How To Have Electricity When Camping?

How To Get Electricity When Camping?

Need electricity when camping? Of course we do! The needs for electricity in the outdoors are only rising because we use more and more electronic devices that need power or recharging.

On the other hand, the supply of off grid power solutions like portable power station is becoming larger and larger.

First of all it depends how you want to go camping. Are you sleeping in a tent, camper, RV? Are you overlanding or camping just for a night?

Depending on your adventurous plans you will have different power needs which translates to different gear.

We will give you a brief overview of what your options are based on your needs.

Read our Portable Power Station Reviews or learn what the TOP performers are for different occasions: TOP 10 BEST Portable Power Stations, BEST Portable Power Stations for Camping, BEST Portable Power Stations for Power Outage, BEST Portable Power Station under $200, BEST Portable Power Station for Refrigerator.

How to get electricity in a tent?

Going on an outdoor adventure in a tent for 1-2 nights? Then you probably have enough with a decent quality power bank, with a range between 10000 mAh and 25000 mAh (or 37Wh – 92,5Wh).

A descent power bank is always a nice plus to have on a camping trip. It can charge your phone multiple times (depending on what power bank model) and other battery powered devices such as headlamps for instance.

Or even laptops when you choose for a bit more powerful model (25000 mAh – 92,5Wh).

Assuming you are camping with your backpack and luggage space is limited. These power banks are the perfect solution.

But even if you go camping by car, a power bank is a nice to have when you want to power you electronic devices in your tent while sleeping for instance.

Unless you want to be able to charge or power larger appliances than laptops, we can recommend the following power banks for electricity when camping in a tent:

BioLite Charge 40 PD (10000 mAh – 37Wh): to charge a smartphone +- 2.5 times or other small electronics.
BioLite Charge 80 PD (20000 mAh – 74Wh): to charge a smartphone +- 5 times or a laptop
BioLite Charge 100 Max (25000 mAh – 92.5Wh): to charge a smartphone +-7 times and a laptop 2 times.

We have very good experience with the BioLite power banks. They especially hold their charge well when not using them and they their capacity matches what is advertised.

Going for a longer trek than a few nights? Then it’s better to get a small portable solar panel that you can attach to your backpack during hiking to recharge your power bank with solar energy.

They are very compact so that they don’t take much space in your back pack when folded and not using.

How to have electricity off the grid?

Your are going totally off the beaten path, far away from campsites, and need power to charge or power larger appliances?

In that case you will need a portable power station.

Simply put, a portable power station is like a power bank on steroids. These are large batteries that have more energy capacity and capable of powering heavier appliances.

Based on what appliances you wish to use during your trip you will need a portable power station that can meet those power needs.

A good thing is to start calculating how large the battery should be by using our handy battery usage calculator.