Portable Solar Panel

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A portable solar panel is on the shopping list of anyone who is into survival and hiking now in 2023. Learn about solar panels and their batteries and turn the solar energy into solar power. You can get a simple mini power bank with USB ports, for example. Consider the price, the battery type, and the battery charger mechanism to choose a solar panel for you, and who knows, maybe your next buy will be a proper solar panel for the roof?

You must have already heard about solar panels that can be used for a variety of purposes. They are mighty and convenient in many ways, which is why they gained so much popularity around the whole world. You cannot say that they are well recognized for nothing.

One can find a solar power system in many things because this mechanism has already been used for years. The latest solar system market trend is solar generators, which people like to use in their houses.

Despite the grown human interest in the mentioned generators, in this article, we will talk about solar chargers. They are essential and irreplaceable tools in the wild and in an emergency. Besides, it is also convenient to have them while camping, hiking, or doing other outdoor activities. You might ask, “Why are they so useful?”. Let us explain.

The two most important features solar chargers have are using solar energy as electric power and portability. Solar power helps devices work all while on the go so that you could carry them every day in your pocket or backpack. Whether it will be your smartphone, camera, flashlight, GPS-navigator, or something else, you will definitely not have any problems with their discharge.

To introduce portable solar panels more in detail, we will guide you through some important topics. The outline of what we are going to cover is below.

  1. Why You Should Own A Portable Solar Panel
  2. When Portable Solar Chargers Are Necessary
  3. Best Portable Solar Panels For Any Purpose
  4. Best Solar Panel Setup On The Market
  5. Advantages And Disadvantages Of Portable Solar Chargers

Why You Should Own A Portable Solar Panel

There are three main reasons why you should consider purchasing a monocrystalline portable solar panel.

Portable Power

Portable-Solar-Panel-Charging-A-Phone

First of all, these panels have portable power that will always keep your small electronics fully charged while being on the go. This is good news for those who love to go on different camping trips, hiking tours, or hunting. Whether you want to take many photos, for example, or avail of the GPS unit, or turn on your headlamp for a long period of time, you often cannot do this without a good charger.

Such a panel can also save you in an emergency when it is vitally important to use your phone and call someone. What will you do if your mobile is dead?

Backup Solar Power

Portable solar panels can also boast the high quality of their backup power. Without it, you would quickly run out of charge and not manage to use anything when the power grid fails.

Imagine that you take a lot of technical equipment with you on the way, say, a tablet, a phone, flashlights, a GPS device, a headlamp. And suddenly everything is not working anymore, and you are not able to power them. You can’t check your survival guides on your tablet that you have prepared just in case, but they came in handy for real. You also can’t turn on your lights on your headlamp or use your flashlights when it’s dark. Plus, you can’t enable the GPS-navigator or even call someone! To avoid this kind of challenge, you need a portable solar charger.

You may want to buy and install a battery bank system or a roof solar panel in your house. They are really cool so if you can afford them, go ahead. Or you may want to start living off the grid not to be dependent on the failures of electricity supply which is also a clever idea. But no matter what you will do, remember that humanity has not thought of anything better than portable solar panels for everyday carry purposes.

“Free” Solar Power

Investing your money in purchasing and storing portable solar monocrystalline panels is beneficial in an economic sense as well as a technical one. Once you have found a portable solar panel of high quality and design that fits your power needs, you will never regret buying it. Yes, it is more expensive than some packs of batteries, but it will serve you much longer and pay off its cost real soon. All thanks to solar energy that can easily power everything in any place.

When Portable Sun Chargers Are Necessary

There are different outdoor activities and situations when portable solar panels play a great role. Let us consider some common examples of when and why it is so.

Emergency Situations

When you need a charger the most, the real situation is probably when you have lost your way or stuck in frosty weather and want to call for help or send an emergency message. Such cases often happen and do not always end up well. For example, there are many fatal outcomes related to people’s inability to inform rescue service about their location due to discharged phone or GPS-device. These victims may have used their vehicle’s batteries, but the latter runs out of charge very quickly.

So, carrying a portable solar panel will turn out to be an important choice that will save your life in survival mode. It will enable you to send an emergency text as well as provide rescuers information about where they should search you.

