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Oct 17, 2024

The 2 Best Portable Solar Battery Chargers of 2023 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Sarah Witman Sarah Witman is a writer focused on batteries and charging accessories. She has spent countless hours charging, discharging, and recharging batteries. We added several models we plan

By Sarah Witman

Sarah Witman is a writer focused on batteries and charging accessories. She has spent countless hours charging, discharging, and recharging batteries.

We added several models we plan to test this summer to What to look forward.

Whether you’re backpacking in the Himalayas or working in your backyard, a portable solar battery charger offers a vast supply of power that you can easily fold up and carry with you. While the sun is out, you can catch rays to charge a phone, a laptop, and other small electronics, and (when paired with a separate power bank) you can keep them running long after sundown.

The Allpowers SP012 Solar Panel 100W is the best portable solar charger for anyone who needs to keep their gadgets charged and stay connected during a power outage or off-grid adventure. It packs a lot of power into a relatively small package, works seamlessly with most phones and other devices, has a rugged build and good weatherproofing, and comes with more useful accessories than the competition.

This lightweight charger is powerful for its size and lets you charge up to four devices at once. It’s bulkier than some models and lacks a built-in kickstand, but it includes some handy accessories.

This solar charger is one of the lightest we’ve tested, and it’s easy to slip into a backpack. Its rated output is lower than most, but it’s still powerful enough to charge most phones at top speed.

This lightweight charger is powerful for its size and lets you charge up to four devices at once. It’s bulkier than some models and lacks a built-in kickstand, but it includes some handy accessories.

Most portable solar battery chargers have just a few panels to catch the sun’s rays, but the Allpowers SP012 Solar Panel 100W has an expansive array of 15 panels to soak up as much sunlight as possible. It measures 3 by 3 feet when unfolded, and since it weighs just 4.9 pounds, it can be easily toted around with you.

It performed relatively well in our cumulative power tests, fully charging our 10,000 mAh power bank in six hours. With a rated output of 100 watts, it has three USB output ports (one USB-C and two USB-A) and a DC port that can charge a wide variety of devices. An additional DC port can also be used to connect a second solar panel for even more power generation.

It comes with more accessories than most models: four carabiners, five DC adapters, DC and Micro-USB charging cables, and car jumper cables. And its IP65 weatherproof rating means it’s well protected against blowing dust and water.

It’s bulkier than some options we tested (4 inches thick when folded), but it’s still quite portable. It lacks a built-in kickstand, which some other models have to more easily tilt their panels toward the sun, but small loops around the edges allow you to hang it at the optimal angle.

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This solar charger is one of the lightest we’ve tested, and it’s easy to slip into a backpack. Its rated output is lower than most, but it’s still powerful enough to charge most phones at top speed.

If you want something smaller, lighter, and less expensive than the Allpowers SP012, and you can live with a bit less power, you should get the BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger. Despite having just four panels and a lower output rating (28 W), it can top off a phone or other small device about as fast in the same sun conditions (it charged our power bank in just five hours).

It’s also lighter than the Allpowers model (1.4 pounds), and it folds up into a compact package about the size of a paperback novel (11 inches by 6 inches by 1 inch). This makes it even easier to slip into a daypack or an emergency go-bag.

BigBlue’s charger has three USB-A ports, which are covered by a rubber flap to shield them from the elements when not in use. Its IPX4 rating means it’s protected against water spills and splashes, though it has minimal resistance to dust and other solid particles.

Like the Allpowers charger, it comes with four carabiners, so you can hang it at an angle using built-in metal grommets. It also comes with a USB charging cable.

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I’ve been a science journalist for nearly a decade, covering a wide variety of topics from particle physics to satellite remote sensing. Since joining Wirecutter in 2017, I’ve reported on surge protectors, portable power stations, home EV chargers, and more.

For this guide alone, I’ve spent more than 60 hours cumulatively researching and testing portable solar chargers. Plus, during a monthlong visit to rural Malawi, I got firsthand experience with a subpar portable solar charger—it was so slow that I gave up on it midway through the trip.

A portable solar battery charger is a great option if you’re taking an extended camping trip or traveling somewhere with an unreliable power grid, as it’ll allow you to charge a phone the size of an iPhone 15 using just a few hours of midday sun. The best ones have enough power to charge several devices at once—say, a laptop, lantern, and portable Bluetooth speaker—and fold up small enough to fit in a backpack, glovebox, or bike pannier.

They’re also good to stash in an emergency kit so you can keep a phone and other essential devices charged if the power goes out. However, since they’re largely dependent on the weather, you’ll also want to pack a power bank designed for phones and tablets, USB-C laptops, or AC-powered laptops.

If you’re going to be mostly stationary, or if you need to keep power-hungry devices like a space heater and refrigerator running, you’ll probably be more interested in the larger setups that we cover in our guides to the best portable power stations and portable generators.

