Review: 24-watt Foldable Solar Charger by 1byone

Update: This product is no longer available. Click here to find alternative options on Amazon.

The next time you decide to pack up and go on a trip, it may be wise to pack along something that is going to help keep your mobile devices stay charged in case of emergency. You can go the route of using a battery backup of sorts, but what if you could have unlimited charging, even if you’re in the middle of nowhere? This is possible with the use of solar charging and 1byone has a solution for you!

Their 24-watt foldable solar charger is a great source of portable power when you need it–as long as the suns out at least. Our first expectations where skeptical as, although it’s been awhile, some of the solar solutions we have used in the past can’t stay up with today’s power needs. However, 1byone has proved us wrong as we have been using this charger to refresh the batteries of various mobile phones and tablets for about a week now and it’s about the equivalent of plugging into a USB 3.0 port on a computer or a slightly older wall adapter.

We got an average of about 1-1.9A live as it sat there in the sun. There is no battery bank to worry about. As soon as you plug your device in, it begins to charge. This means as long as the sun is shining, you have power. It won’t “quick charge” your device if it supports it, but it will provide the normal charge you have been used to for a number of years now. This is nice!

It does say that it can provide up to 2.4A per port or a max of 3.3A, but we were unable to draw such a max number.

For a little added bonus, if you brought a battery bank with you as well, you can hook it to that so you can collect some juice while not using it for anything else, just in case you need anything at night.

Brand new, it comes folded in a box not much larger than the charger itself and offers a USB to micro-USB cable for any device that you may have that supports it. No other cables are provided (which is to be expected), so if your device supports something other than micro-USB, then you will want to bring any other cables necessary.

Once unfolded it consumes about 31.25-inches x 10.5-inches of space. Since the panels are just over 10-inches tall, it allows for reasonably large solar panels to pull everything off with. The downside, is you won’t be throwing this in your pocket–keeping in mind that anything smaller means it wouldn’t be able to put out enough juice  You will need something larger to toss it into like a backpack, but isn’t overly huge or anything, so it won’t take up much space.

The overall material feels pretty rugged, which means it should be able to withstand a decent amount of wear when being used outdoors. This makes it perfect for camping and similar situations. It doesn’t feel like it is going to start falling apart on you out of nowhere and it includes little rings for your fingers to grab as you are opening it up as it is held closed via good velcro.

Currently it can be found online for about $52.99 which isn’t bad. Upon taking blind votes at how much we thought it costs, there were guesses anywhere from $39.99 and $50, so I think we nailed it close enough and it doesn’t seem to be overly priced as long as it lasts a good number of years worth of use.

Obviously it would be nice if it could output more power as today’s devices continue to grow hungrier for power, but hopefully the other side of the industry will also focus on reducing such demands as well so that these devices don’t lose their energy efficiency.

Our Conclusion

A great solar option that seems to be able to keep up with today’s demands. From smartphones to tablets, it seems to work great and although may seem to be a tad pricey, it does feel as though it will last you quite a long time.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

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