Reddit mentions of Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger, PowerPort Solar for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2 / Mini, Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge/Plus, Note 5/4, LG, Nexus, HTC and More
Sentiment score: 8
Reddit mentions: 13
We found 13 Reddit mentions of Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger, PowerPort Solar for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro/Air 2 / Mini, Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge/Plus, Note 5/4, LG, Nexus, HTC and More. Here are the top ones.
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The Anker Advantage: Join the 10 million+ powered by our leading technology.Fast Charging Technology: PowerIQ delivers the fastest possible charge up to 2.1 amps under direct sunlight. 15 watt SunPower solar array is 21.5-23.5% efficient, providing enough power to charge two devices simultaneously.Incredibly Durable: Industrial-strength PET polymer faced solar panels sewn into rugged polyester canvas offer weather-resistant outdoor durability.Highly Portable: Compact size (11 × 6.3in folded or 18.1 × 11in opened) and elastic loops on each corner allow easy attachment to backpacks, trees, or tents. Super lightweight (12.5 oz) and ultra-thin design (0.7in folded or 0.2in opened) make it ideal for long treks.What You Get: Anker PowerPort Solar Lite (15W 2-Port USB Solar Charger), 3ft Micro USB cable, welcome guide, our fan-favorite 18-month warranty and friendly customer service.
Specs:
| Color | Black |
| Height | 11.023622036 Inches |
| Length | 18.110236202 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | October 2018 |
| Weight | 0.771617917 Pounds |
| Width | 0.01574803148 Inches |
I don't know about physically adding a solar charger, if that's what you mean, but you can use a USB solar charger with it. It plugs into the charging port just like any other charger. Here's the one I use when camping: Anker 15w Solar Charger @ Amazon. There's also a 21w panel available, but I've had my 15w one for about 2 years and it works great. It can be used to charge a battery bank, gps, phone, etc.
> I previously used to bring a battery pack that was sized for my estimated usage
...
> That being said, solar panels are unnecessarily heavy.
It sounds like you only brought the minimum amount of battery you thought you'd need. You'd have more "freedom" if you took a bigger battery.
How many mAh worth of batteries can you get from the same weight the solar panels are?
This 15W panel weighs 12.5oz:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS
But for that weight you could get a 20100 mAh battery that'll fully charge an iPhone 7 times.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5RV14Y
I bought these for a week-long tour coming up shortly.
14W solar panel, weighs about 17 oz. My intent is to strap this to my back rack. We will be heading southwest, so the panel may see some shading by my body in the afternoon. Will see how well it works. Anker has a similar version that weighs about 4 oz less.
http://www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Sunpower-Technology-Smartphones-Foldable/dp/B00NGD61GU/
10000 mAh battery, weighs about 6 oz.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Portable-Ultra-Compact-Fast-Charging-Technology/dp/B0194WDVHI/
Panel puts out 5V 2A in direct sunlight.
Battery will charge in about 5 hours in direct sunlight and optimal angles; realistically I seem to get around 75% of a charge in a full day of sunlight.
I can get about 3 full charges of my phone (iPhone 6 plus) from the battery. Most days I need to charge about 60%, so a fully charged battery will give me 4-5 days of recharging.
That means a typical day in good placement will give me enough charge to charge my phone for 3-4 days .. with clouds and rain and less attentive placement, realistically I do a little better than "break even".
If you have access to power every few days - and it's not inconvenient to charge the battery for a few hours - then realistically you could just skip the solar completely. A battery and an AC wall charger will be much lighter than a solar panel.
Edit: I've been charging my phone exclusively by solar, for the last month or so .. just leaving the panel outside at work. It's been working okay, but I think it will work better on tour :)
Your panel uses older cells with an abysmal efficiency rating ~16%. State of art are Sunpower Maxeon cells at 24%.
Here are panels worth buying:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-2-Port-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone/dp/B012YUJJM8/
Smallest and lightest are probably going to be from SunKingdom:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MRTOQYS/
(select the Wattage you want)
If I'm bothering to carry any kind of tech with me, I'll add a ThruNite U1 charger and 3,400mAh 18650 Li-Ion cell. The U1 acts as both a charger (for ANY cell - AAA, AA, C, 18650, NiCad, NiMh, Li-Ion, though not LiPO), and a USB power pack. Connect to your solar charge and you've got a multipurpose energy collection and management system.
