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The best portable solar battery charger
By Sarah Witman This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to portable solar battery chargers. Unlike the finite energy stored in a battery pack, a USB solar charger offers a tiny power plant that can generate power for your phone and small electronics to keep them charged when the sun is out—you can even use one to recharge a power bank and save that energy for later. After spending more than 60 hours testing 12 models, we're confident that the BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger is the best portable solar charger for people who need to charge their gadgets and stay connected in an emergency or when they're off the grid. The BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger produces the most power of any portable solar charger we've tested, and it has unique features that make it more versatile and durable, including three output ports (versus two on most other chargers), a weatherproof port protector, and an expansive but lightweight array of panels to catch every last ray of sunlight. Although other models come close to matching it in terms of power, the BigBlue is also smaller and lighter than other options with similar output, so it can more easily fit into a camping backpack, hiking daypack, or emergency kit. If the BigBlue is unavailable, we also like the X-Dragon 20W SunPower Solar Charger. In testing, it was second only to our top pick in terms of how much power it produced throughout the day, and it even produced a little more when the sun was at its peak midday. While this model will charge up your devices just as fast as our top pick, the X-Dragon lacks the convenient extras—such as the additional charging port and the port protector—that make the BigBlue stand out.
