My son is looking for a solar panel that he can charge a battery bank or cell phone.  He is deploying next year and wants to take it with him.
I was thinking about a tool up style.  But not sure.
What do you recommend?
Thanks

Also interested.

You need keep in mind that rated numbers are under lab conditions, so always get a bigger panel than you think that you'll need.

Anker makes some well regarded folding panels, PowerFilm makes some milspec roll ups, but he might need a charge controller if he's only going to be charging USB devices.

I have a Blue Sky 29w USB jobbie that's functional, but might be a bit on the heavy side if rucking it around.

Chris

What’s your thoughts on the solar power banks?

G36 DCO Documents Review.


It depends on the size, but isn’t really necessary. Most are larger, not really “packable”, however you can get a good solar panel and a good battery bank.





While I really like Suntactics as they’re really robust, I also have this Big Blue and got one for my son too (hey that rhymes!). He’s deploying to the middle east in January and this is what he’s taking along with a portable battery bank. I would also recommend a small universal battery charger. Oh, he used the Big Blue for a few weeks in JRTC earlier this summer and said it was perfect for charging batteries (phones were confiscated when in the “box”).

Big Blue 28W

The caution is to make sure you have a long enough USB cord to store the battery bank/battery charger out of the direct sun so they don’t overheat.

ROCK6

my experience is that solar panels that size were good for charging NiMH type AA batteries and cell phones 15-20 years ago.  even then, it would take most of the day so you'd want to have several sets of batteries and rotate them so you're charging one set and using another etc, and if you have a cloudy day or rain or something (not sure if that's an issue in the ME) you've got another set on standby.   but these days phones have 16+ Wh batteries.   The goal zero guide 10 kit i used to use was only a 7w solar panel.   Maybe the desert sun does it a lot faster, but I'd look into bigger panels these days.  I'd want something in the 40-60w range which is still portable but less so.   for reference, the "fast charging" specs expect something providing a min of 20watts.   so if your solar is sketchy, 40 is a good starting point, imho.  

i'd look into something like this first though, unless he needs some SHTF survival stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMVD71P2?tag=arfcom00-20

for $40, that stores enough juice to recharge your phone every day for a week and only weighs a pound and a half.  packs a lot smaller than panels.  and you can charge it from an outlet when you have time.  

+1 on the the Big Blue 28 watt

It's more than adequate for the task at hand, but folding panels have an issue with the tiny wires between panels, breaking after heavy use...just the nature of the beast.

For my needs, during hurricane season, the Big Blue 28w and my SunKingDom 14w folder work well in minimal use.

I have two 30w rigid panels joined together for a bit more power and more robust use.

Chris

Here are a few recent threads:

https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/Portable-Solar-Panel-Recommedations/17-706060/&page=1&anc=12117724#i12117724

https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/Looking-for-a-solar-battery-charger-AA-AAA-CR123-/17-705649/&page=1&anc=12110717#i12110717

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Outdoors/Solar-panel-panels/17-705760/?page=1&anc=12113402#i12113402

Went with big blue 28w.
Thanks for the help

I periodically drag out my Goal Zero solar panels and use them to charge the multiple battery packs.

Trick to these solar gizmos is to protect them from the rain/precip, as very few are made to be waterproof.

Make sure to get some feedback. My son will be in the middle east next year; plenty of sunshine for the solar charging

ROCK6

Most quality solar panels are water resistant. The BigBlue is IPX4 rated and my Suntactics are IPX7 rated, meaning they can be submerged, dried out and still work just find (sadly, my favorite American-made Suntactics company folded as they couldn't compete with Chinese stuff and Amazon hosed them).

A couple considerations as mentioned is making sure your device is off the ground and covered from the sun or rain. Get a USB cord long enough to locate in the shade/cover, but not too long as to increase the resistance and make charging slower and less efficient. For battery banks, use dumber banks; those with just a few LED lights and less features as they will drain faster or slow charging.

ROCK6

Tell me about that battery box/charger you have in the pic please!

@ROTCatCU
I assume you're referring to the multicam Thrym CellVault? It's just a battery holder:



ROCK6

I sure will.  My son will b over in the sandbox next year too.

Degrees of water-resistance vary amongst mfrs.  Few mfrs spec water-resistance concerning cable connections, which is an obvious "weak point".

Again, suggest making provisions to "encapsulate" these devices to prevent water/precip issues.

That's a fair point and worthy of consideration. It's just sad to see Suntactics stop product as their solar panels were IPX7 rated; could literally dunk them under water as long as you blew/dried out the connection ports before using, they're good to go. Heck, in one of their tests, they literally shot a hole through the charger, and it still worked, just not as efficient.

Most outdoors "packable" ones are at least IPX4 rated (essentially rated for rain). possibly putting some tape over the USB port connection with USB cord and making sure your device is covered and off the ground...most importantly, you're not getting much charging done in a rainstorm.

That said, I did get a few infrequent showers on the trail and would just throw my pack cover or over the panel until it passed. Much depends on how you use it. If just setting it up and leaving to for the day, you might have more concerns.

ROCK6