Lithium Blue Battery Feedback

I can't seem to find any of the anker batteries on Amazon at the moment. Does anyone have recent recommendations on other options?

Are you looking only for the older style "with the small window LCD charge status display" Astro Pro2 model ?   
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anker-Astro-Pro2-20000mAh-4-Port-Portable-Charger-External-Battery-Power-Bank-/221648829731?hash=item339b4cbd23



Only amazon source I found want's $150 for that version.

I think they are geetting phased out by the newer version that has they 5 LED's for charge status.

From the testing several others and myself had done,  that Ankler was the best bang for the buck by far for run time of Kayak electronics in a light weight package.  Only thing I found that outlasts it are some MUCH heavier SLA batteries.  The multi use for personal electronics of the Ankler just lets it pay for itself in so many other ways away from our Kayaks though. 

I was hoping for one that was closer to 50 bucks and 15000 mah. Doesn't have to be anker brand.

From what I have found so far,  they tend to only provide USB power out in the lower price and mAh rating versions

What I have been using is a "Blue BrickZilla " which is the 20,000 mAh version of the blue brick.  My tests have it outlasting the Ankler in our 12V / 4W bulb drain test by roughly 2 hours.   It runs under $50 bucks but there is the slow boat from china shipping wait.  If you want to know it's charge status while out on the water, then your looking another 7 bucks for a LED voltage indicator and DIY project.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Excellent-DC-12V-20-000mAh-Super-Rechargeable-Portable-Li-ON-Battery-Pack-NEW-/271959022894?hash=item3f52055d2e

There must be better options out there. I have that Anker, but keep seeing ads for competition.  Keep googling!

No desire to provide a link or any info to one of those ad's

Problem is that domestic manufacturers / name brands are costly.  Generic products are priced right but there is the concern of customer support and option / cost to return especially from overseas sources.  That is the nice thing about ordering such items from Amazon with their return policy.

This is the only thing I could find that meets Noah's price range through Amazon after 10 pages of searching.  Interesting how it's first listed reviews, the author mentions how there used to be multiple products like this on the market and now how there are so few.  Guessing the industry sees laptops getting phased out by tablets that only need USB power sources for charging.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenmar-PowerPort-External-Notebook-Adapters/dp/B008EG64PC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_107_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GVBFMPXYGJN8C3M759H&dpID=41wuBRwxUZL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

Looks to have roughly 5500 mAh for 16-19V output and 16500 mAh for it's USB.   I believe most multi voltage batteries packs like these list their USB battery amp hour rating.  You would need your own laptop power supply between those voltages to charge and a FF that will work with up to 16 volts. 

I'm going to give this one a shot. Thank you all for the help!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NBI1GQK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=A142BGUZC6UH73

Please tell me you found that one after 11 pages of searching Amazon      Looks like one heck of a find for that price. 

It did involve a ton of searches! I'll report back on how it works.

Good find!  I did a ton of searches as well and could only find USB low voltage batteries.

It did involve a ton of searches! I'll report back on how it works.

Noah - I'm definitely interested in how that works out - did you order the 18Ah or the 28Ah? 

I was never really satisfied with the Anker that Craig posted the photo of above.  The 12V output liked to shut down at times - too much logic (or il-logic for our purposes)  involved compared to the dumb and heavy SLAs....

-Sam

The only issue I have with the Anker battery is that it turns its self off if there is no draw on it.  So I cant turn it on and plug everything in and put it in the hull of the kayak and then later when I am out on the water turn on my FF because by then it has turned its self off so I have to open the hatch pull out the hobie bucket and pull out the dry box that I have it in open it up and pull it out of the protective sleeve then turn it back on then put it all back away again.  Its kind of a PITA.  I am currently looking for a 90 degree USB cable that I can plug into it and then plug in my phone that way it will stay on.  Other then that it works great.

Just a note for anyone searching Amazon for these types of batteries with a 12v out: search for "external battery laptop".

The only issue I have with the Anker battery is that it turns its self off if there is no draw on it.  So I cant turn it on and plug everything in and put it in the hull of the kayak and then later when I am out on the water turn on my FF because by then it has turned its self off so I have to open the hatch pull out the hobie bucket and pull out the dry box that I have it in open it up and pull it out of the protective sleeve then turn it back on then put it all back away again.  Its kind of a PITA.  I am currently looking for a 90 degree USB cable that I can plug into it and then plug in my phone that way it will stay on.  Other then that it works great.

Yeah that's annoying, or when you accidentally hit the power button and turn it to 9V and your FF acts all stupid.  I generally turn on my FF and stow it inside the hull (leaving it on) for launches now.

I was looking into doing the same thing, and don't really want to wait for something from China.  Would this battery work?
http://www.amazon.com/EZOPower-High-capacity-Rechargable--10000mAh-Blackberry/dp/B005XQSN9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360872258&sr=8-1&keywords=Li-ion+Super+Rechargeable+Battery+12+V+9800

ndogg,

Are these still working well for you? At $20 for the 15000mAh on Amazon now I might get 3 of them if they're worth it.

Also found these:
http://www.amazon.com/20000mAh-Compact-Portable-Charger-External/dp/B01191S0VY?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=pe_429550_189278760_em_1p_0_ti

20000mAh for $30. I'm not too savvy with this stuff yet. What do you experts think? They take about a month to deliver, so I wanna order soon so I can have them in May when I outfit my boat.