Long gone are the days when Glastonbury would be awash with rumours that the Queen had died. Now that everyone has a smartphone, many festivals now benefit from enhanced 4G internet coverage, leaving power the one remaining hurdle to staying connected throughout the weekend. We look at some of the best portable chargers around that’ll keep you going until you get back home.

Some festivals have traders offering phone charging, but it’s usually expensive. Some will charge well over a fiver for only an hour of charging.

That’s why power banks, or portable chargers, offer a much better alternative. A high-capacity power bank can keep a modern smartphone going throughout even a 5-day festival. Often for less than the price of a phone charging pass at a festival, you can get a decent power bank that you can use again and again for years to come.

These devices contain batteries way bigger than inside your phone, and once charged, provide USB ports for keeping your phone and other devices going when you’re away from mains power. Portable chargers are perfect for days out, camping, and of course, music festivals.

We’ve listed a few tried and tested power banks below, with most available online and a couple from the high street that you can pick up today.

Best portable charger: So which power banks will last all weekend?

A power bank’s battery capacity is measured in mAh, just like your phone. The smallest power banks are around 2,000mAh, and with most modern smartphones batteries around 2,000 – 3,000mah themselves, these tiny chargers are only good for a quick top-up charge. Their tiny size can make them useful, and can often be carried in a pocket, but they’re no use for a music festival with 3 to 6 days away from a plug socket.

Even the best portable charger doesn’t operate totally efficiently, though a good one should only lose 10% – 20% of its stated capacity when charging your phone. For this reason, we recommend a portable charger with a capacity over 20,000mAh for music festivals and camping trips.

Whilst they can be expensive on the high street, safety certified high-quality power banks with a 20,000mAh capacity can now be purchased online for less than the price of a weekend charging wristband at a festival.

For a festival, a 20,000mAh or larger capacity is perfect. It should ensure your smartphone lasts the entire event, even if you use it heavily and require more than one recharge per day. Most will have multiple USB sockets, allowing you to keep a friend’s device topped-up too!

The best power banks: 7 portable chargers that will last an entire festival

Anker Powercore 20100 / Powercore Speed 20000

Image credit: Anker

Anker are the big name in portable chargers, known for their exceptionally high-quality products. They also have an awesome 18 month warranty.

The Anker power bank we recommend comes in two versions, one of them with QuickCharge 3.0 compatibility for Android devices.

The Anker PowerCore 20100 is the version without QuickCharge, so if you’ll only be charging iPhones, you won’t see any benefit from upgrading to the ‘Speed’ version. It’s got a 20100mAh capacity, plenty for a full festival, and charges via microUSB, with a charging cable included.

It takes about 10 hours to fully recharge and has ‘PowerIQ’ and ‘VoltageBoost’ technology to ensure your iPhone is always charging at the fastest possible speed. It’s available in black, blue, and white colours.

The Anker PowerCore Speed 20000 boasts Quick Charge 3.0 at up to 24W. It’s backwards compatible with earlier versions of Quick Charge and should charge most modern Android phones at lightning speed.

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same as the PowerCore 20100, albiet with a 0.5% lower capacity.

EC Technology 26800mAh Dual Input Battery Pack

Image credit: EC Technology

EC Technology’s distinctive black and red power bank has become very popular over the years, and you’ve probably seen someone else using one. They invaded every festival field by matching the features and quality of the best on the market, whilst also offering the best value around.

Their new power bank for this year offers the same brilliant value, offering a massive 26,800mAh capacity and dual USB-C and microUSB inputs, so you can recharge it with either cable.

The two USB outputs support a high power 2.4A each, so Android Quick Charge aside, it’ll always charge your phone at the fastest possible speed. It’ll still be pretty quick on Android too. It takes about 11 hours to fully recharge the power bank.

We used this one ourselves at Shindig Weekender this summer, and it kept two phones going until we got back in the car Monday morning.

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AUKEY 20,000mAh Power Bank with Lightning and Micro-USB input and 2x USB ports

Image credit: Aukey

Aukey’s reputation has solidified in recent years, partly thanks to their awesome 24 month warranty. This is a great value, high quality power bank with a 20,000mAh capacity, enough to last throughout a festival.

Like the EC Technology charger above, it has dual inputs, but this time it’s a Apple Lightning and microUSB ports..

This means iPhone users can recharge both their phone and the power bank with the same cable. This is a unique feature we haven’t really seen on anything else. And no, you can’t charge it faster by plugging both in at once. Sorry.

Like the Anker PowerCore models above there are two different versions, one with and one without support for Android’s Quick Charge feature.

PNY Slim 20000 Portable Power Bank

This one’s available today on the high street!

Image credit: PNY

If you don’t fancy buying online, or you need something you can pick up right now, this power bank is available on the high street. There’s also an Argos pick further down if Currys isn’t your thing.

Its 20000mAh capacity means it’s a great portable charger for festivals. It recharges over microUSB and has two standard USB ports for recharging your devices

It’s currently £34.99 in Currys, and if you need it today, you can enter your postcode to check stock in nearby stores and collect in minutes.

Energizer Ultimate 20000mAh Power Bank

Check stock in your local Argos and pick up today

If you prefer Argos to Currys and need to buy on the high street, this is another viable option.

It’ll cost you more than an online brand like Anker or Aukey, but the big advantage here is that it’s stocked by Argos. That means you can find local stores with stock online, then reserve one to pick up immediately. You could even reserve one to pick up on the way to your next festival, though you’ll need a while to charge it in the car.

You do get a pretty decent power bank for the premium price, with a screen, two normal USB outputs and a USB-C port too. You can use the USB-C for recharging both your phone and the power bank itself or recharge the power bank via a microUSB socket. It also supports both Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Power Delivery for super-quick recharging.

It’s currently £44.99 on the Argos website.

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