I saw this solar charger on gearbest. http://www.gearbest.com/mobile-power-bank/pp_1045.html?utm_source=mail_api&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=special.1229#customer_review
for $15 it seems like a good deal. Has anyone tried this or is there a gold standard solar charger and no one looks at these chargers?
30000mAH?
too good to be true 
I would agree with this. There is something wrong with these specs as the claimed output numbers and the wattage of the panel do not seem to match up. For example, I run a 10w panel in a seldom used vehicle to keep the batteries topped off. Battery tender claims this panel puts out .540A @ 12v (nominal), in full sun.
That same thing is available with minor variations lots of places.
The “30000” mAh is a huge exaggeration — it would have a little lithium-poly flat pack battery inside.
The “reviews” at GearBest start with some guy claiming he ran his iPad off this thing at the beach.
They need to hire better educated people to write their fake reviews, or “pay” better with their points system, to get halfway believable fiction for their review section.
On chargers generally, this may help: http://www.cambrionix.com/cambrionix_news/why-do-amps-matter/
There really ought to be a BudgetSolarPanel discussion somewhere — pointers welcome if anyone knows a site.
Looks like a 5700mah liPo battery (3x1900mah packs) in there. See the youtube video breakdown Here. Seems like a good value considering the 1.5W solar panel.
I wouldn’t count on the solar panel being accurately described either.
Having some experience with small mini solar panels, the 1.5W may be a little generous? It is a easily 1W based on the size alone, and probably a little more, say 1.25W. I wouldn’t expect more than about 250ma charge current in full sun. Keep in mind these are hypothetical figures, as I do not actually own this charger.
I wonder how long it would take to do a full charge on the batteries in full sun…might be more than a day or two…daggum
Either way in an emergency, this would be better than nothing I suppose
another Chinese mAh fib…go figure
More like a month.
As someone who has pretty much edc’d this for almost 6months now, its a very nice pannel for the price.
and works realy well.
Awesome info. Thanks everyone
For some reason I think the 7 watt rating is a fib
5W = 2 panels
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1424/10008156/1727203
7W = 3 panels
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1424/10008156/1727202
10W = 4 panels
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1424/10008156/1727201
15W = 6 panels
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1424/10008156/1727200
Still 5v at 1A from solar energy is a nice thing if you ever need it
They all overstate not only the battery capacity but also the panel. But there are a few of them that are at least in the ballpark. I don’t own this one, but it looks to be one of those good units. I own several different kinds of these solar chargers and you’re lucky if the battery is anywhere near stated capacity. I have a 3000 mAh charger from Fasttech that’s probably just under 2,000, which aint bad considering.
Being my favorite, it’s been on many road trips where I’m lucky to get 50% charge from a full day in direct sunlight the whole time, which many people will find unacceptable, though I do live in the northern USA and someone in say Los Angeles would get much better results. I see these type of chargers more like “hey, why not get a little something something while the charger is sitting around idle.” If you want good performance, you’ll want to get a larger charger in the 7-14 watt range and plug it into a real battery pack. My Levin 13W does an amp in sunlight that wouldn’t even move the bar on one of these toy chargers.
Every little bit helps, but in my opinion most people don’t have realistic expectations from solar.
Solar heat accumulated in that plastic casing and lithium type of batteries don’t seem to go well. I think it would be best if you buy the solar panel separately from the battery. It would take you decades to fill the battery with that solar panel. Would be nice too if you buy a usb power meter!
+1
With pretty much all of these units the "solar panel" is little more than a novelty token nod to "green". That's why they have a USB in port for proper charging. (I can tell you from first hand experience that the Gearbest power bank stuff is very poor quality and hugely over-exaggerated on capacity claims.)
As stated above, placing the whole box in the sun is just asking to kill the batteries.
You'd be far better served by a small folding panel with USB output charging a decent USB power bank. Look at HKJ's reviews for recommendations. At least this way you can usually rig some shade and airflow over the battery box.
Look at the GoalZero Nomad 7 panel as starting point for ideas on what constitutes a pretty good product but be aware it's a bit pricey.
yes
cottonpickers and goalzero to name a few.
that thing you linked is a cheap toy to me.
Don’t forget those 3 - 1900mAh cells are likely rated “UltraFire” style.
So, the 30,000mAh reduces to 5,700mAh which reduces to about a third of that?
I will guess the actual measured capacity will be somewhere around 2200 to 2400mAh
I can tell you this about those Chinese flat packs. Each time I have ordered them, once to replace a worn down camera battery and once to replace a GPS battery, the cells I received were worse brand new than the original worn down cells I was trying to replace!
Well, call me suckered in , I guess there is no shame with inflated LiPo specs either 
(should have known).
So as not to confuse anyone, I have never ordered those same exact flat packs. I was speaking in general of that “type” of cell and made in China.