Solar charger! You can attach it to your backpack or leave it in your car back at camp (attached to a portable battery pack) and you'll have plenty of juice for the weekend. I have this one but I got it for much less, as it often goes on sale.
Also, this year I'm planning on bringing some of these little guys to give away as trinkets around the polo fields.
If you want to geek out a bit, here's my ideal setup for camping:
This gives you a self-sustaining system with a powerbank to charge other USB devices.
For a light recommendation, the HC30w is good. IMO a headlamp is super useful when camping/outdoors and you can take it out of the headband and use it as a regular right-angle light as well.
Anker stuff is usually pretty good
As for the distance traveled, I don't have a link, but my anecdotal experience is that if you're going around 15 mph it stops tracking your distance. Riding a bicycle seems to be the best way to get distance since cars are too fast and walking/running is slow.
I hope this is the right place to ask my question. My family and I will be traveling to the Philippines in December and my mom brought up the suggestion of bringing electronics (flashlight, radio, etc.) that don't always have to rely on electricity since you never know when you'll lose power.
Since we'll all want to use our phones (iPhones and a Nexus 5x) we'll need an alternative way of charging them. Would you guys recommend purchasing a solar charger like this and purchasing a power bank to go along with it? Or would something like this solar bank charger be okay? It's usually really sunny in the Philippines and the solar panel would be more for emergencies but I just want to make sure that what I purchase will last a long time but also not break the bank too much.
Anker claims their Powercore 20100 is 72 watt hours (pretty close to your estimate of 15 amp-hours at 5 volts or 75 watt hours!).
2 hours of charging per day for 4 days is 8 hours. 72/8 = 9 watts, on average, delivered from your solar panel to your phone.
I bet this one https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ could get you ~9W and it's the same weight as the Powercore 20100.
I have to say, I was skeptical of your thesis when I started this comment, but now I'm on board.
Definitely bring a powerbank and universal surge protector. I have the ones below.
I also brought a solar panel (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS), but I have reliable enough electricity at my site that I gave it to another volunteer who doesn't. It is a life saver for her.
As for language, don't worry about it. Luganda is the largest language group, but you could very easily be placed in a region that speaks another language. Swahili would be good to learn, but again that depends on where you get placed in Uganda.
The language program here is pretty good. Everyone in my cohort passed the requirement. I'm sure that you will too :)
If you have any other questions feel free to DM me.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RVUIXOC (surge protector)
https://www.amazon.com/MAXOAK-50000mAh-Portable-Charger-External/dp/B00YP823NA (powerbank)
Just wanted to share my strategy which, for me, is a good combo of reliability and light weight: I'm using an Anker 15w solar panel in combo with a Power Add 5000
I've tested the duo together, the power bank and the solar panel together work great, the panel isn't too heavy (12.5 oz) and fills my Power Add in the course of a day. The Power Add 5000 is just the right amount for my purposes, (~2 phone charges) and as a safety back-up in case there's no sun, also it is pretty light and compact (~4 oz).
I also have a kindle. Kindles do not require much, depending on which one you have, one full charge can last you a month.
15w solar panel (12.5 oz)
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493231892&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+solar+charger
Power Add 5000 (4 oz)
https://www.amazon.com/Poweradd-Slim-Ultra-compact-Portable-External/dp/B00MWU1GGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493232359&sr=8-1&keywords=Power+add+5000mah
I got this one, seems to work decently for charging my battery packs when off grid. It uses SunPower solar modules, which are generally considered the highest efficiency. It's more than your $30 price budget, but Anker is a good company with good quality products.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ref=zg_bs_2407762011_6
This is the solar charger I had in mind. Yeah you can get those thin glowsticks for a few dollars per 100. I feel like 5-10 of those would be as bright as the water activated light with the benefit of you have a ton, they're even cheaper so you aren't tossing 8$ away every time you use one, even easier to use, can be easily used to mark locations, people, hazards, but they do have their own set of issues like being easier to accidentally activate if stored wrong.