Gear Review: myCharge HubPlus Portable Charger

Backpacking is all about escaping technology and returning to the basics. But, for safety reasons I can’t escape completely. I use my Garmin InReach SE paired with my iPhone as my GPS navigation and emergency transponder. When I’m backpacking I try to use electronics as little as possible, but I always bring a back-up portable charger to make sure that my electronic devices have plenty of juice in case of emergency.

Before receiving the myCharge HubPlus charger I used an Anker charger. The Anker charger worked well, but the set-up was bulky. By the time I packed the Anker battery, the cord for my iPhone, cord for my InReach, and the Anker’s power charger (especially important on extended backpacking trips like when I hiked the John Muir Trail) the entire set-up took up way too much space in my backpack. Being able to ditch all of the cords made me excited the try the myCharge HubPlus portable charger.

I’ve been using the myCharge HubPlus as my go-to portable charger, and after spending over 30 nights of backpacking and camping with this device as my only charger I can confidently recommend the myCharge HubPlus. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that the myCharge HubPlus is the best portable charger for backpackers. The folks over at myCharge kindly provided the HubPlus for me to review. While I didn’t pay for this product, the thoughts in this review are my own.

The myCharge HubPlus has accompanied me on backpacking trips in Leavitt Meadows, Big Basin, Trinity Alps, Three Sisters Wilderness, and Prairie Creek Redwoods. It also saw me through two weeks of car camping throughout Northern California and Oregon. Since I do so much hiking and backpacking I’ve gotten my packing list dialed-in, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes forget things. Luckily, I no longer need to worry about forgetting to pack a charging cable! The myCharge HubPlus portable charger is an independent unit, meaning all of the cords and charging features that you’ll need are built into this device.

The Apple compatible charger has a micro-USB cable and a lightning cable so it works with my InReach and my iPhone. (There’s a device for Android users too!) And it also has a separate USB port so I can use it to power three devices at once if needed. The charger also has a built-in wall plug so I can charge the device while I’m brushing my teeth at the posh campgrounds that have flush toilets and electricity.

The best part is that the charger only weighs 7.1 ounces. That’s significantly less than my Anger set-up weighed, and we all know how nice it is to carry a lighter pack!

To conserve battery life I always keep my phone in airplane mode and I limit the tracking frequency on my InReach so that I primarily use it to send pre-set check-in messages to my emergency contacts. The 6700mAh battery will fully charge my iPhone 6 two times, while having extra juice to also charge my InReach one time. While using my iPhone and InReach conservatively I can usually stay powered in the backcountry for two weeks thanks to the myCharge.

myCharge HubPlus Device Specs