So has anyone shopped for battery packs lately?

I still have old ones which are fine for iPhones and even iPads. I haven't stressed them, only use for a couple of hours at the most and they seem to charge my iPhones about as fast as the wall chargers. Now I got an iPhone 8 Plus and I'm aware it supports quick charging of devices.

I also have a Nintendo Switch, probably the first of many devices which could use USB-C Power Delivery ports.

The situation with USB-C Power Delivery chargers and batteries seem to be very unsettled. In fact, I would think more products will be announced at CES.

However, I have a trip coming up in late January, probably not in time for any new products to ship by then.

The one thing that gets me about the packs I have is that they take forever to charge. I have an Anker one (16,750 mAh) that takes over 24 hours to go from empty (flashing one LED) to full (4 LEDs).

It looks like I would need a USB-C PD port to for instance charge my Nintendo Switch while playing it. Right now, with the USB chargers and battery packs I have, they only prevent the Switch from discharging when I am using it.

One thing that's intriguing is that now, there are bundles which come with QuickCharge or USB-C Power Delivery wall chargers so that these 20,000 mAh and larger packs can be fully charged in 4-5 hours they claim.

However, these are expensive, starting around $60 and going up to $100 for the Anker PowerCore PD 20000 mAh pack with a USB-C PD wall charger.

That would be the best feature, just being able to recharge these packs in a few hours instead of the better part of the day or longer.

I don't suppose older packs would recharge faster with these USB-C or QuickCharge wall chargers either.

For $100, you're getting into MacBook Pro charger territory and those are rated at 87 watts. Most USB-C PD wall chargers don't go anywhere near that high. They claim to recharge the MacBook Pro, including the 15-inch models, but my guess is that if you're using the laptops while connected to these lower-power chargers, they'd only prevent the laptop from drawing down. They wouldn't build up the charge unless you put it to sleep.