Solar charger
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: MF
03-Feb-23
Looking for recommendations for solar charger for 2 guys, we'll be out for 3-4 days at a time over a few weeks.
From: fuzzy
03-Feb-23
What are you charging?
From: MF
03-Feb-23
Should add we'll only be charging phones but will be using OnX.
From: APauls
03-Feb-23
For that use a solar charger is the last thing I'd bring. For less bulk just bring a lithium battery pack that could easily charge a phone 8 times. Recharge it when you're back in power. 100% dependable unlike solar. Heck, if you left your phone on airplane mode it might go a couple days without even needing a charge. As an added benefit a lot of them have the capability to boost a vehicle. A feature I've used many times.
From: Chief 419
03-Feb-23
I recommend an Anker 20000 power bank. You should have plenty of power for a week and won’t have to rely on having enough sun. The charge rate on your phone will be much faster. Look at getting two, one for each of you. It’s also more compact than Solar chargers.
From: bigeasygator
03-Feb-23
Suntactics s-5 is what I have. I use this in conjunction with a lithium battery pack, but only when I'm going to be out over a week and only when I'm backpack hunting. If it's less than a week or if I don't have to worry about carrying my camp on my back, then it's a lithium power bank only. I've used both Anker and Dark Energy and had good luck with both. Anker has models with a bit more capacity.
From: Aspen Ghost
03-Feb-23
The charging will be done during the day so you will need a battery pack/power bank to charge anyway (because you'll be carrying your phone). So you might as well just get a power bank big enough for 4 days use and forget the solar charger.
From: bluedog
03-Feb-23
As already stated....Power banks are the key... I like multiple smaller ones. Like the 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 ones I already have for electric vests etc.
From: Charlie Rehor
03-Feb-23
Last fall in Colorado (8 day hunt) three of us used this Solar Panel to power our Power Banks, phones, InReach minis and headlights. We would power up the Power Banks and Head lights during the day then use the Power banks at night to charge our phones for OnX. Good luck.
From: MF
04-Feb-23
Great info, thanks all.
From: bghunter
05-Feb-23
The portable charges work great. I used them for work and it is amazing how long they will last.
From: JTreeman
05-Feb-23
I agree 4 days there is absolutely no need for a solar charger. Heck I’ve gone 14 with a full charge (phone and inreach) and small (10,000) battery pack. Now granted, I don’t chat with the fam all night or run OnX 8 hours a day, but I honestly don’t find it that hard to manage. One 20000 battery pack each and you should be good for at least 4 days I would think easy.
But that said I can burn though a full phone battery in a few hours in a turkey blind ;)
—Jim
From: t-roy
05-Feb-23
Probably a good thing you can’t send memes on your Inreach, eh Jim? :-)
From: JTreeman
05-Feb-23
From: goyt
05-Feb-23
I did find that if I used OnoX on some of the tracking modes my phone would go dead before the end of the day. I started carrying a small battery pack and cord with me at all times. My partner had his phone go dead on him in the dark this year and he was using it for both navigation and a compass. He got back to camp late and tired.
