This is the Seattle Sports Power Bank, packaged with five accessory appliances.

My initial impression is quite favorable. The basic power bank seems to be a 26650 lithium-ion battery with an integral small flashlight, (estimated to be about 50 lumens) potentially quite useful if you ever need to assemble the other components in the dark. Four blue LEDs indicate the charge status. Other components are: a siren, fire starter, flashlight, lantern/SOS flasher, and red laser. These all plug into a USB outlet on the power bank which is adjacent to a mini-USB receptacle which recharges the power bank. A sturdy power cord is provided for this purpose.

With my phone, a Samsung Galaxy 6, I can use the same cord to recharge the phone by simply reversing it on the power bank, thereby not having to carry another cord. I recharged a 50% phone quite readily, but the power indicator went from four lights to one in the process - not sure I could fully charge a dead phone.

The 130 lumen flashlight is satisfactory, with an evenly lit field with sharply defined margins. The lantern has a broader field which is not so uniformly lit. The SOS flasher works, but who comprehends SOS these days?. The red laser is vivid, a dandy pointer, and the electronic siren is loud and attention getting. It would definitely not be mistaken for aimless tooting.

The fire starter can operate independently without attachment to the power bank, and when fully charged can spark for 100 five second intervals before need recharge, according to the provided instructions. The unit readily lit prepared tinder in my one use of the item. This could be a useful backup, since I always have alternative fire making items when out and about.

The power bank and components are carried in a sturdy plastic case, which is not excessively heavy, although I am not sure I would include it on a normal back packing trip. be sure and read the instructions and familiarize yourself with the various items. This is not something to put away in a drawer, but an item to be used routinely and well.

List price for the unit and accessories is about $60. The various units are also available separately, according to the Seattle Sports web site.

Link: Seattle Sports SurviVolts Power Bank and USB Mult-E-Tools 5 Pack Interesting option. The bank that came with my small solar charger contains 4xAA NiMH batteries. Hmmm, need to do some math. FWIW my REI dividend will cover the $$ as well.

Interesting

Russ, thanks for posting the link. My REI dividend financed my purchase quite nicely. I might add that I have no connections with Seattle Sports or REI other than being a satisfied customer.

I am often surprised at how few people carry a power bank of some sort; either for your phone or computer. I have one in my kit for my phone that runs off a single AA battery.

ThruNite markets one that runs off a single 18650 Li-Ion - ThruNite 3400 mAh Portable Charger

Some kind of a power bank is a really useful accessory if you regularly carry a cell phone away from conventional sources of electricity. Many now offer some sort of light, as well.

Not as concerned about the cellphone as my camera. The cellphone goes into airplane mode or is turned off to conserve battery. I do that a lot because I’m antisocial and prefer to not answer the phone when I’m out and about. The camera OTOH uses power faster than you’d think, but can recharge its battery if given a USB power source. 3400 mAh does a good job charging the 1400 mAh battery in my small camera or the 1900 mAh battery in my larger full frame. I really miss my old manual film camera. Recently picked up a spare for the small camera since I use it more, but a USB power source you can drop in your pocket is always useful.

Found it on Amazon for $21

I have this nice useful thing - it is a camera with which I can actually make phone calls,(and tell time, calculate, etc. etc.)

I like my power banks to just be power banks. Having a flashlight may seem convenient until you use it too much and find yourself with an empty power bank.

Meanwhile, I noticed the Crave PLUS Slim Power Bank, 10,000 mAh Portable Charger, which according to the write-up it has Quick Charge (QC) 3.0, micro USB & Type-C ports. It’s roughly the same size as my cellphone so would be an easy carry.

Then I saw the Anker PowerCore 20100mAh Portable Charger for just a couple $$ more. There are a lot of power banks available and 20,100 mAh in your pocket is a lot of juice.

Amazon is like a candy store to a little kid...

OT - way off the subject ...

Cellphones can take okay pictures and if you are happy with the result, that’s all you need. My first real camera was a Nikon FM SLR shooting low ASA relatively fine grain film; after that experience it’s difficult to be happy with the snapshots produced by my iPhone. IMO a dedicated camera with a real lens can take better pictures. All of my dedicated cameras have shutter priority, aperture priority and manual modes which cell phone cameras don’t have; they’re pretty good for auto-only cameras with smallish lenses, but those attributes are also limitations. I use my cell phone to take pictures of labels and things to jog my memory, not because it takes great pictures.

