These portable units juice your phone and other small tech when there’s no charger to be found for miles.
By Tom Price and Adrienne Donica Updated: May 29, 2024 5:50 PM EDT Jump to Products Save Article
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When you’re camping, backpacking, taking long day hikes, or simply sitting around your fire pit in the backyard, the closest outlet is likely farther away than your power cable can stretch. Pack a solar charger for the trip and suddenly you’ve got the world back at your fingertips.
These portable gadgets marry solar panels with battery packs—they’re small and lightweight enough to not add much heft to your pack and powerful enough to juice up your phone, headlamp, and other small tech. Many solar chargers come with ports to plug your devices in directly, while others fill up separate power banks you can store in your pack.
On a months-long road trip in your RV, a camping trip in the woods, or just a quick hike a few miles from your home, these keep your devices juiced up and you connected to the world. We’ve tested a bunch and researched many more to recommend the best solar chargers for you here.
Power output refers to how many watts of power the panels generate when operating efficiently (a.k.a., angled toward the sun in direct sunlight). The solar panel’s output determines how quickly you can charge up your device or battery, how many devices you can plug in at once, and how large of a battery the panels can power.
The wattage on your solar panels range anywhere from around 5 watts to 400 or more. Low wattage options of 20 or less are typically much smaller and are great for charging phones or small battery packs. We don’t recommend panels below 5 watts of output for just how little power they provide.
High-wattage options, which are typically larger to suit more panels, are built to handle more devices simultaneously or charge large solar generators. These typically have multiple ports for different types of cables and fold out, revealing multiple panels.
Keep in mind that all wattages listed for a solar charger represent the most power the panels can put out—in many weather conditions and panel configurations, you’ll net slightly less than this peak number. If the solar panel comes with an onboard battery, the output through the battery will be more consistent and not dependent on weather conditions.
Some solar chargers come with built in power storage that keeps a portion of the energy captured in a battery connected to the panels. This means that you should be able to charge your phone for a while even after the sun has set and there isn’t access to direct sunlight.
Many other options come with power banks or add-ons that are designed so that you can use them in tandem with the solar panels. Additionally, if you don’t want or need to juice devices immediately but need more storage than the onboard battery can accommodate, larger solar panels can charge up solar generators and power stations. (Many of those generators are built to charge up via wall outlets and/or solar panels, so they aren’t solely reliant on either.)
If you want to carry your solar charger with you while hiking or camping, portability is key. There are tons of options that are light enough to tote around all day and small enough to fit in a backpack.
The tradeoff with smaller solar chargers is reduced overall output, and if the weather conditions aren’t right, it can be a challenge to recharge with a small panel.
Foldable designs pack down without sacrificing power output. Many large chargers that are too big to fit in a backpack come with carrying cases for easier transport.
Out in the wilderness, dead devices are a mild inconvenience at best and a survival liability at worst. To ensure we can stand reliably by our choices, we tested out multiple solar chargers ourselves: the EcoFlow Bifacial Foldable Solar Panel, Goal Zero Nomad 5 Solar Charger, and BioLite SolarPanel 10+ Solar Charger. We gauged each not just on its power (which obviously differed based on the model), but their versatility, durability, and portability.
To do this, we carried each solar charger in our backpacks or in carrying cases for over a mile, utilizing the ports to directly charge devices and power banks. For smaller chargers which could be draped over a backpack, we plugged in smart devices and charged them as we walked. That said, the majority of our testing was done in a stationary location where all chargers could be used in near-identical conditions.
Most panels and chargers on this list claim high level weather resistance, so we tested this by spraying each in water and dirt, wiping them clean over and over again. We also kept devices plugged in to test if they continued to provide quality energy output when wet or partially covered in dirt. Each of the tested panels we included on this list, performed well under each of these circumstances.
Additionally, we researched 29 other models, evaluating them on their efficiency, output, portability, and overall effectiveness. We narrowed the list by comparing these key specs such as output, size, and port options, using our hands-on experiences with solar chargers to find the best designs and features.
To whittle the contenders down further, we relied on reviews from verified customers for real-life applications and any small features they liked or disliked as well as related solar content and articles from our team at Popular Mechanics. Our list of potential picks included portable solar panels and solar-rechargeable power banks, though we primarily focused on the former given their greater efficiency at converting sunshine into electricity.
