UKC

Hello dear folks. I am planning some longish distance walking on my own, and am wondering about a solar charger for my phone. Can you recommend one? Lightweight is a priority.

Thank you!

Lizzie

I have an Anker Power Port Solar*. We use it to top up the power banks and walkie talkies when family camping. It it's sunny, it seems pretty good, though getting the angle right seems key for good charging Works great hung on the tent while we are out for the day, it's also pretty light.. However...... how long will you be away from power, will you be in the uk and are you intending to attempt to charge whilst walking, i.e. hang it off your sac?

If you have access to power every 5-7 days, a decent power bank would suffice/be better imho.

If you are in the UK and won't have a "base" to set up to charge for a while, I think a power bank would be better imho. 

*https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerPort-2-Port-Charger-iPhone/dp/B012VL20G...

With Solar, especially with british weather; go big. Small solar panel just don't provide enough power. Big ones are obviously bigger and heavier. A seperate powerbank is recommended for solar, as many phones will find it difficult to charge with a variable powersource. Some phones will need to be unplugged and plugged in again after a dip in the sun. Also a seperate powerbank allows you to put the powerbank in a cooler place. I have had powerbanks reject any charge due to high temperature. 

Often i prefer just a powerbank, which is more consitant and a nicer form factor. 

+1 what tjin said. You'll need a powerbank either way.

Also all the combined powerbank/solar chargers I've tried have been crap. A >26000mAh brick should easily do 5 days to a week. More if you use flight mode overnight or where there's poor signal, and spend a bit of time turning off and disabling junk you don't need. 

I have one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012SJEXHQ/ but it's heavier, bigger, and more expensive than a second >26000mAh power bank, and outside of summer it just isn't worth having.

Tl;dr, just buy powerbanks unless you'll be away from power for many weeks.

I bought a powerbank a few years ago with a solar panel on one side and an array of white LED's on the other.   The array of LEDs has proved useful a few times because its much less focussed than a headtorch which is good for things like pitching a tent in the dark but the mini solar panel thing was totally useless.  Only tried it once, and it was doing nothing to fill up the powerbank despite fairly bright sunshine. 

OTOH the powerbank with the solar panel was pretty much the same price as ones without and maybe in extremis if you were stuck with a dead phone and a twisted ankle waiting hours to get enough charge to do anything would be a reasonable option.

Thank you all very much! For what I have in mind it sounds like a powerbank is the answer.

Lizzie