Olivia Carter

Last summer I spent 11 days on the John Muir Trail with a dead phone and a paper map. By day four, my GPS watch and headlamp were both flashing red. I scrambled down to a ranger station, begged for a wall outlet, and promised myself it would never happen again. That trail is exactly … Read more

I have tested dozens of portable chargers over the past three years, and the best power banks for the gym solve one specific problem: keeping your phone alive during long workouts without weighing down your gym bag. A 45-minute session can easily drain 25-30% of your battery when GPS tracking, Spotify streaming, and a fitness … Read more

I still remember the day my iPhone died mid-flight while I was trying to download a boarding pass. That was five years ago, and I’ve been paranoid about battery life ever since. Since then, I’ve tested dozens of power banks, and the difference between a slow 5W charger and a proper 45W+ fast charging power … Read more

I lost count of how many times a low-battery warning ruined my afternoon last year. That frustration sent our team on a two-month test of the best compact power banks for everyday carry, running each one through commutes, flights, and weekend hikes. What follows are the six models that earned a permanent spot in our … Read more

Three days into a road trip through Utah last spring, my phone died somewhere near Capitol Reef. No GPS, no camera, no way to find the motel I had booked. I ended up knocking on a stranger’s door to ask for directions. That night I ordered an Anker 20,000mAh power bank from a gas station … Read more

When your iPhone hits 10% during a long flight or a busy commute, the best power banks for iPhone can save your day. I have spent the last three months testing 8 of the most popular portable chargers side by side, charging everything from an iPhone 15 Pro to an iPhone 17 Pro Max, an … Read more

We have all been there. You are three hours into a six-hour flight, your phone is at 12%, and the in-seat USB port either does not exist or delivers power at a glacial pace. A dead phone means no boarding pass, no maps at your destination, and no way to contact your hotel. That is … Read more

I learned this the hard way on a six-day trip through the Sierra Nevada when my phone died on day three and I lost my offline maps. Modern backcountry travel runs on power. Your phone handles GPS tracks, photos, emergency calls, weather forecasts, and that headlamp app you forgot to delete. A dead battery on … Read more

I learned this the hard way on a five-day trip in the Cascades: a dead phone in the backcountry is more than an inconvenience. My GPS died mid-route, my headlamp flickered out by 11 PM, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to conserve battery by staring at the sky instead of navigating. … Read more

I lost a hotel room’s worth of sleep in Lisbon trying to find an outlet that would not pop my cheap adapter back out. That was the trip that turned me into a travel-adapter nerd. After that, our team started hauling a stack of them across Europe, Asia, and Africa for over two years, and … Read more