Solar Panel for Camping?

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Breck

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Hello, I am looking for a solar panel for hiking and camping, one that I could sling on the back of my hiking backpack. My needs are a powering my phone, perhaps an ipad, some hiking equipment, and rechargeable batteries, all of which would require more power than a single brick solar charger. Has anyone used this model and have an opinion about it? Thank you!
 
Many years ago I got a smaller X-Dragon foldable charger like this. It works well. Since mine is smaller it only has the 5v USB charging option. I got a USB voltage and current meter and it performs within its stated specs.

I see no reason why this larger one wouldn’t work for what you want it to do. It’s also nice that it comes with the extra cables to give you extra hook-up options.
 
What kind of time period are you thinking about?

You really need to be using electronics a lot, for days, until it becomes worth it to start recharging them from solar while camping, compared to just plugging them into a lithium power pack.
 
Many years ago I got a smaller X-Dragon foldable charger like this. It works well. Since mine is smaller it only has the 5v USB charging option. I got a USB voltage and current meter and it performs within its stated specs.

I see no reason why this larger one wouldn’t work for what you want it to do. It’s also nice that it comes with the extra cables to give you extra hook-up options.
Thanks!
 
Many years ago I got a smaller X-Dragon foldable charger like this. It works well. Since mine is smaller it only has the 5v USB charging option. I got a USB voltage and current meter and it performs within its stated specs.

I see no reason why this larger one wouldn’t work for what you want it to do. It’s also nice that it comes with the extra cables to give you extra hook-up options.

Here is the model I had in mind:
 
Here is the model I had in mind:
It won't allow me to post an amazon link so it is a
X-DRAGON Solar Charger, 70W Foldable Solar Panel Charger (5V USB with SolarIQ + 18V DC+ Parallel Port) Compatible with Notebook, Portable Generator, car Battery, Cellphone, Tablet, and More
 
Many years ago I got a smaller X-Dragon foldable charger like this. It works well. Since mine is smaller it only has the 5v USB charging option. I got a USB voltage and current meter and it performs within its stated specs.

I see no reason why this larger one wouldn’t work for what you want it to do. It’s also nice that it comes with the extra cables to give you extra hook-up options.
Was it this one?
X-DRAGON Solar Charger, 70W Foldable Solar Panel Charger (5V USB with SolarIQ + 18V DC+ Parallel Port) Compatible with Notebook, Portable Generator, car Battery, Cellphone, Tablet, and More
 
No, much smaller and only usb.

2D1AE09B-42DD-456B-9CB3-BD29C0125A0A.jpeg
 
Things have sure changed since I used to go backpacking. My only electric device used to be a flashlight. And given the cheap plastic construction and the fragile incandescent bulbs, the thing was usually broken within 24 hours, leaving me with zero electrical devices.

Personally, I would try to cut down on the electronics I was carrying, not increase my power generation status. And for the devices I felt I couldn't get rid of, I'd carry a Li-Ion powerbank or two to charge them with. A solar panel setup large enough to be even marginally useful is going to be a deployment nightmare IMHO. Large. Heavy. Fragile. Awkward. Time consuming. Expensive. I can maybe see a use case if you were stationary for long periods, but not so much if you're moving around hiking under tree cover, in a direction not pointing the panels toward the sun, in the rain, etc.
 
Of course. I just saw mention of carrying an iPad while backpacking and that got me thinking about things.

I am happy to carry electronics while camping. It's part of the fun for me.

But you can could use the ipad for a couple hours a night, for three to four days before you needed to recharge....which you could do about three times off a decent battery bank.

Which is why I say it really matters how long term we are talking here.

Also...the whole having to keep it in the sun thing is a problem for me so I have a biolite camp stove, which will charge your devices from burning twigs, which I prefer since I'm using fire anyway so I may as well get power from it.
 
How many solar panels does it take to charge an iPhone?


1 hour in the sun will give you this much usage (hours)
3.5 Watts (3.5 Watt Kit)6 Watts (6 Watt Kit)
iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, 4, 4S2 hours3.5
iPhone 623.5
iPhone 6 Plus1.753
iPhone 723.5
 
… have a biolite camp stove, which will charge your devices from burning twigs, which I prefer since I'm using fire anyway so I may as well get power from it.

CampStove 2+
Electricity Generating Wood Camp Stove

4.5

(137)
Write a review
Turn fire into electricity with BioLite's award-winning stove. Patented combustion technology creates a vortex of smokeless flames for a portable campfire that can cook your meals and charge your gear, all at the same time. Leave the gas canisters behind and unlock the potential of the sticks and twigs around you.

  • Charge phones, lights, and more with 3W of power
 
I am happy to carry electronics while camping. It's part of the fun for me.

But you can could use the ipad for a couple hours a night, for three to four days before you needed to recharge....which you could do about three times off a decent battery bank.

Which is why I say it really matters how long term we are talking here.

Also...the whole having to keep it in the sun thing is a problem for me so I have a biolite camp stove, which will charge your devices from burning twigs, which I prefer since I'm using fire anyway so I may as well get power from it.

How long would it take the biolite stove to charge that battery after its been drained?
 
How long would it take the biolite stove to charge that battery after its been drained?

I've never used it to fully charge a phone myself, I usually just plug it in while I'm cooking and replace whatever power I've used during the day, its pretty easy to add 20% or so to the battery in the time your cooking a meal.

Recharging the portable battery pack I use would be....all night, at least as its a 20k mAh battery, enough to fully charge my phone ten times.

Primarily, the best use of the camp stove, is as a stove. Its a little blast furnace when its running and can easily heat metal red hot. But it does let you top off your phone at the same time your cooking for 'free'. You could generate as much power as you wanted with it but personally I would find it tedious to keep feeding the fire for the number of hours it would take to recharge a 20kmAh battery pack.

If I thought I needed charge my phone more than ten times while on any particular camping trip, I would bring a folding panel, but its not a situation I run into.
 
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How long would it take the biolite stove to charge that battery after its been drained?
The Biolite stove says it puts out 3 watts. That is not much power. Less than half of what the original USB 1.0 chargers could put out (7.5 watts). Note that even though USB 1.0 allowed up to 7.5 watts, most chargers were 5 watts back in those days. So unfortunately, the 3 watt Biolite charging capability would be only slightly better than 1/2 of the worst plug-in USB charger from 14 years ago. I don't think the Biolite would be a reasonable way to charge totally dead batteries, it would take too long. It might be useful to keep a battery topped off at the end of the day if the device had not been heavily used.

USBcharging.jpg

The Biolite stove goes for $149 according to their website. And it puts out 3 watts and also includes a 3200mAh capacity internal battery. Compare that to a powerbank I bough last year that has 10,000mAh capacity and puts out 20 watts, does both PowerDelivery and QuickCharge fast charging, and only cost me $15.95 (on sale - normal price was just shy of double that however).The powerbank easily fits into a small pocket and weighs very little. So if you're in the market for both a stove and a charger, the Biolite is interesting. But if you're just after a charger, I don't see a great fit for the Biolite or even a solar panel. My choice would be a powerbank, unless you're looking for a stationary setup.
 
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