I am looking into apocalypse prep. What are the best, durable, reliable solar chargers available now? Anker 21w? Anything more powerful but as good?
I did a review on 5 or 6 of solar chargers, search for ‘Foldable Solar Charger’
http://budgetlightforum.com/forum/batteries/usb-power
Out of the ones I reviewed I liked the Allpowers 20W
I have several more I haven’t reviewed yet. I really like the new 4panel ravpower on amazon, but I haven’t tested it thoroughly yet:
https://www.amazon.com/Charger-RAVPower-Waterproof-Foldable-Smartphones/dp/B06XBGSS2R/
Something to keep in mind… you probably want to use a power bank with the solar charger for several reasons (which I wont get into now)… and you should test the two thoroughly before you rely on them to work.
The best solar chargers by weight and power all use Sunpower cells - which do not have any metal leads on the sun facing (visible) side of the cell.
If you buy or salvage one of the folding panels that use sliced Sunpower cells in series behind plastic laminate, you can use them as is or even cut them free of their nylon fabric body to make ultralight 5 watt panels, so long as your charging needs are light weight as well.
There is a 10 watt folding panel on Amazon right now that weighs less than 6 oz.
The most important function you will have to look for is the ability to reset the charge process.
If a cloud interrupt the charge, the device that is charging will not restart unless you unplug and replug it. So if you leave it unattended, you might come back and have your phone, flashlight, tablet, powerbank or whatever, partially charged or worse, completely empty if it’s a cloudy day.
I know that Blitzwolf and Anker solar chargers have that function.