Comparison in general: My small camera has an 18MP 1/2.3 inch (7.82 mm) Exmor R® CMOS sensor and a 30X zoom lens with pretty good Zeiss glass that can really reach out; the full frame camera has a 24MP CMOS sensor with whichever lens I have that seems most appropriate. Most cell phones these days have a 12MP (max) CMOS sensor behind a sophisticated but smallish (tiny) lens. Lens size does matter as it translates to the volume of light allowed to hit the sensor.

I used the smaller camera to take a few pictures of the moon at mid-day yesterday and I watched as it focused on the moon -- the resultant picture showed detail in the moon surface, this was a daytime photo with a blue sky foreground. I need to get into the manual to see how to focus on the moon (infinity) while shooting through objects much closer (trees). The camera wants to focus on the nearer trees in auto leaving the moon out of focus, so I need to learn the manual mode inputs. My cell phone won’t zoom out far enough to show more than a large white dot, but I do like how you can use the touch screen to direct the object on which to focus. That said, the 720mm (full frame equiv) lens can really reach out. Relatively new camera to me though, still learning...

The full frame size camera has the potential to take much better pictures but that comes at a price. One price is the price-tag -- not cheap; the second price is size and weight, not small, not light -- relatively speaking it’s big and heavy. So I use the smaller camera more, light and easy to carry, and takes good pics.

Like I said, way OT.

The one on Amazon does not come with the attachments that provide all of the other functions. It is a bit deceptive. You have to read all of the fine print before you click.

more OT -enough about those silly power banks; let's talk cameras. I find my Galaxy 6 wonderful for decent pics, although I am under no illusions that it not full capability compared to the really high end items on the market. But I like my cell camera because it is handy. For relatively common usage, it i quite convenient. I don't miss film at all; I love seeing the results of your efforts immediately and the chance to correct any glitches.

I have spent way too much time on projects, developing film in the kitchen sink after hours. OTOH, b/w film, properly processed, is virtually immortal and provides a durable, long lasting record -useful in archaeological recording and other pursuits.

I'm not the least bit surprised.

In my case it never made any sense. My personal electronics stuff runs on power cords either in the house, office or car. A power cord is in my day pack; a power cord is in my vehicle and both are smaller than power banks. The cord is necessary for transferring data so I need to have it regardless of an extra portable power source. If I am truly far enough away from a power source, its because I want to be (i.e. camping) and the electronics are turned OFF.

I have an Android phone and until my recent upgrade I always had access to replacement/spare batteries that were a LOT EASIER to carry around than a power bank. I always viewed power banks as Steve Jobs's dead weight crutch since Apple users couldn't access their batteries in the sealed case. I see people carrying around power banks bigger than their phones - to me that is just ludicrous.

I must admit I have a small solar power bank with a single 18650 Li-Ion that I tried out but in the end I simply never used it (It charges out at only the standard USB rate of 0.5A which is way below the requirements of my phone let alone my computer. I also have a battery jump starter that can be used as to charge electronics but it to charges electronics at < 1.0A and isn't pin compatible with my laptop. Admittedly, there are new power banks that out perform what I have but that's just more money to spend for something I probably don't NEED.

I’ve been on the fence regarding portable back-up power, but there’s lots of “stuff” that we use and carry daily that needs electricity. Many of us take for granted that electricity will always be available - until it isn’t.

I usually keep all my various electronic gear charged, rarely do any of them go below 50% charge, but some of them (cameras) will go from 100% to below 50% quickly and usually far from a wall plug. In those instances, a portable power pack is very useful. Just another opinion.

PS: I’m probably going to get the Anker 20100 mAh Portable Charger. Want/need, don’t know.

Edit:
Want, not need. It’s a convenience and there are other ways to get batteries charged. But out and about with no 12VDC plug let alone a 120VAC wall plug, 20KmAh is nice to have.

I generally carry a portable charger, but I have multiple sizes depending on length of trip, necessity of communications device, purpose of trip, number of electronic devices I am carrying, availability of power from other sources.