable build and fast-charging capabilities, the Anker PowerCore II Slim 10000 Portable Charger is a great way to stay powered up. As smartphone makers continue to shrink the size of their devices at the expense of battery size and longevity, a portable power bank is an essential purchase. For travelers, hunting down the nearest outlet when your juice has run dry can mean choosing between missing your flight or regaining that precious power.

The ‘10000’ in the name means this battery features a 10,000 milliamp-hour (mAh) capacity, which Anker says is enough capacity to refill a flagship phone up several times. The power bank is 2.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches and weighs 7.4 ounces, and there’s one outlet USB for charging devices and a micro-USB input for charging the power bank itself. A button on one edge triggers an LED display that indicates the remaining power level. A padded carrying case and USB to micro-USB cable come with the power bank.

The PowerCore II Slim also features “Quick Charge” support, which the company says will recharge the power bank in 4 hours if paired with a Quick Charge charge. At just about the size of any mainstream smartphone, the PowerCore II Slim slips into most pockets fairly easy, but its 10,000 mAh capacity means it’s still fairly thick. To use the charger, we needed to use our own charging cables. Newer smartphones have myriad charging speeds and standards, but most use one of two ports to charge – the iPhone Lighting jack or the USB Type-C common on Android.