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I hiked the AT last year and saw some people using these solar battery combo things in the beginning. Never after the first month. They're absolutely useless.

To get any sort of meaningful charge in a decent amount of time, you need something at least this size, and the lightest I found was the Brunton Solaris Series. I personally own the Brunton 4 watt, and have used it occasionally, but it still takes hours of sitting in the sun for any meaningful charge.

The best solution for traveling/hiking/portable power is to just use a rechargeable battery like Anker's 5600mAh. It gives roughly 2.5 full charges on an iphone, weighs less than any of the solar panels (including OP's), can be fully recharged (again, providing multiple charges to your phone) in a couple hours while eating lunch, and even has a backup flashlight if you need it. Or use two, or a larger one like this 13000mAh. That's a solid 5, maybe 6 full iPhone charges for less than 11 ounces.

On the AT, I started with a combo of the brunton panel and the anker battery. The panel was strapped on the back of my pack all day, but mostly not in direct sunlight. That combo worked for the most part (on sunny days), and kept me charged. But then I wanted to cut weight and decided that even the panel could be sent back home, because the battery alone would hold me for the few days between towns (being able to recharge it). So most of the trek was done with a single Anker 5600mAh. As for iphone use, I mostly just took pictures and sent texts. I did not normally use airplane mode, but did turn off wifi/bluetooth. I also just didn't use the phone a lot in general, and certainly not the battery-draining gps. Other than that, there wasn't any special battery management.

tl;dr: Unless you're literally not going to be in contact with civilization for more than several days, use a battery. And if you are off the grid, use a much larger solar panel.

*edit for some clarification

twice the output, still less cost. no speaker or battery pack though.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3OL5U8/

4 watts and a 3aH battery seems like a bad deal to me.

Here is a 8 watt solar panel for $29 or here is a 14 watt solar panel for $60.

Then throw in a 10ah usb battery for $25.

I have a similar usb battery to that and it charges my nexus 5 about 4 times on one charge.

Anker® 14W Dual-Port Solar Charger with PowerIQ™ Technology by Fantasia Trading LLC http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_gxfpub0A4GZGN

> anker

I second the Anker. I have the 10,000mah version and it has saved my neck several times. They have a 20,000mah model now! I'm also eying their solar panel charger:

http://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Dual-port-Charger-USB-charged-Including/dp/B00E3OL5U8

I'm not yet quite sure when or where I would use it. Just seems like a good idea to have some solar power around just in case.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker%C2%AE-Dual-Port-Charger-PowerIQ-Technology/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419822616&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+solar+charger

cheaper and better than most posted here.

How about a solar charger? This Anker 14W solar charger is in your price range and has great reviews. It's a cool gadget AND it ties in with his love for fishing, since this would be a great way to keep his phone charged while he's out on the water!

http://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Dual-port-Charger-USB-charged-Including/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397104453&sr=8-2&keywords=anker+solar+charger

I got one of those to try out on the farm this year. I've used it a little so far and when it's got direct sun it charges my phone pretty quickly.

I bought this for $47 a few weeks ago and its amazing. I think there is a coupon code out there floating around...

http://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Dual-port-Charger-USB-charged-Including/dp/B00E3OL5U8

Anker makes some pretty great stuff that I've used for field exercises for a while now. I picked up an external battery and a solar charger for about a hundred bucks total, and they're pretty fantastic for this sort of thing. The battery can charge an iPhone 4 from dead to full 6-8 times on a single charge, and can be charged off the wall when you have access to an outlet. The solar is a just-in-case measure.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3OL5U8

Big fan of Anker but it might be too bulky to walk around with.

Thanks for the advice! I recently bought this bad boy for $30 on Amazon and it'll recharge my phone a few times during Roo. I've already added this little guy to go with it. I doubt I'll need all that power, but it'll definitely help my buddies recharge their electronics. And who knows, maybe some fellow bonnaroovian will need a charge.

Ok, here are my favorites:

When you just have to know how long it is...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SG7PIE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you just have to see it in the dark...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GTAPSO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you just have to cook something, anything...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When nothing else will do...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LUCXB8A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you need to brighten up your life...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00II1MN5I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...but would prefer to do it remotely...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRXRD6Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

... but would prefer a 3 dimensional view on things...

http://www.makergear.com/products/m-series-3d-printers

..if only those darn batteries would hold up...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IBDOB5I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

... then again there's always that light bulb...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JM72W6C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

... or that cool solar pack...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3OL5U8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and if all else fails...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AX49VBW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

lots more to choose from, but out of time for tonight!

Not sure about your budget but Anker makes some pretty solid chargers here's an example

I use a New Trent waterproof battery pack myself (12000mah) but my buddy swears by his Anker solar charger.

I bought one of these last year for 'Roo. It has two USB charging ports, but no built in battery. Between that and an external battery I was charging off it I was able to keep my group of three's phones charged, as well as the neighbors who used it.

Hello, I do a lot of outdoors activities and I'm needing a solar baterry charger for mi mobile phone and action camera.

Probably I'll get one from decathlon, but I'm not sure which one, could you recomend me one?

• Option 1
  
• Option 2
  
• Option 3
  
• Option 4
  
  I've been also recomended this one, but amazon doesn't ship to spain.
  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_gxfpub0A4GZGN

I'd go for one of those rollable/foldable solar mats with USB output. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Port-Portable-Foldable-Outdoor-Technology/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405666095&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+usb

I have that Anker battery pack, it's awesome and rock solid. They also make a foldable solar panel for ~$70 that's supposed to be pretty good and can charge your pack.

A gopro is a good choice since they are very durable and waterproof if kept in the plastic shell

Option 1: Bring a bunch of batteries (annoying and probably expensive)

Option 2: Gopros charge over USB, bring a small solar panel USB charger to keep it topped off, something like this one looks decent and the internal battery alone would charge a gopro many times over even without the solar panel

Or if you want a really beefy panel that can keep the gopro plus a few phones charged have a look at this one

I live in an apartment complex in the tropics. Setting up solar for my unit isn't really...possible, but I have a lanai that gets 11+ hours of intense direct sunlight every day.

Would there be some way to link a bunch of these together, plug in a usb -> AC adapter and power a rig?

I got this http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Port-Portable-Foldable-Outdoor-Technology/dp/B00E3OL5U8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405968286 and then found a usb charger for my camera battery.

Power banks like that are usually capable of being charged through a wall outlet, or through larger solar arrays like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E3OL5U8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1420386439&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=51c7QRDDVnL&ref=plSrch

What is your phone's battery capacity and how often do you charge it?


Keep in mind, the energy required to charge your phone is minimal. Around 1 kWh a year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/09/07/how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it/