Anker or Goal Zero solar... or both?!?

[llittle_llama]

So I need power on the trail. I'll be listening to music probably 8 hours a day (I have to for mental health reasons) but can do so in airplane mode every other day. I have an older Anker and love it so I was planning on replacing it with the largest one they made (that was practical) until I ran across a great deal on a Goal Zero solar charger. I've had the charger sitting next to my pack staring at me the last few months and I can't decide what I want to do now. I kept waiting for someone to post something on here about it but it never happened... thoughts?

By the way, I'm using an iPhone 7+. I won't be getting online or playing games, just streaming music and taking pictures/videos and making very short calls home.

[sethd513]

I can do 8 hrs music on my iPhone 6 on airplane mode and only use 20% of my battery. My 10000 anker charges that phone 3.5 times and is only -6 oz I believe . I love it


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[hugepettyfan]

I have and use both. You won't always have sun or outlets to plug in. Here is what I run, not UL by any means but we are dead without out gadgets aren't we? I love the Anker stuff.

Anker PowerCore 20100 - Ultra High Capacity Power Bank with 4.8A Output, PowerIQ Technology for iPhone, iPad and Samsung Galaxy and More (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5RV14Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_W3cSybHAWADAC

Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger, PowerPort Solar for iPhone 7 / 6s / Plus, iPad Pro / Air 2 / mini, Galaxy S7 / S6 / Edge / Plus, Note 5 / 4, LG, Nexus, HTC and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_l3cSyb2XQ050A


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[Turtle-2013]

I use Goal Zero chargers instead of Anker or any other competitor .. and love them ... BUT, I leave the solar charger at home. I have tried two different solar chargers, and except for a few small sections, there simply isn't enough open sky to keep your battery charged, to then charge your phone. It would only work if during the middle of the day, you stopped hiking in a sunny spot every day for several hours ... and you know how much sense THAT would make ; ) ... none. SO...use whatever brand charger you like, but I recommend you don't bother with the weight of a solar charger.

[Phlashlite]

I use a Goal Zero clipped to the back of my pack. It keeps my Nexus charged and I also use a portable charge pack (found a small light one) that I keep charged for my emergency back up. I really like the Goal Zero.

[tflaris]

I used Goal Zero on the JMT with great success. On the AT I use a Ankler.

YMMV


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[Rain Man]

I also agree that generally there's not enough sunlight on the AT for a solar charger to be worthwhile.

I also agree that listening to music (I listen to audio books) in airplane mode uses very little battery power.

I also agree that an Anker charger (your brand may vary?) is worthwhile, especially if your iPhone is also your camera. I carry a camera and my Anker also can charge it in addition to my Android smartphone.

So, ... DITTO. ;)

[HooKooDooKu]

You don't give exact models, so I can only give you the general conclusions I came to when I researched solar chargers for a JMT thru.
Goal Zero is more expensive, heavier, and provided less output than Anker products.

I paired the Anker 15 Watt Solar Lite chargers with the smallest Anker battery (PowerCore+ mini) making a total weight of about 1lb (lighter than many other solar chargers without a battery).
The solar panel provided plenty of power in the sun rich JMT, but I managed to get some power testing it in GSMNP.

Given that in the green tunnel, you might only get lunch and evening while setting up camp to keep the solar charger in direct sunlight, you likely want the solar panel with the highest wattage. The Goal Zero that I've seen is only 7 Watts for ~$100 compared to the lighter 15 Watt Anker.

[Dogwood]

Basing usage as described by Little Llama, for the AT I'd leave the solar charger at home as Turtle said. Besides, it's going to be 13 extra ozs. There is at least one other I know that is lighter wt by 4-7+ oz if wt saving is a priority but I'm not super new tech savvy. Diuffernt ways that differnt users might approach this that I have no idea about. If journaling or working daily using a small lap top or iPad from say the PCT or doing long periods between resupplies with a tendency to resupply remotely I'd say consider the solar array hung off the pack.

