After considering 70 challenger and testing for over 30 hr , we ascertain that theAnker PowerPort Solar Liteis thebest portable solar chargerfor people who want to power a phone or small machine when in an exigency or off the power grid . We also like theRAVPower 15 - W Solar Charger , which is marginally more powerful , but a fortune less portable .
This mail service was done in partnership withWirecutter , a buyer ’s guide to the best technology . This is a condense version ofThe Best Portable Solar Battery Charger ; read the full reviewhere .
The catch is that these chargers work only with USB equipment , which limits their entreaty for those who need them for recollective - term , off - grid setups . If you ’re going to be mostly stationary and need to charge or run larger devices like laptops or television , or more advanced equipment that requires AC exponent , you ’ll plausibly be more concerned in the larger setups from companies like Goal Zero or Suntactics , which we be after to look back by and by this year .
In fact , even if you do n’t need AC exponent , you might be better off skipping the solar charger whole and starting with aUSB electric battery pack . Our large electric battery pick will keep a smartphone charged every night for a workweek and is no big than a paperback novel . But if you ’ll be on the trail for more than a hebdomad , you ca n’t be sure of your power needs , or you want something to tuck into your parking brake kit , a solar battery charger could refill a small battery pack in a day or flat charge a smartphone in two to three hours .
TheAnker PowerPort Solar Liteis the best portable solar charger because it has the safe combination of point hurrying , size of it , and price . Its two - panel invention generated almost as much exponent as our previous three - panel pick ( theRAVPower 15 - W Solar Charger ) and is doubly as powerful as the much more expensiveGoal Zero Nomad 7 . As a result , you get almost just as much charging capability in a package that is about half the sizing and weight of our previous filling : The Anker is 18 inch long unfolded and count 12.5 ounces compare with the 31 - inch tenacious , 23.9 - snow leopard RAVPower . Used alone , the Anker can to the full reload small tablets or one or two smartphones in one cheery day . If you geminate the Anker with one of ourfavorite USB battery packs , the compounding will have enough succus to keep your USB - power gadgets in full charge every twenty-four hour period for as long as needed .
Though the Anker PowerPort Solar Lite ’s measured norm ( 6 watts/1.17 A ) was less than the 15 watts/2.1 amps advertised in the specs , it peaked at 8.48 watts/1.67 amps in verbatim winter sun , and that real - world carrying into action was in line with the unspoiled of the competition . After filling up from the PowerPort all daylight , our test electric battery release only 15 percent less power than the battery powered by the much tumid and heavier RAVPower charger .
Beyond power output , the Anker solve an irritating problem common to other battery charger . If they get shaded for a moment — from a passing cloud or walker — they can get stuck in a slowly - accuse commonwealth or shut off wholly . The Anker and runner - up RAVPower both returned to full - speed charging like a shot after being shaded . But two of the panels we test , including the otherwise - excellentPoweradd , got pose in a easy - charging state after just a few second in the shade .
TheRAVPower 15 - W Solar Chargerwas our top plectrum until the new Anker battery charger come out , and it ’s still a in force alternative , if a slightly bulkier one . In direct sun , they both develop about the same amount of power — in our tests we quantify 1.71 amps from the RAVPower vs. 1.67 amp for the Anker . Under indirect sun — what you ’ll likely get in the morning or later good afternoon — the RAVPower in reality does better , able-bodied to pump out 1 amp in the late afternoon when the Anker had already efficaciously keep out down for the night . Over the course of study of a whole day , though , the RAVPower netted us only 15 percentage more energy in our external battery mob — about 500 mAh . That ’s enough to put up only an extra 15 to 25 per centum for most smartphones — not enough to warrant the size or system of weights increase .
These picks may have been updated . To see the current recommendation , please readWirecutter ’s usher .
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