The Best Solar Power Banks and Portable Chargers

For a panel you can strap to a pack, this one simply makes more power. BigBlue rates it at 28 watts with 25.4 percent conversion, and Outdoor Gear Lab's field work took a dead iPhone to 80 percent in about two hours of direct noon sun. That's roughly the pace of a slow wall charger. For a device running on nothing but daylight, that's plenty.

Three ports matter more than they sound like they should. You get two USB-C and one USB-A, each capped near 5V/3A, about 4.8 amps combined. So a phone, a headlamp battery and a power bank can all drink at once instead of taking turns all afternoon. Owners on multi-day trips tend to use it exactly that way, and it's the reason a single panel covers a whole group.

Cloudy weather is where cheap panels fall apart, and this one hangs on. Monocrystalline cells run 15 to 20 percent more efficient than polycrystalline in low light, according to Outdoor Gear Lab, and owners describe real charging happening under solid overcast on the Alaskan coast. You won't top off a phone in an hour that way. You'll get meaningful power, which is the whole point of carrying a panel.

It folds to about 11 by 6 inches and weighs a pound and a half, so it rides on the outside of a pack without much complaint. Carabiners come in the box. The polymer face shrugs off rain, fog and grit better than the plasticky panels you'll see for less, and there's a small LED that tells you at a glance whether the sun angle is actually working for you.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Heat is the real enemy, and this panel isn't immune. Lay it flat on a hot rock or a car hood and output slides as the surface bakes — several owners describe exactly that fade over a long afternoon. Prop it so air can move underneath, and re-aim it every hour or so.

It's rated IP44, which covers rain and splashes but not a dunk, and the USB junction box isn't sealed the way the panel face is. A handful of owners also report ports getting unreliable after a few dozen outings. If you expect to get genuinely soaked, the SolarPowa 20 below is the safer buy.

It folds to about the size of a paperback and weighs 1.32 pounds, and the included hooks let it hang off a pack lid while you walk. That's the whole pitch. You charge as you move instead of stopping to set up, and by camp your power bank has taken on a useful amount of juice without you thinking about it once.

The IP68 rating is the reason to pick this over the 28-watt model. BigBlue uses a PVDF surface here rather than the usual PET, which resists corrosion and weather far better and roughly doubles the expected panel life. If your trips involve creek crossings, sea kayaks or the kind of afternoon storm that soaks everything strapped outside your pack, that construction earns its keep.

Two ports, USB-A and USB-C, split about 4.2 amps total at 5 volts, and the monocrystalline cells convert up to 24.7 percent. Owners consistently report pulling 2.3 to 2.4 amps in bright sun, enough to refill two 10,000 mAh banks over the course of a day. That's the realistic use case: feed batteries during daylight, then charge your phone from those batteries at night.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Twenty-one watts is genuinely less power, and you feel it under clouds or low winter sun. Some owners report far less output than the rating suggests in less-than-ideal conditions, which is normal for the whole category but still disappointing if you bought expecting 21 watts.

There's no ammeter display here, so you're guessing at sun angle instead of reading it. And like every bare panel, it stores nothing — leave it plugged into a phone and a passing cloud can interrupt the charge mid-session.

Most people asking about solar chargers actually just need a bigger battery. A weekend of phone use, a couple of tablet top-offs, a flight with no seat power — a 20,000 mAh bank covers all of it and never once cares whether the sun is out. INIU claims about four full phone charges or two tablet charges, and owner reports line up with that.

The size is the trick. INIU squeezes the cell into a frame roughly 30 percent smaller than typical 20,000 mAh banks, at about 11.5 ounces. It fits a jacket pocket. Forty-five watts takes an iPhone from 20 to 76 percent in half an hour, and the capacity sits under the TSA carry-on limit, so it flies with you without a conversation at the gate.

The built-in braided USB-C cable is rated past 10,000 bends and doubles as a carry handle, which sounds like marketing until you've dug through a bag for a cable in the dark. There's a flashlight, and it charges three devices at once. Owners who've dropped it down staircases and cracked the shell report it still working fine, which says something about the construction.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Forty-five watts is enough for phones, tablets and a MacBook Air, but it's the floor for laptop charging — a hungrier 16-inch laptop will charge slowly or not at all while you're using it. Our Also great pick handles that better.

There's no solar anything here, so if you're gone longer than two days with no outlet, this is a battery that eventually dies. And a meaningful slice of owner feedback describes units failing early, so register it and keep an eye on it during the return window.

This is the panel for a campsite, a van or a hurricane closet — not a backpack. Consumer Reports found that foldable monocrystalline panels charged devices two to three times faster than all-in-one solar banks, and at 100 watts you're well past the trickle. Pair it with a power station and you can actually run a fridge, a CPAP or a laptop off the sun for days.

Bifacial cells collect light off the back surface too, which Anker says adds up to 10 percent more output over reflective ground like sand, snow or a concrete pad. The N-type cells convert north of 25 percent and hold up better as the panel heats, which is exactly where most panels lose their advantage. One owner with a meter clocked 93 percent of rated output on a hazy day.

The warranty is the quiet reason to spend up here. Anker covers the PS100 for five years and rates it for a 10-year service life, backed by an aluminum frame and an IP68 seal that tolerates rain and mud. The Verge has ranked Anker the most consistently reliable power bank brand across three straight years of testing, with failure rates under 2 percent. That track record is worth something on gear you'll leave outside.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It terminates in XT60i solar cables, which means it's built to charge a power station, not your phone. There's no USB port on it. If you don't already own a compatible battery, this is half a purchase.

Folded, the panel surfaces face outward rather than tucking against each other, and owners note that leaves the cells exposed in a crowded trunk. It also measures over 40 inches on the long side folded, so it lives in a vehicle, not a pack.

Anker backs the PS100 with a five-year warranty and rates the panel for a 10-year lifespan.

If you carry a laptop, this is the bank to buy. Most solar power banks cap USB-C output around 18 to 22 watts, which Wirecutter notes is nowhere near the 45-watt minimum a laptop needs. This one does 65. Tom's Guide found a 20,000 mAh, 65-watt bank takes a 13-inch MacBook Pro from empty to full in roughly 90 minutes — that's wall-charger territory from something in your bag.

It's the natural partner for a panel. Park it in the sun connected to the BigBlue during the day, then charge your phone and laptop from it after dark. That two-piece setup beats every all-in-one solar bank we looked at, because the battery is sized properly and the panel is sized properly instead of both being compromised into one shell.

The built-in USB-C cable is rated past 10,000 bends, and the 20,000 mAh capacity clears TSA carry-on rules. At about 15.5 ounces it's not light, but it's shaped like a thick phone rather than a brick. Owners report charging four flagship phones on one fill, which matches the claimed capacity better than most banks manage.

Anker's reliability record does most of the arguing here. The Verge put the brand's failure rate below 2 percent across three consecutive years of evaluation, and the 18-month warranty means a dud gets replaced rather than argued about. For gear you're depending on in a tent or an airport, that consistency matters more than a few extra watts.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It's the heaviest of the three banks here and it costs meaningfully more than the INIU for capacity you may not use. If you only ever charge a phone, you're paying for headroom that sits idle.

The first full charge takes a long stretch on a low-wattage adapter, and several owners were caught out by that overnight wait. Use a 65-watt charger and it fills in about an hour and a half; use a phone brick and you'll be waiting all night.

Anker includes an 18-month warranty.