Solio, for example makes its BOLT, a palm size sub 5 oz solar array. It's not great for high energy needs but might suffice a frugal electronics users. http://www.solio.com/

In context of Little Llamas's anticipated usage, if he gets into resupply every 5-6 days on avg on the AT, perhaps an even lighter wt battery like the Anker 3 oz Power Core or similar, combined with recharging batteries while resupplying is all that's needed. https://www.anker.com/products/A1104041?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=anker_bing_pla_A1208013-20&utm_term=anker_bing_pla_A1104041-20&utm_campaign=Shopping%20Bing

Another approach based on the most energy use being 8 hrs of music for the reasons Little Llama mentioned is buying a CHEAP 4 gB $10-15 mP3 player like made by Sansa or RCA that runs on one Lithium AAA battery. I get about 16 hrs of music on one battery. It also has FM radio. Nothing fancy but gets the music and weather reports desire solved.

[tflaris]

I believe I used this model:

http://www.goalzero.com/mobile/p/347/nomad-7-plus-solar-panel

What was nice was an led indicator to let you know how well your panel was positioned and how much sun it was receiving.


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[Kerosene]

Even for my (aborted) JMT hike I decided to bring the 20100 mAh Anker (9 oz), which could charge my iPhone 8 4.5 times. I felt that solar panels just weren't good enough. Note that I was using the iPhone as camera, guidebooks, backup maps, Kindle, and GPS as needed. On the AT I would think you could get by with a smaller/lighter battery pack; I would not bother with a solar panel on the AT.

[Dogwood]

Different backpacking solar arrays can profoundly differ in abilities to charge devices faster/slower, capture and convert the sun into usable energy, store energy, wt, etc.

[Dogwood]

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Solar-Charger-Reviews?specs=n&n=5&sort_field=#compare

[Slo-go'en]

You can only play music in airplane mode if it has been downloaded to your phone. If your streaming music, you need an internet connection via the cell tower and that will drain the battery quickly. Since your often very far from a cell tower, the phone is running at max power to talk to it, if it can at all.

Of course, you might be confusing playing music on your phone with streaming music from the internet.

As for solar, not going to work. You do not spend nearly enough time in direct noon time sun for it to have much of any effect. I carried a solar garden light on the back of my pack from Springer to Damascus on one of my trips. This was with an April 1st start. I could rate the kind of day it was by how long the light stayed on at night. Some nights the light would stay on most of the night. Often it would only stay on a few hours or less. By the time I got to Damascus it didn't come on at all, since the trees had all leafed out.

So, the solar charger might work a little bit early in the trip, but once the trees leaf out you loose all the sun. Even so, you need a solar panel which is as big at the pack to be effective. The little panel on a battery pack bouncing on the back of a pack simply isn't effective.

[llittle_llama]

You can only play music in airplane mode if it has been downloaded to your phone. If your streaming music, you need an internet connection via the cell tower and that will drain the battery quickly. Since your often very far from a cell tower, the phone is running at max power to talk to it, if it can at all.

Of course, you might be confusing playing music on your phone with streaming music from the internet.


I use Pandora and have the paid subscription. With that your 3 most used stations can be listened to offline. Kind of a best of both worlds :D

[Slo-go'en]

I use Pandora and have the paid subscription. With that your 3 most used stations can be listened to offline. Kind of a best of both worlds :D

Okay, but at some point you still have to record it to your phone. I suppose you could do that while in town.

[llittle_llama]

Okay, but at some point you still have to record it to your phone. I suppose you could do that while in town.
Oh, I'm fully aware of that and didn't mean to sound like I had found a loophole. After re-reading my response it seemed a little more "I gotcha there bud!" so what I should have said is this:

I have Pandora One, the paid subscription. With that you can somehow through the magic of science (I seriously don't know how it works) play your top 3 stations offline. I plan on only streaming every other day or so and just for a few hours to "refill" my offline "tank" and definitely​ anytime I'm in town :)

[jjozgrunt]

Everything recharges off my anker, the tablet (guthook, books reading/audio, songs), headlight, camera, trekz headphones and inreach. I don't need batteries but I need a decent brick as I only like to town every week or so. I use a anker powercore 26800mAh. Okay it's a pound but I've never run out of power yet. Tried solar charges but even in the dry and treeless outback I've never found that they justify the weight.

