Best solar charger needs to fit the need. I prefer lightweight solar chargers for backpacking, powerful chargers for camping trips and balanced for RV battery. Below is my list of best solar powered chargers for various occasions.
Best Solar Charger
| Image | Product | Rating | Today's Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
My Top Pick  | KingSolar Best Solar Charger
| 9.6 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
Best Portable  | BigBlue Best Portable Solar Charger
| 9.5 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
 | BigBlue Best Camping Solar Charger
| 9.4 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
 | Anker Best Iphone Solar Charger
| 9.4 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
 | Nekteck Solar Phone Charger Reviews
| 9.5 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
 | X-Dragon Solar Laptop Charger
| 9.3 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
 | ALLPOWERS ALLPOWER Solar Charger For RV Battery, Laptop, Portable Generator, 12v Car, Boat battery
| 9.6 | See on AmazonRead Reviews |
KingSolar Best Solar Charger
KingSolar 40W portable solar charger is a dual output voltage charger that has an extremely modern design, highly efficient solar panels, auto current identification of equipment, reliable power supply, durable material used, lightweight, and compact design.
It can efficiently charge your earphone, tablet and cellphone range between 2 to 30 watts. You can connect multiple cellphones and a single tablet over this charger at the same time as it is a 40w solar charger. The foldable solar charger got very efficient Sunpower solar panels, which are up to 23.5% efficient in converting solar energy into electric energy.
It has a control charger that detects the current requirement of the device being charged according to its ampere draw and sets the charging accordingly. It has a dual voltage output of 5v and 18v dc supply USB port and speeds up the charging after identification of current requirement.
- Reliable as has current identification capability
- Very efficient Solar Panel
- Low total power output capacity
The power supply system is highly durable as it has a charge controller that controls and limits the power input to your device. A very lightweight product with only 2.8lb weight, easy to carry as it is a foldable solar panel, and you can fold it out whenever you need to charge your phone. Kingsolar 40w solar charger is made of highly durable product Industrial-strength PET polymer fabric that is attractive, strong, and long-lasting.
Read my detailed blog on best solar charger for backpacking here.
BigBlue Best Portable Solar Charger
BigBlue best lightweight solar charger is designed for charging your mobile phones. It has multiple output ports with a single power supply system, high protection scheme against overheating and short circuits, a very portable and compact size, high energy conversion efficiency, and durable material used.
BigBlue 28w portable solar charger has 3 USB output ports that allow you to charge up to three cellphones at a time making it the best usb solar charger. It has only one power supply output of 5v per 4.98A max, which is great for charging multiple phones or single tablets, but you cannot charge your laptops through this BigBlue solar charger.
It’s charge controller comes with overheating, overcharging, and short circuit protection, which makes it a very reliable product to use to charge your expensive phones.
It is very light and easy to carry as weighs only 1.25 pounds and comes in a folding design. When folded, it has only a 95-inch cube volume, which is slightly more than your iPads.
- High power conversion of 24%
- Best lightweight solar charger
- It can be used for cellphones only
PET polymer is used as a surface that provides protection against occasional water pour and dust, which makes it long-lasting. Its solar panel are very efficient and converts up to 24% of solar energy interaction into electric power, which is literally very high.
BigBlue Best Camping Solar Charger
BigBlue 100W best camping solar charger is one of the high power solar chargers in the market that is extremely durable, has multiple output options for power supply, is foldable into a small pack, with a safety and protection scheme.
This BigBlue solar charger has 100W output that makes it favorable to charge any of your electronic gadgets, whether it is a cell phone, tablet, iPad, laptop, action camera, DSLR, portable power station or any other device.
Its durability is unquestionable, as it is made from Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene, which is corrosion resistance, waterproof, fire resistance, and resistant to other environmental effects.
It has a USB port with 18W power output enough to charge any cellphone, a separate fast charging USB port with 18W maximum power output, and a 60W power delivery type-C port.