Camping and Hiking

Whenever you take a backpack with you on an outdoor adventure, do not forget to put your portable charger that uses solar energy in as well. Whether it is a hiking or camping trip, or you just want to visit a state park, a solar panel will be a really convenient gear as you never know when your battery will lower in power.

With a portable solar panel at hand, you, as a camper, can do many things. To name one, you can keep your camera always ready for taking nice pictures and shooting videos if you like. Not to mention that you can stay on track with the help of your fully charged GPS-navigator.

Fishing and Hunting

Nowadays, fishers and hunters are also not an exception among people who are better to have a portable solar panel. They need one because, apart from a cell phone, they always carry rangefinders and flashlights to catch prey quickly. And these tools have rather big power needs and require much solar energy.

Besides, these people, just like us, have their small electronics, e.g., phone or tablet, that also need to be ready to go.

Best Portable Solar Panel Options For Any Purpose

Portable-Solar-Panel

Assuming that it is your first experience with portable solar panels, we suggest you consider compact ones from the options presented on the market. We introduce you to the list of the three best portable solar panels that you should know with a brief review of their key properties.

1 – Anytime Charge Solar Power Bank

Anytime Charge Solar Power BankWe start this top-3 with Anytime Charge Solar Power Bank because it is definitely worth it. Its features are well combined and constitute one of the best solar power gears in the world and one of the hot items on the market.

Despite its small size, this portable solar panel has a good battery capacity of 10,000 mAh that can charge devices several times. Besides, it is well known for its high durability and cost-effectiveness, so you will not regret buying this solar panel at all. Heck, the device even has more than one power output so that you could save time while charging your equipment.

Solar Panel The charger is straightforward to use. All you need is just to plug in your device via any of the available USB ports, hit the button, and wait for some time. To recharge the solar panel itself, leave it under the sun lights in any place, and you’re fine.

Along with this portable solar panel, the solar kit includes a strobe flashlight. Besides, it has an additional feature of splash resistance.

Check out this page for some available bonuses that you can get if bought the Anytime Charger Solar Power Bank.

2 – Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Kit

Goal Zero Guide 10 The next in the line of products is The Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Kit. It includes two components — The Guide 10 Power Pack and The Nomad 7 Solar Panel.

The portable solar panel Nomad 7 has a compact size but a little more weight than other portable panels. However, the key point about this item is much higher durability as compared to others and external battery Guide 10.

Both solar panels are contained in the nylon case secured with magnetic closures and attachment points. This solar panel suitcase protects the whole unit and makes it more comfortable to carry and use.

The backside of the panels has several options for power output held in a cable management pocket with a zipper. First of all, there is a standard compartment for connecting your phone or tablet via USB cable. Second, you can find a special port for a car adapter. Finally, Nomad 7 solar panels are equipped with “Mini Solar Ports” that connect Goal Zero products and enable to use of more solar panels for more effectiveness.

As for the Guide 10 Power Pack, it is also full of nice surprises. To begin with, this is a battery charger that accepts either AA or AAA types of batteries. You can pop them in the unit and, after charging, use them on any suitable device. What is more, this power pack has a LED lighting that you can use as a flashlight. It is pretty good at night can durable enough (100 hours for one charge).

The Goal Zero solar panel kit costs more than its competitors because it includes an external battery pack. If you can’t afford this kind of portable solar panel, look for the one with an integrated charger. The latter is no worse than solar kits, but their solar cells are often not so efficient, and their solar energy needs are usually bigger.

You can see how Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Solar Kit looks like in the review video below. Note that the giveaway that you heard in the video about is no longer relevant.

3 – QuadraPro Dual USB Solar Power Bank

Quadrapro Power Bank The third of the items in this top-3 best portable solar panels is The QuadraPro Dual USB Power Bank. It is recognized for its high quality and big capacity of the integrated battery (6,500mAH).

The design of the model fits everyday carry needs the most. It is ultra-compact, splash resistant, and rather sturdy. You can put it into your backpack or pocket effortlessly and enjoy any outdoor activities you want. Having the QuadraPro at hand will definitely not disturb your day but make it comfortable and safe.

