But once it runs out of battery or you go off the grid, you’re out of luck.
That’s where the newAnker 515 Portable Solar Panelcharger comes to save the day.
Phones and battery packs eventually run out of juice.
Who needs a wall outlet when I can recharge my phone with the sun, right?
Then, use that battery to recharge your gadgets at night or when the sun goes down.
Here’s everything you’re gonna wanna know.
It has a durable fabric and plastic design and feels well made.
Several metal buttons hold it shut, and more buttons keep the kickstands in place.
Once you unbutton everything, it unfolds into a four-panel layout with three flexible solar panels.
Unfortunately, there are no USB-C ports, so you’ll need to use an older large USB-A cable.
And while I love that idea, Anker didn’t add a strap to attach it to your bag.
There are reinforced holes on the ends, so I guess I could use some carabiners.
There’s not much to the design, and that’s fine.
I don’t need or want anything fancy here, as it’ll just be sitting in the sun.
Setup & Use
In terms of setup, you’ll be charging in about 30 seconds.
Then, plug in your phone or charger and let it do its thing.
There’s no on or off switch.
You just plug in and wait for the circuit to pull some power from the sun.
Two built-in kickstands unsnap and fold out.
This makes setup fast and easy and delivers the perfect angle for maximum sun exposure.
There’s no built-in battery, though, and it can’t store power.
The light turns red if the unit is overheated or has an issue with your cable or machine.
In the image below, it is blue, but it’s possible for you to barely tell.
However, I did experience the red LED when I used the solar panel on a 112-degree day.
It overheated and stopped working for a few minutes.
Most people don’t live in the deathly heat of Las Vegas, so you should be fine.
I never saw the red light again, but I also didn’t test it on such hot days.
I really like that the circuit box and charging ports are around the back, not the front.
Plus, that should help prevent it from getting too warm and shutting off.
While I love the lightweight and folding design, you must keep that in mind during use.
If it’s a windy day, it’ll easily blow over and stop charging.
Laying it flat helps, but the kickstands could be a little heavier when you need an angle.
Generating Power & Charging
Now to what you’ve all been waiting for.
How well does it generate power, and does it actually recharge my phone and portable battery?
More importantly, how fast is it?
The Anker solar charger gave my phone 35% more battery after 40 minutes.
That’s pretty impressive.
A little while later, I was sitting at 100% with a full battery.
Again, not the fastest, but that’s certainly not bad either.
Especially if you’re out in the wilderness without a wall outlet.
The next day I had similar weather conditions but a bit more clouds.
I connected myAnker 20,000 mAh portable battery, which was completely dead.
That’s enough to charge at least four smartphones.
Remember, this isn’t a set it and forget it like your home wall charger.
Depending on your space, this should be easy, or it’ll be a bit challenging.
That’s no longer the case.
