UKH

I keep thinking of buying a solar charger, for out where camping is necessary, or bothying. So what is the best balance between speed of charging, capacity and weight?

Can't help directly, but this makes interesting reading - https://www.tigermobiles.com/blog/best-portable-solar-chargers/  - particularly -

"Solar charges are expensive (more expensive than regular chargers or power banks). They’re fairly inefficient too, they take a long time to charge from the sun, can only be charged up when there actually is some sun, and tend to charge phones pretty slowly.

All this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy one. If this is the only way to get power to your phone then you should certainly get one. However, if there’s another option for you (like a power bank or even just a bigger battery smartphone) then you’ll almost certainly be better off with that other option."

Dave

I’ve just been looking at them for a week or so van camping, so I can save the leisure battery for the fridge and lights.

I decided that they all sounded unreliable and very slow, I got an Anker 20,000mAh powerbank without solar charging, it’s heavyish  but should do 6 charges, so unless you need more than that I wouldn’t bother with solar.

I have the Addtop HI-S025, bought for extended off-grid van trips. It seemed to be the best bet when I looked for a budget option with good reviews. I'm no expert on the subject.

But do you really need solar charging for bothying? How long are you going to be away for and how much charging capacity do you need?

Mine is 530g with 25000mAh battery and 2 x 2.1A outputs (so not enough for a rapid charge but ok for most situations). On a week away in summer, the solar kept it fully charged while charging 2 phones. I haven't been away for long enough to test in winter.

If I was only going to be away for a weekend but weight was a factor, I would forget about solar and get something lighter.

I used to have a little one, years ago in the days of small Nokia mobile phones without big screens etc. It was very very very very slow. Basically useful for eventually getting 4% battery (after a while) for an emergency call. And it was a decent product. You could get one 4x the size (still not massive) but on a modern phone, it has more charging work to do. Powerbanks are the way forward I think, depending on your use. I use powerbanks at weekend music festivals, a medium and a small will see me through 96 hours (also being judicious with airplane mode and dimming the screen and minimising use) 

camping or bothying you’ll probably get a lot more from powerbanks; despite judiciously minimising use, at a festival I am turning on and off frequently to contact friends for meeting up, and other trivial stuff. In the wilds I guess you can minimise use even more 

also consider finding a phone known for being good on battery life. This example is irrelevant now but three years ago I got a Lumia 640 which at that time was perfect for this sort of thing. I assume there is some Android alternative , low spec and low demand 

If you are going to be out of signal range then simply turn on flight mode. Any phone trying to find a signal wastes more energy than one with a strong connection.

My mid range android phone lasted 8 days on a trek abroad with it only being used for photos during the day and turned off at night. A small power bank should do the trick for most week long trips.

One issue with solar chargers is that the voltage often drops below the voltage that your phone will accept. 

If you're going to get one, bet is to get a small power bank that is designed to allow trickle charging to make the most of the available sunlight, then use that to change your phone.

I use the Anker Powerport Solar for 3 months at a time in the van.  Bought Anker because of all the online claims of brilliant customer support and warranty.  Not that I have needed that yet.

In European sun the panel charges up a 20000mAh power pack in hours not days.

Agree with above that sometimes the smart power switching in phones, or bat packs shut off, so that things aren't charging when you think they are.

I have a little £8 USB power (V and mA) monitor that plugs in series so you can see how much juice is going in and/or if devices shut down.

And I have 2x 20000mAh bat packs to cycle between.

For me the solar panel is really useful and not the gimmick I thought it might be.  But I have no other power - other than via the cig lighter socket when I'm driving (which is not often).

Thank you, and thank you to the others for replying.

So choosing a powerbank is the main thrust, I suppose. I have a couple of freeby ones, such as the one which is currently charged up from my laptop, but it is only 2200 mAh, and gives out a current of 1 amp when being used to charge something else.

So is the Anker the best powerbank to be packing in my rucksac, or do I keep it for the van, and charge things prior to heading across the hills/peaks? Possibly there is a compromise that is a quarter of the size of the Anker. (I am not averse to Anker, as I think that the bluetooth speaker made by them, that I possess is brilliant).

I liked the idea of a solar powered charger, due to having a power source for it, when the light allows, away from the road, and it sounds environmentally friendly, though now I'm not so sure, if you allow for the downside of the manufacture of i,t and the nature of its storage etc.