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We scoured the websites of top electronics brands and retailers, as well as companies that specialize in outdoor and disaster-prep gear, to amass a list of the available offerings. We then culled our testing pool based on the following criteria:

We then put each model through its paces with the following tests:

This lightweight charger is powerful for its size and lets you charge up to four devices at once. It’s bulkier than some models and lacks a built-in kickstand, but it includes some handy accessories.

The Allpowers SP012 Solar Panel 100W is what we’d pack for a week in the woods or a month in Malawi. It has an impressively large surface area for catching every last ray of sunlight when unfolded, and a high output rating to match. Plus, it’s lighter than most models we tested, has a wide variety of output ports, and includes an abundance of useful accessories.

It’s as powerful (or more so) than some models weighing and/or costing much more. The Allpowers SP012 is made up of 15 solar panels and measures 3 by 3 feet when unfolded, so it can soak up as much sunlight as possible. At the same time, it weighs just 4.9 pounds (about as much as a standard bag of flour), so it’s highly portable.

With a rated maximum output of 100 watts, this model has the potential to charge most phones, tablets, or even a laptop at top speed. While it’s unlikely you’ll get that much power most of the time—in general, solar panels rarely reach their full rated output, even on a sunny day—it performed relatively well in our power tests, bringing our 10,000 mAh power bank from empty to fully charged in six hours.

It’s compatible with most devices. It has four output ports (one DC, one USB-C, and two USB-A), so as long as you bring the right charging cables, you can charge your phone, Bluetooth speaker, lantern, or other common devices. Plus, a second DC port allows you to attach another solar charger to capture even more power. (As of this writing, the online listings for this charger don’t reflect that it has a USB-C port, but a representative for the company confirmed that this is an error.)

It’s well designed. Throughout our testing, the Allpowers SP012 seemed durable and sturdily built, withstanding hours of outdoor use. It has a strip of Velcro to keep it in a neat bundle when you’re not using it, and a small pocket is handy for storing a few charging cables.

It’s protected against the elements. It also has a IP65 weatherization rating, meaning it’s able to resist damage from dust and other solid particles, as well as splashing or spraying liquids.

It’s made by a reputable brand. Allpowers backs this model with an 18-month warranty, giving you plenty of time to use it and ensure you don’t have a dud. Wwe’ve generally found the company’s customer support to be helpful and responsive, too.

It comes with lots of accessories. Included with this model are four small carabiners (to hang the charger at an angle or keep it from blowing away), five DC adapters (to charge a wider variety of devices), a DC-to-DC cable (to charge a device with a DC port, or to daisy-chain multiple chargers together), car jumper cables (to jump-start a car battery), and a Micro-USB charging cable (to charge a pair of wireless earbuds or another small device).

The Allpowers SP012 is bulkier than some options we tested. When folded, it’s about 4 inches thick, but it’s still small enough to tuck into a backpack or glovebox.

It lacks a built-in kickstand. We found this convenient with some other contenders to more easily tilt their panels toward the sun. However, the Allpowers charger has small loops around the edges that make it easy to hang at the optimal angle (say, from a tent or clothesline), or you can simply prop it up against a car, boulder, or other stationary object.

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This solar charger is one of the lightest we’ve tested, and it’s easy to slip into a backpack. Its rated output is lower than most, but it’s still powerful enough to charge most phones at top speed.

If you’re on a tight budget, the BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger is a great alternative to our top pick at a fraction of the cost (as of this writing). It performed about the same in our power tests—though, since it has fewer solar panels and a lower output rating, it may struggle to charge several devices at once, or even one power-hungry device—and it has similar port options. It’s smaller and lighter than the Allpowers SP012 and just as sturdily built, but it’s less weatherized, and it comes with fewer accessories.

It’s super light and compact. When folded up, the BigBlue measures 11 by 6 by 1 inches, which isn’t much bigger than a paperback novel.

It’s also one of the lightest models we tested, weighing just 1 pound 4 ounces (or about as much as a can of soup). Like the Allpowers model, it has a strip of Velcro to keep it neatly bundled, as well as a small pocket to hold your charging cables.

It punches above its weight in terms of output. This model has four panels to catch the sun’s rays, plus three USB-A output ports so you can charge up to three devices simultaneously.

With a rated maximum output of 28 W, it has less potential for power generation than most models we tested, but that’s still enough to charge a phone or other small device at full power. In our testing, it charged our 10,000 mAh power bank in five hours; like our top pick, it should be able to charge most phones in a few hours.

It’s relatively rugged. This model has a sleek look and feels sturdily built. Furthermore, ours is in great shape after weathering dozens of camping trips, hikes, and other outings over the past four years.

Its IPX4 weatherization rating means it’s protected against water spills and splashes, though it has minimal resistance to dust and other solid particles. Its charging ports are covered by both a cloth flap and a rubber cover (the latter is helpfully connected by a small tether so you don’t lose it), providing extra protection against the elements.