- High power solar charger that could charge all electronic gadgets
- It comes with an adapter kit, which caters to any type of charging port
- A bit bulky when unfolded
The good thing about this BigBlue charger is that it comes with a charging adapter kit of 10 different adapters and would cater your many charging need.
It has a quality energy conversion efficiency of up to 22%. As it produces 100W power, its size is slightly bigger, compared to other solar chargers when fully unfolded, but when folded, it makes a small pack with a rubber handle that is easy to carry.
My post on Best Solar Charger for Camping here.
Anker Best Iphone Solar Charger
Anker 21W best iPhone solar charge is the most compact and portable charger that offers reliable and fast charging through multiple output ports. Anker 21W Solar charger has Sunpower solar panels, which are very efficient and able to convert 21.5% to 23.5% solar energy into electric power.
They have two power supply options of USB port and a Micro-USB port that offers a bit of mobility. This solar charger offers high-speed fast charging and can speed up the charging process by raising amperes to 3amp maximum.
- Very compact and portable solar charger
- Multiple charging output ports
- Best solar charger for iPhone
- Doesn’t support many tablets and iPads
PET polymer surface makes it durable, and can be used outdoors, and is weather-resistant up to some extent, but you will have to be careful to not put it out in extreme weather conditions as might not sustain that.
Anker 21W solar charger has stainless eyeholes, which can be used to hang it wherever you can, and that would not affect it. The package comes with a 3ft Micro USB cable.
Nekteck Solar Phone Charger Reviews
Nekteck 28W best solar solar phone charger reviews embrace it’s highly efficient energy conversion panels, durable, multiple power output ports, high technology mechanism for controlled charging, attractive look, and compact size.
Nekteck 28 Solar Power charger is specifically designed for charging your smartphones. It has two USB power output ports that supply power of 2.4 to 4 amperes at 5 volts. That is enough to charge your camera, smartphone, and tablets.
It comes with two hanging hooks, and you can attach that to your backpack, a very light product that weighs 1.44 pounds and is available in a very compact size.
- Efficient and highly compatible
- Appreciable customer service by Nekteck
- Charges your smartphone with steady voltage and current supply
- Small power output can’t be used to charge laptops
The product is made from PET polymer fabric which makes it weather-resistant and provides protection against occasional water pour, wetness, or fog. Nekteck 28 solar charger runs in extreme temperatures, either it is winter or summer, efficient working compatibility in all weather conditions.
X-Dragon Solar Laptop Charger
X-Dragon 40W solar laptop charger has current adjusting technology, high-efficiency solar panels, dual port output and dual output dc power supply, environmental effect resistance, protection scheme, and the package comes with multiple cables making it the best solar laptop charger.
This X-Dragon 40W solar charger has a smart IC system that adjusts the current drain according to the equipment need, which makes it a highly reliable project to charge your expensive electronic smart gadgets.
High-compatible PET solar panels are installed that convert up to 23.5% of solar energy interaction into electric power. It has a dual output for two output power supplies. The first is 5v per 2A for your cellphones and tablets, second is 18v per 2A for your laptop.
In ideal sunlight conditions, it can produce the power of having current at 2.8 amperes. Its charge controller comes with protection against load surge, voltage surge, and short circuits.
- Quality and steady power output for laptop and tablet
- Long-lasting
- A bit bulky
PET solar panels are well rugged and attached through high-quality oxford fabric both are weather-resistant and long-lasting, hence increasing the life of this product.
The package comes with multiple laptop connectors, USB cables, and DC to DC cables which solves many charging adapters issues for you.
ALLPOWER Solar Charger For RV Battery
ALLPOWER 100W solar charger comes with multiple output ports for multiple power supply system, highly efficient Solar panels, eyeholes that allows you to hang and attach them at different places, a pack with various gadgets, powerful and extremely techy design making it the best solar charger for RV battery.
It has two USB ports that give 2.4 amperes at 5 volts, enough to charge your RV battery, smartphones and tablets. It has 1 DC output port of 5 amperes at 18 volts, which sits perfectly to charge your laptops and any other high-watt electronic gadget.
