Portable Solar Powered Charger

Product Description

Keep your phone going long past its initial charge when out in the wild by packing this portable solar powered charger. It folds into a compact unit for ... [Read more]

Top Reviews

Better than Nothing
by Skip (3 out of 5 stars)
August 23, 2013

This is the first (and only) solar charger that I've owned. It's not bad, but it doesn't always fully charge its internal battery even being left facing the direct sun for several hours.

My wife and I went camping last week in northern NH, where we anticipated limited cell phone service. With cell phone service going in and out all day, we knew the battery would drain faster, so we needed a charging solution that didn't require starting the car. I bought the SolarMonkey Adventurer specifically so we could keep one cell phone charged in case of an emergency and also to keep my electronic cigarette batteries charged.

We started out with a fully charged battery in the SolarMonkey Adventurer. After charging an electronic cigarette battery overnight, I positioned the SolarMonkey in the campsite facing the sun the next day. With complete cloud cover, the SolarMonkey was fully charged within a couple hours. That night I charged a cell phone. The next day I placed the SolarMonkey in the campsite. It didn't fully charge, but it was also pretty cloudy that day and I had drained a lot of the battery overnight charging the cell phone. That night I charged an electronic cigarette battery and the other cell phone. The next day was sunny and warm - hardly ever a cloud in the sky. I strapped the SolarMonkey to my pack and we went out for a hike. When we returned, I placed it in the campsite for the remainder of the day. It seemed to have lost its will to charge. I left an electronic cigarette battery connected to it for part of the day, then removed that when I realized the SolarMonkey was no longer charging it. I couldn't even fully charge an electronic cigarette battery with it that night and had to resort to starting the car to bring a cell phone back to life.

Overall, it did okay, but didn't perform to my expectations. I expected it to fully charge each day (8-12 hours of sunlight according to the manufacturer), especially on the day there weren't any clouds in the sky. When it didn't, concerns were raised that it wasn't worth the price I paid. But, it is better than nothing and it kept the car shut off for most of the camping trip. I've given it 3 stars just for the simple facts that I like the lightweight, portable design and I can see how it could be very useful on an overnight or weekend excursion in the woods, but I'll always ensure to leave home with a fully charged battery.
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Very disappointed. Thankfully I was able to return it without ...
by Anna Wiktorowicz (1 out of 5 stars)
July 22, 2016

This product DOES NOT charge via solar panels. I could only charge it via USB - that will last you about 2 phone charges. I left it outside in the sun all day and nothing. I was in the wilderness for 5 days and it did not charge during the day at all. As a side note, I went to Peru and had to rely on my friends to take pictures once my phone died. Very disappointed. Thankfully I was able to return it without any problems.
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It is easy to use
by EJB (5 out of 5 stars)
August 3, 2016

This will keep your electronics charged. It is easy to use. It is so rugged that I used it in the middle of the windy, dusty Mongolian desert and had no problems.
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UPS for rpasberry pi
by Carl Eric Codere (codc01@bigfoot.com) (4 out of 5 stars)
June 4, 2017

I tested it by conecting the solarmonkey to a usb power source, and the connecting the solarmonkey to a raspberry pi model B. I powered the rpi and it worked, i then disconnected the power from the solarmonkey and the raspberry pi continued working, so it can be used as an UPS. Might not work with ther raspberry pi's though.
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Five Stars
by charles l rodgers (5 out of 5 stars)
November 22, 2016

Easy to use and exactly what I was looking for.
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Just needs a Charging Guage and it would be a 5 star!
by Michelle (4 out of 5 stars)
July 10, 2014

This is a great product - my only comment would be it needs a screen that tells you how much it is charged. You have either Red for Charging or Green for fully charged but need some way of knowing how well it is doing.

It did seem to charge even in cloudy weather as long as it was bright out - but I could not tell how well it was charging. It comes with everything you need to charge all kinds of phones etc - very good unit and robust. I was up in the Swiss mountains for a week with no access to electricity and we managed to keep 3 phones going. It did seem to drain quickly with my camera but again without a gauge it was not easy to tell if the camera drained it or it was just not fully charged.

All in all very robust - small enough to pack easily and easy to use - very nice unit.
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Waste of cash
by Maison (2 out of 5 stars)
March 20, 2019

It just didn't work when I tried to use it
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Bad charger
by Amanda Green (1 out of 5 stars)
September 21, 2014

This charger is terrible. If its not in direct sun for 12 hrs then also in direct sun while it's charging a device, you can forget about it charging your device. It does not charge my Ipad Air. I tried to return it, but I went over the Amazon 30 day return policy. This entire experience has made me use Amazon less. In the long run, by not taking it back they have just lost exponentially more money. DO NOT buy your solar charger from Amazon. Try REI. They will take it back no matter when, no matter what.
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Two Stars
by NGaut (2 out of 5 stars)
July 8, 2014

Does not charge the i phone 5. Returned with no hassle
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Great for small devices - phone, iPod, etc.
by Mark L (5 out of 5 stars)
December 12, 2013

I like the LED that lights when the unit is charging so I know if I've positioned well to charge the internal battery. After the solar panel charged the internal battery, I was able to use that charge to fully charge 2 Android phones. It's small, portable, fairly rugged construction, and comes in a nice carry case that could be attached to a backpack to charge while you hike if the sun's at your back.

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