Power Banks for a laptop?

[wallawalla322]

Hello,

Every year I go on holiday to USA which consists of me going to airport via train or coach, waiting around in an airport and then finally an 8 hour flight there! To help stop me from getting bored I had PCSpecialist build me a gaming laptop! Now this laptop is a bit of a beast and can be power hungry, on battery alone when playing a game (on full performance) it won't last longer than an hour. Naturally when I am on long journey's I do use power saving options, lesser graphics etc.

Sadly, I find on the coaches, trains and planes the plugs they provide don't work for my laptop! So what i'm hoping is some way to have portable power to keep my laptop charged for longer! I've had a look at some power banks that have the option for a plug so I can plug my laptop into it. However these seem to be limited to no more than 200W. I'm no electrician, but I know the AC Adapter provided for me is 230W AC Adapter, which is more than 200W! Any suggestions for portable power banks (need to be travel friendly) That one can take both on a coach and a plane? Or any other suggestions that could be used to prolong my laptop usage (outside of adjusting the laptop settings/not using laptop)

Thanks

Scottie

 

[ubuysa]

If you hope to be able to carry enough power for you to game for an 8 hour flight you'd better develop stronger arms, you'll exceed your carry on weight limit too. All power banks use Li-Ion batteris and you might find some airlines won't allow you to carry a Li-Ion power bank in carry-on. AFAIK the rules on Li-Ion batteries in the cabin varies a bit between airlines too so you'd be wise to check that you can take one (or more) on board before you spend any money....

 

[wallawalla322]

Oh I don't expect to have power for the full 8 hours! I'm just hoping to turn my 1 hour power time to hopefully 2 hours! Or is there a way to be able to get charge from the planes own plugs. it seems they don't like anything over 200W.

 

[Stephen M]

Adding to Ubuysa's point, it is not only the airline but the destination that can effect what can be taken in the cabin. This is different from batteries but an example worth noting, when I visit family in Australia on the leg between München and Singapore we get proper metal cutlery in the business class cabin with our meals but on the final leg, still with Singapore Airlines, we have plastic knives and forks. I checked this with a flight attendant and she told me that it was the stricter rules imposed by Australia and that there were other countries which did not allow metal cutlery.
It seems odd but it may be that your airline will be OK with a battery pack but the USA will not.

 

[debiruman665]

They do exist, cost hundreds, weigh several kilos and will never get into a plane

what you need to look for a is a direct mains power bank. Something that can give the full the power you would expect from a power socket