It is light compared to other solar chargers of the same power, it is 4.73 pounds, and when folded, can be a small hand pack to carry. You can hang it as it comes with eyeholes, and even when unfolded doesn’t take a lot of space.
- High power & Highly Efficient for RV battery
- It can charge multiple RV batteries at once
- Not much portable
The package comes with multiple laptop connectors, DC cables, USB cables, and other types of adaptive cables to solve your charging issues.
Read my guide on best solar fence charger here.
What Is a Solar Charger
A solar charger is a portable electric gadget that has multiple solar panels forming a solar array and a charge controller. Small solar panels are installed at its top that converts photon‘s energy into a dc power supply that goes through a charge controller, usually with multiple outputs, which can be used to charge your cell phones, power bank or any other electronic gadget.
Solar charger produces 5/18v dc at different amperes that are supplied to the electronic gadgets for charging through a built-in charge controller.
Modern chargers can have multiple output voltage and amperes, suitable to supply different kinds of electronic appliances. These are perfectly designed for charging lithium-ion batteries and lithium-polymer batteries, which are mostly used in our electronic gadgets. Although, it can even charge lead-acid batteries too.
Why do solar cells need an inverter? Read here.
How To Select The Best Solar charger
There are multiple details to check out before buying a solar charger, but before going for an inspection of solar chargers in the market, make sure what you need and why you need them. If you know why you need a solar charger that would solve half of your problems.
- For which device you are looking for a solar charger? Some chargers fit with smartphones only and are cheap. Some chargers can charge any electronic smart gadget having multiple options and output supply and are expensive. So, get to know for which product you need a solar charger.
- Check the power output of the solar charger. It is necessary to read the power output of your solar charger before buying. High power output in watts such as 100W means you can charge multiple devices at once, and a charger close to 20-30watts would be good for charging multiple smartphones but a single tablet or iPad.
- Weather Resistant charger are strongly recommended. A quality solar charger is one that is weather resistant. As you are going to place it outdoors for solar energy absorption, it must be weather resistant. So, that it doesn’t get affected by dust, water, high and low temperatures.
My guide to best 3000 watts inverter here.
Read my guide on solar energy pros and cons here.
Solar charger Maintenance
For any electronic product, there is not much to do in maintenance, especially when it is solar technology related. There are a few maintenance tips for your solar charger as follows.
- Stay Careful to its prescribed limits. All you have to do is be careful with its given limits. Don’t charge many devices at once, even when it has multiple ports. Always keep total power output in your mind, and don’t try to over drain it as that can damage both your solar charge and the device.
- Clean them before every use. Always keep it clean, don’t clean it with too much water, but strong and dry fabric. Always check that your device is connected well through ports, otherwise, it might heat up.
- Don’t challenge its weather resistance much. Even when it has weather-resistant fabric and surface, do not challenge it much as it will lessen its life in the process. As it won’t charge in the rain so keep it inside and clean it before and after every use.
My guide to best flickering flame solar lights here.
Read how to clean battery terminals here on my blog.
Solar Charger Vs. Power Bank
Solar chargers may or may not come with attached battery but solar power banks have built in battery to hold charge. Having the battery attached is an advantage and drawback at the same time. Solar power bank’s capacity to deliver is limited to it’s built in battery size while solar chargers can charge any size of battery with the right connector.
| Feature | Solar Charger | Solar Power Bank |
|---|---|---|
| Steady Charging | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in battery | No | Yes |
| Charge Controller | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Affordable | Cheaper |
| Power Output options | Multiple outputs | Single or few |
| Power input efficiency | High | Low |
| Weather Resistance | High | Low |
| Power output quality | High amperes | Low amperes |
| Auto current adjustment | Yes | No |
| Compatibility | All electronic gadgets and devices | Smartphones only |
Read my guide on inverter vs. generator here.
Choose the best solar charger based on your need and never push it through it’s limit. It’ll serve you good for years. My list here to help you get the most efficient chargers for long term use.