Best Solar Panel Setup On The Market

Quadrapro2

We have much experience in the survival field and tried all of the mentioned portable solar panels in practice. We knew not only how these solar panels look like but also their advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to deciding on what model and power set up to purchase, we are aware of all the possible pitfalls because we faced them in real life. That is all why you can trust us as experts and follow our advice on what solar panel setup to use and when. We will review each of the options and explain everything in detail.

Integrated Battery – Shorter Trips

If you are going on a camping trip that will not last long, it is better to carry a portable solar panel that includes an internal power pack. This will be enough for keeping your devices charged for one night so that you could be sure that you stay on track and can use them for lighting, navigating, etc.

The portable solar panels with internal batteries are great for such trips as they are smaller, lighter than solar kits, and easy to use. A camper or a backpacker will not even notice any additional load on their shoulders which is why they are a must for various survival bags as bug-out bags or “get home” ones.

Recommendation of Internal Battery Model

Quadrapro Usb Dual Power Bank The QuadraPro USB Dual Power Bank is our favorite among portable solar panels having an integrated solar power pack. It has a lot of remarkable features such as huge battery capacity, two connectors, compact size, splash resistance.

 

 

External Battery – Longer Trips

As for the trips that take more time, we suggest using portable solar panels with external batteries. These models allow you to charge several external battery banks at the same time and put them anywhere you want. So, you do not need to carry them around with you.

Such solar panel models are usually bigger in size and weight. But despite their overall dimensions, they can generate more power as compared to solar panels with internal batteries.

While we saw an external battery bank included in the solar kit on the example of the Goal Zero Kit, this is not always so. If it is not provided, you have to look for a battery separately.

Choosing An External Battery Bank

Anker Powercore 10000

Although the most popular battery packs are USB ones, they do not have enough capacity. A good power pack should be at least of 10,000mAh. As a result, their price tag will be around $25 and more. Note that it should also have more than one power output, and at least one of them should be 2.1A. Please look for the options with similar features among the products that are usually off-brand. Take the Anker PowerCore 10000 as an example.

Another aspect you should pay attention to while looking for an external battery bank for a portable solar panel is its ability to control the incoming solar energy. It is necessary for the internal circuits’ protection and explains why exactly external batteries are used.

When the voltage variates, your device can disconnect while charging directly. This can happen due to some weather change or when a cloud is passing by, but most of the time, there is no clear explanation of what the problem is really about. So, it is better to follow the method of external charging. In other words, when you first power a battery pack itself and then use it for charging your phone, you will not face such challenges with disconnection and avoid any failures.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Portable Solar Chargers

We have already discussed some key points about portable solar panels but let us review their pros and cons so that you could understand the topic better. Some of them may be controversial, so there is no clear understanding of what is good and what is bad in portable panels.

Advantages:

  • Eco-friendly
  • Lightweight
  • Modular
  • Silent

In what follows, we will explain each of the points in detail.

Eco-friendly

Campstove Since portable solar panels modify the energy coming from the shining sun into electric power, there is no need for fuels or gases to generate it. You also do not have to burn wood as it was in the case of a Biolite Stove. The process of filling portable panels with solar power is entirely natural and clean. Apart from this, it does not produce any waste and has no impact on nature.

Solar energy is an inexhaustible resource that is always available and free. This is a strong advantage and a good reason to have portable solar panels.

Light Weight

It has been a long time since portable solar panels were massive and heavy. In the course of science and technology development, people have learned to create more compact and lighter gears so that we could carry and use them daily if needed. The latest models of a portable solar panel contain a lot of things inside but still do not exceed the mark of 8oz. As for their size, it is very similar to a deck of cards for survival.

Modular Solar Panel

The next benefit that you can find in portable solar panels is modularity. It means that you can connect several chargers and use them together at the same time. Such a trick will improve the performance of your solar power system and increase the amount of energy produced. You will be able to charge your devices, either small or large ones, quickly.

Silent

You never know what kind of situation you are going to get into. Sometimes, when being in the wild, it is important to hide your location and evade someone or something. If this is the case, you need to stay silent.

Luckily, with a portable solar panel at hand, you do not have to worry about this issue. While charging, it does not produce any sound or light that could reveal your location.

Disadvantages:

Along with the benefits of any portable solar panel, we can also highlight some flaws that can, however, be successfully overcome. They are as follows:

  • Required Sun to Shine
  • Variable Output Issues
  • Need Separate Battery Pack
  • Durability Issues

Just like with advantages, we will cover each of the aspects.

