We took the TopNotch top 10 solar chargers for a week-long road trip through Montana to find out which ones came out shining. The Goal Zero Nomad 50 is a larger solar charger that also wins our award for Best Solar Charger for Car Camping and Best Solar Charger for Basecamping and our Best Upgrade Solar Charger award. At 50 watts, it’s the biggest and heaviest solar charger we tried. But if we were doing a couple of weeks in a high mountain cirque with fellow adventurers and we wanted to cut battery weight while keeping our electronics charged, this is the charger we’d choose. Yes. In good sun and when properly oriented portable solar panels do work well. How many amps solar charger do I need? In ideal, full-sun conditions a 20 or more watt solar charger with two (or more) USB ports should be able to charge multiple devices at up to 2.4 amps like most 12-Volt USB adapters used in cars. A more powerful panel should be able to charge more, but the device has to be able to handle higher charging amperages like those that use USB-C connections. Additional features and accessories The solar cells in these foldable units are encased in PET polymer and surrounded by polyester canvas. Each offers moderate IPX4 water resistance — although you don’t really want to use these devices in the rain anyhow. They’re so similar they even use the same solar cells — SunPower’s Maxeon solar cells — which are among the most efficient commercially available solar cells and can convert up to 25 percent of the sun’s energy.

With its built-in ammeter and high wattage, the Big Blue solar charger has the potential to draw the most power though it needs full sun to achieve maximum charging output. We can confidently say that it’s one of the most versatile, reliable and fastest chargers you’ll find. The charging speed of the BigBlue solar charger is excellent under the full sun but when it gets cloudy, the charging speed does drop a tad. In fact, solar panels have been more efficient than other forms of electricity since at least 2013. They last up to 20 or more years in the field, and most, if not all, components of solar panels are recyclable. Now, this is where the built-in ammeter in this charger plays an important part. We adjusted the position of the panels by noting the maximum current output for the best charging speeds.

How To Choose The Right Solar Charger

By miniaturising solar panels, and making them more portable, you can charge your smartphone, tablet or even laptop using free energy directly from the sun – or, in some cases, you can even store that energy for later use. In theory, you can be away from the mains for days and still keep your devices powered up. You might even find that, weather permitting, you can keep a laptop or a tablet charged up using solar energy alone.

The number of watts that a solar panel can create correlates with its size. Generally speaking, more solar cells mean more watt output. Watt output is much like solar panel size, as you can see. General Wattage Guidelines It’s lightweight, foldable AND waterproof so it even does a great job in the harshest outdoor conditions. All the options on our list are made with PET polymer or PVC canvas, great materials that last long against the elements. They’re all water-resistant, so you don’t have to mind every splash. Most are not waterproof, so you still have to be careful to put them under cover in inclement weather. For a solar charger to produce optimal power while hiking, you’d have to be hiking primarily northbound in the northern hemisphere and primarily southbound in the southern hemisphere — all day, in direct sunlight, and without any shadows from trees or clouds. You’ll meet these conditions in desert or snowfield hiking. What we liked: includes integrated battery that works as power bank, can pre-charge included powerbank, easy to align with sun to get the most efficient charge, designed to reduce overheating (that impacts efficiency)On the Big Blue Solar panel. I wasn’t very satisfied with it. After sitting in the sun for Four hours,I made a small charge on my iPhone. The Mac book next to nothing. This particular solar panel was not so good either on doing multiple charges at once.I had a friend use it with a cheap flip phone in which had a better bit of charge. I phone, Mac books not so good. Before my experience to use I should have researched the product to what it really could do. All companies claim they have great products until the user sets out into a venture and we expect that company experience to be really accurate. Put it to the test yourself a bit Sure enough, from the spritzes to the submersion, the solar charger held up. You won’t want to get the USB port section of the unit wet, as it could cause issues down the road, but even if a little water gets in there when you don’t have a device in, it should be protected, as BigBlue added a rubber gasket to cover the USB ports.

The great price of this charger is one factor that really sets it apart from the competition in terms of value. Solar chargers – These take the same basic idea of a solar generator but shrink the solar panel array to make it more portable. They charge your devices directly or through a separate USB power bank.The amount of wattage depends on amps and also volts. Volts are the amount of force of electricity, and multiplying amps and volts will equal the wattage. A higher number means higher power output. Efficiency