So not as straightforward as I had hoped for....

Thank you Bruce. So with your modern day AVO meter, what current does the solar charger run at when in reasonable sun? I know that the powerbanks that I have charge at 3/4 Amp(750 mA) and 5 volts.

Plus what sort of cost are the Anker and its battery packs?

I just bought all items of Amazon, where as you know, the price varies day by day.  The bat packs are always about £27-30 ish

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerCore-20100-20000mAh-Technology-Black/dp...

and the Solar panel about £55 ish although currently £60!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerPort-2-Port-Charger-iPhone/dp/B012VL20G...

But there are plenty of alternatives.  I just liked all the good reviews about no-question replacements from Anker if things went wrong.

The modern day AVO is currently £9

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-Monitor-SmartCharge-Chargers-Panels/dp/B0...

In good sun I get about 1.5A charge current.  But the devices, even the batteries will sometime limit what they take to about 800mA to an Amp or so.  So having multiple USB outs (from both the panel and the power monitor) is useful to plug in 2-3 devices and exploit all of the available 1.5 amps.  

eg. I have a £10 ASDA bluetooth speaker (which sounds great) but will only take about 100mA at a time - ever!

I should add that I don't have a leisure battery in the van.  In this age of USB-based power for every kid on earth, conventional 12V systems are old skool and relatively costly.  I just use the 5V stuff mentioned above, plus lighting from cheap Decathlon LED lanterns, all USB 5V. Spent the winter in Spain running lighting, phones, camera, mini guitar amps and recording gear etc all from 5V.

Ehm, sorry to disappoint, but that's not really a solar charger, it's just a power bank with a little solar panel that's mostly just for show. They state the panel has 5W - that would be in best conditions, at noon, on the equator, in central Africa. There's almost no way it would actually charge the internal battery in actual use. These hybrids of small solar panels and power banks are essentially just power banks with extra weight.

For the OP, you need at least 21W for the panel to be any useful, as you will never get the full advertised power. Positioning is the key, if the angle is not 90 degrees to the sun, the power drops quite a lot. You should be prepared to charge during midday stops and forget about putting it on your backpack like the advertising photos show. Any interruptions in the sunlight (clouds, shadows, angle changes), a phone might stop charging altogether because the voltage protection kicked in. You would need a power bank anyway.

You might be better off with just a beefy powerbank. Solar panels are still great, but more for vans (a big 100W panel obviously works much better in suboptimal conditions) or basecamp situations, when you can afford to leave it around during the midday. Not so much for general hiking.

If purchased together the battery pack and solar pack are on offer through Amazon for £71 at the moment, in case anyone was considering buying them.👍

James 

I've been using a Cheotech solar charger, 4 panels approx 100mm square, in bright sun it'll charge my phone in approx 3 hours. I find it best used to charge a small Anker power bank which it fully charges in slightly overcast conditions in around 6 to 8 hours. This then gives 2 full charges to my phone

Thank you for that information.

Practically: How much do the solar charger and the Anker power bank weigh altogether? How does that compare with the weight of the presumably heavier Anker power bank mentioned further up this thread? (Anyone?) Then of course cost is a consideration?

How do power banks and chargers fit in with the idea of recharging GPS devices, either watches, or dedicated devices, for say use, in the Alps? (So far I've navigated with older technology, i.e. map and compass (mainly), and my friend's altimeter occasionally.) I know mobile phone charging was my original thought, and that they provide some GPS homing, but probably at a greater battery usage cost (certainly in the case of I-Phones that I have used).

All of that information hopefully will be useful. Thank you.

Mind you, by the time that I get organised with this stuff, and possibly got time off for going outdoors, then a further set of restrictions will have obtained to control the next wave of viral mayhem...

:-}

Don't have scales to hand as on holiday and relying on Choetech & Anker both holding up well

I'd guess both weigh in at less than 500g combined

I bought a Brunton solar charger for my phone, mostly on a whim out of a bargain bin in Blacks. I'm on the second one now and neither have registered any attempt to charge my phone, even sat in direct summer sun.

So I use a TechNet 18,000mAh pack, which is good for several charges - and is surprisingly fast, too!