[tflaris]

The only disadvantage I found to the Large brick style chargers was the recharge time. If you are at a hostel, motel etc it's no big deal but if you are at a campground and having to hang around a store or Post Office to wait for it to recharge can be a pain in the ass.


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[AfterParty]

My charger takes along time to recharge. But the solar ones are heavy and I don't intend to be wired on the trail. I will maybe have a paper white but they last forever. Might try to check messages and weather periodically. Call someone weekly or bi weekly. Maybe when I'm in towns. So they dont freak out. I'd prefer to not be disturbed. But I can't do that to the family.

[Dogwood]

Lighter wt, less expensive, greater wattage comparatively to similar models in either the Anker or Goal Zero line up of backpacking solar arrays is Core Third a new solar array provider aimed at backpacking market apps.

http://www.corethird.com/solar-power/massai7-solar-panel.html

[theeulogy]

I took along my solar charger last year on my section from Daleville to Harper's Ferry. It is a 12 watt unit that I have had very good luck with while testing it at home. I used it to charge a battery while hooked to the outside of my pack, in a 10 hour day of hiking, I was only able to get 10 or so percent charge in my S7. I did some other testing while eating lunch I would move it into the sun to charge my phone. I had good luck with it in these type instances, but it was inconvenient to do.

This year I am bringing a 20000mah charger that uses quick charge 3.0, I have found that it will fully recharge in 5.5hours, as opposed to a similar standard charging one of the same size being 11hours.

[Starchild]

Where are you going to hike? AT from WV>MA is pretty OK with your plan (I did streaming music often here), but the rest of it is spotty, and some places I would not expect your plan to work and just lead to frustration and long delays, and if Pandora stops when it hits it's limit (IDK) you are SOL if you need it for mental health reasons.

It is for this reason I would suggest first looking at alternatives to Pandora One, I believe Spotify allows a vast storage of music offline. I would also recommend audiobooks (Audiable.com is the best known one), which if it works for you can give you hours if not days of listening. I did find it a good alternative to music which gets a bit old at times on trail.


Solar would work on the AT if you hike during the night and sleep during the day so you can set it up in the sun. An afternoon siesta would also help. But if you don't fit that profile, I do feel your best option weight and convenience wise would be multiple rechargeable battery packs and the ability to recharge everything together and fast.

[Dogwood]

I took along my solar charger last year on my section from Daleville to Harper's Ferry. It is a 12 watt unit that I have had very good luck with while testing it at home. I used it to charge a battery while hooked to the outside of my pack, in a 10 hour day of hiking, I was only able to get 10 or so percent charge in my S7. I did some other testing while eating lunch I would move it into the sun to charge my phone. I had good luck with it in these type instances, but it was inconvenient to do.

This year I am bringing a 20000mah charger that uses quick charge 3.0, I have found that it will fully recharge in 5.5hours, as opposed to a similar standard charging one of the same size being 11hours.

What brand and model? I'd like to see the wt and price of a 12 watt quick charge 3.0 2000mah unit. Wt is starting to get up there even in the CoreThird 18 W model at 15oz with price only at $150. This is getting to be a significant carrying wt for electronic use to which battery bank and device wt and cords have to be added...all for attempted uninterrupted connectivity??? Does everyone really really really need to go to these levels for their electronics?

The CoreThird 7W unit is 7 0z at $75

[theeulogy]

This is the 20000mah unit I will be carrying this year, https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-20100mAh-Portable-Qualcomm-External/dp/B019IFIJW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488877444&sr=8-1&keywords=ravpower+3.0
I weighed it on my scale right at 13 ounces. Like I said it charges fully in 5.5 hours, and after my testing on the trail last year I am leaving solar at home until vast improvements are made in the technology. The solar charger I took was very lightweight and it was about 16 ounces BTW.

[Wooobie]

Drop the solar, just use a anker.

[2EZ]

+1 on battery vs solar charge. Having unlimited "potential" charge is great; having a know quantity for a known weight is priceless. One bad week changes your entire plan with a solar charger- I will know what exactly it takes to charge and what devices I can utilize as tools during my time out.