This hasn’t been discussed in some years and the technology has advanced since so…
I have an old Goal-Zero solar charger that I use to charge batteries for my headlamp, flashlights, camp lantern and, occasionally, my E-reader when I do an extended trip. It takes about half-a-day to charge 4 AA-batteries and never fully recharges my Nook.
I do carry a back-up battery or power-box (whatever they call these things) to ensure that my phone has a charge at the take-out so I can call my shuttle but my solar charger is mostly to top off my AA & AAA batteries for my lights.
With the new advancements and companies out there, I am thinking of adding a newer and more powerful solar charger to keep my batteries and Nook charged and after a lot of reviews and vids, I have come down to the Anker and the 1byone. BUT I cannot find anything comparing these two panels. Price and stats seem to be comparable so unless I am missing something, it may come down to a coin-flip.
Anyone have any thoughts as to which would be best for paddling under my noted use?
note: ignore the hype about keeping your phone and I-pad charged which seems to be what the ads focus on.
We have the Anker with three panels(20) i think. Works great. Also got a lot of “editors choice”. We use it at camp, not while in the water. It has loops so you can attach it to your pack, back etc however I didnt check if it is waterproof because i never really planned on strapping it to the deck of boat while paddling.
I’d go to Scott Warren’s web site and take a look at equipment list. He recently completed the Florida CT, 1500mi circumnavigaton of Florida. He used a solar battery charger that was always out on deck.
I use an All Powers 18W to recharge My Qi-Infinity Li-ion batteries that run my cpap machine on multi-day paddle and rafting trips. It does still take a good portion of a sunny layover day to fully recharge one of my batteries, but the solar panel packs well. My rafting buddy did a 21 day Grand Canyon trip using a 60W folding panel to keep his two Li-Ion batteries charged to run his cpap. Lots of good brands of folding solar chargers on Amazon.