The Anker PowerHouse 100 has a neat trick

Ever since we had a multi-day power outage over the summer, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to what battery packs we’ve got in our house. The small ones we had didn’t cut the mustard, so I picked up an Anker Powercore 10000 which has been great for portable on-the-go electrons. The Anker PowerHouse 100, well, that’s a whole different deal.

I mean, yes, at first, the Anker PowerHouse 100 looks not that much different from any other portable power pack out there. It’s got the rounded brick shape, some USB-A and a USB-C port on there – the standard stuff. Then, you realize it’s got a 27,000 mAh battery in there – that’s not standard at all. And then, what about that funny flap on the end?

That, friends, is where things get really interesting. Yes, if you have a modern laptop, the USB-C port is PD-capable, so you can power your laptop. But what if you’ve got an older laptop? Or something else that needs to be plugged in? Well, that flap, that there is hiding an AC outlet. That’s certainly unique to the world of battery packs (at least that I’ve seen) and I’m sure could be great for any number of emergencies, say, for medical equipment (not recommended for a CPAP machine, though).

Given that plug (and the circuitry to provide the AC output) and the battery size, this is no diminuitive pack. It’ll weigh close to a pound, and is about the size of a small notebook. So, maybe not something you drag around with you every day, all day, but something to have available when you know you’re not going to be near an outlet for the duration of a day or two – or the power goes out.

While something like the Anker PowerHouse 200 might make more sense for camping and a doomsday poweroutage scenario, I think the $159.99 Anker PowerHouse 100 (available from Amazon) makes for a nice middle ground, especially if you want something that is more of a fit for your work bag. anker.com