It comes with some handy extras. Like the Allpowers SP012, the BigBlue comes with four carabiners, so you can hang it at an angle using its built-in metal grommets, or attach it to the outside of a backpack for on-the-go charging. To power your gear, it also comes with a USB-C cable.

One of the wonderful things about solar power is its simplicity. The only maintenance most solar panels require is keeping them relatively clean and free of dust. A damp cloth should do the trick most of the time.

To maximize the power output, you should angle the panels correctly. Even if you don’t get the angle exactly right, a rough approximation can noticeably increase your power production. If you want to get the most juice, use an online solar-tilt calculator (we like this one from Footprint Hero) to determine the best angle for the time of year and location. You can then use a protractor to angle your panels accordingly (there are oodles of free protractor apps available for Android and iPhone, or you can use this handy Chrome extension), take a photo of the entire setup on your phone, and try your best to replicate it out in the wild.

Batteries don’t fare well in heat, so you should set your device beneath the panels while it’s charging, or shade it some other way to keep it from overheating and shutting down. We have more guidance on how to safely charge and store batteries.

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If you want a portable solar charger with a built-in kickstand, and you don’t mind that it’s not as weatherized or portable as our top pick: Get the BigBlue 100W Portable Solar Panel.

Like our top pick, it has a rated output of 100 W and four output ports—two USB-A, one USB-C, and one DC—to charge a phone, laptop, and a variety of other devices. It also comes with about as many accessories as that model, including DC and Anderson Powerpole charging cables, car jumper cables, and 10 DC adapters.

It has five large solar panels, and measures 1.3 by 5.8 feet when laid flat. When folded, it measures 1.2 by 1.3 feet, and it’s 2 inches thick. It’s sturdily built, and a built-in handle lets you carry it like a briefcase. It also has a large zip-up pocket that lets you store your charging cables and other accessories, and it offers some additional protection for the output ports housed inside the pocket.

Its two built-in kickstands are easy to extend and prop up the panels at the desired angle, though they’re a bit wobbly. Six grommets around the edges let you hang or mount it (though it doesn’t come with carabiners to do so).

Like our budget pick from BigBlue, it’s backed by an 18-month warranty. Plus, as of this writing, it costs a few bucks less than our top pick.

Its biggest flaws are that it’s heavier than both of our picks, at 9.8 pounds, and that it only has an IPX4 weatherization rating (indicating protection against spills and splashes of water but minimal resistance to dust and other solid particles).

We plan to test the following models against our existing picks this summer:

We also plan to test several third-party adapter cables at that time, including the SolarEnz Solar Connector to DC8mm Adapter Cable and Paekq Solar Panel Connector to DC 8mm Adapter Cable, which can be used to connect solar panels with an MC4 connector to portable power stations with a DC connector.

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This is not a comprehensive list of models we’ve tested. We have removed discontinued models and those that no longer meet our criteria.

The Biolite SolarPanel 100 offers plenty of power for its size and price, and it has a good variety of output options. However, it performed poorly in our power tests, it has no included accessories, it doesn’t list an IP rating, and the build quality is lackluster (it’s made mostly of plastic, and a port cover ripped off during our testing).

The EcoFlow 160W Portable Solar Panel and EcoFlow 220W Bifacial Portable Solar Panel offer less power for the size and price compared with our picks, and their lack of DC and USB ports (they have only MC4 connectors) makes them less versatile. However, if you already have a portable power station with compatible ports (or if you find a good deal on a bundle) and you don’t mind the extra bulk, both models are sturdily built and made by a brand we trust.

The FlexSolar 20W Portable Solar Charger is super light, inexpensive, and weatherized, and it comes with some useful accessories. However, it performed poorly in our power tests, and it’s not as ruggedly built as most contenders (it has no port covers, no fabric casing, and no Velcro closure).

The Goal Zero Nomad 100 offers plenty of power for its size and price, it has a handy built-in kickstand, and it’s made by a brand we trust. However, it performed just so-so in our power tests, it has no listed IP rating, and it doesn’t come with any accessories.

The Hiluckey Outdoor USB-C Portable Power Bank with 4 Solar Panels performed poorly in our power tests, it seems cheaply made, and it has no listed IP rating. Also, the built-in power bank is not very useful—it charges itself before it’ll charge anything else—and since batteries can easily overheat when left in the sun, it seems fatally flawed.

The Jackery SolarSaga 100W Solar Panel offers less power for the size and price compared with our picks, but it’s still a good option if you already have a Jackery portable power station (or if you can get a good deal on a bundle) and you don’t mind the extra bulk.

The Jackery SolarSaga 200W Solar Panel costs and weighs more than twice as much as the 100 W version, and it has no USB ports.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.

Sarah Witman

Sarah Witman is a senior staff writer who reports on powering and charging technology for Wirecutter. She previously worked as a writer, editor, and fact checker for several science magazines. Though she researches and tests chargers for a living, her phone battery is usually low.

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