Required Sun To Shine

In general, it is true that a solar panel cant’ function without the sun, but let’s not jump to conclusions so fast.

When it’s night outdoors, your portable solar charger will not work for real. But what about the days when the sky is full of clouds or overcast? Will it charge?

The answer is yes, it will. However, it will take some more time to convert solar power to electricity and get your device powered and ready. If you don’t manage to use a solar charger on a cloudy day or at night, you can avail of the stored power of your battery pack.

Variable Output Issues

The charging ability also depends on the angle you put the solar cells at under the sun. The most amount of power is produced then the panel is located directly towards the sun. But since the Earth and sun constantly change their position, you need to adjust the angle every hour. As you might think, it is not convenient at all, but it can’t be helped.

Remember about such things as dust or a car window tint that can disturb your solar lights to get a panel. So, if you happened to be in the desert or have to sit in the car for some reason, you cannot power your device as effectively as usually when nothing prevents the solar from falling into panels.

Need Separate Battery Pack

If there are too many troubles with converting solar to power efficiently, you can partially rely on the battery packs that store generated power. Such products do not always go in the solar panel kit, so you often should find and buy them separately.

Durability Issues

Some people think that the photovoltaic cells in solar panels are too fragile. However, it often has nothing to do with today’s reality.

You can always find multiple layers of materials in any large solar system, for example, one that is used in roofs. There is usually a glass layer, laminate, sometimes acrylic in it, so the whole unit is not likely to break.

As for the portable solar panels, they became rugged in their design, using plastic instead of glass. Besides, a good solar panel suitcase will keep the solar cells safe. A carrying case is an important part of the design and overall functionality. Hence, companies started to pay more attention to this issue when producing and releasing their products on the market.

Conclusion

Having read the whole article, you have learned all the general information about portable solar panels and analyzed our solar panel reviews of some market examples. We hope we have managed to convince you to purchase a portable solar charger and add it to your survival kit. You can recommend this tool to your friends and family members and explain to them why it is a cost-effective investment of money.

To remind you and conclude, a portable solar charger provides you with an opportunity to power your devices whenever they run out of charge and use them conveniently on the go, without the fear of getting lost or experiencing troubles with discharged devices that hold the information you have downloaded in advance. It guarantees that you will be able to do what you need and want in any situation.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Are portable solar panels worth it?

Portable solar panels are a must for any person, whether he/she is a camper, hunter, or just a tourist in an unfamiliar country or someone else. They are convenient to carry in the pocket or backpack and useful on trips. Not to mention that they are significant in emergencies that everyone can get into.

However, not only portability makes solar panels so worthy and popular. Their feature of converting solar to electricity is also powerful, and, what is more, it allows us not to produce waste. Additionally, the best portable solar panels have good technical indices of durability and battery capacity.

Every part of a portable solar panel says that you will not regret buying it. Although it has some minor flaws, the latter can easily be avoided or compensated.

What can Portable solar panels be used for?

There are plenty of options for what purposes you can apply a portable solar panel. Generally speaking, it is necessary for charging your multiple devices so that you could benefit from them when it’s time.

You will need these things in any situation — for example, while being on a camping or hiking trip and taking pictures, or while looking for a way home with the help of your charged GPS-unit, or when facing the need to call your loved one. A solar panel could charge a headlamp or flashlights for you if you turned out to be in a dark environment. So, it will serve you in any of these cases and fit any of your needs.

How much do Portable solar panels cost?

There are different portable solar panels on the market. They depend on the power setup, used materials, producing company, brand, etc. For example, if you are looking for a solar kit that includes an external battery pack, you should consider those about $25 and higher. Portable solar panels with integrated batteries may cost less.

Of course, better models will be more expensive. But even so, remember that you get what you pay for. In other words, most of the products will be reasonable purchases, and you might not even regret them. When it comes to the issue of survival, not money is important but the quality of the product.

Author

A former USA Army sergeant and a highly educated survivalist and prepper with a degree and interest in Engineering and Electronics, Mike Millerson applies his extensive expertise in survivalism, homesteading, backpacking, hiking and hunting, spreading his deep knowledge about handling emergencies and prepping for them reasonably and effectively.

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