Running out of power on a family road trip is a familiar headache: phones, tablets and handheld consoles all competing for one car charger, if your car even has one. The cheaper fix, according to How-To Geek’s Bertel King, is not a new car — it is a small solar generator and a portable panel that together turn any ordinary vehicle into a rolling power station.
Solar gadgets for road trips (Credits: How-To Geek)
Solar gadgets for road trips: start with a portable power station
Some newer vehicles do come with cabin AC outlets, but the option is a premium one, usually limited to one or two outlets at around 150 watts — far less capable than a wall socket at home. A portable power station solves that for far less money. King’s pick is the Anker SOLIX C300, which he tosses into the backseat on extended trips. It packs three AC outlets, a LiFePO4 battery storing around 300Wh, and an inverter outputting up to 300 watts — more than enough for a family’s devices on most trips.
One key tip: charge a battery, not your devices directly. Solar panels generate power intermittently and need direct sun, so it is better for your hardware to let the panel top up the power station and let the station power your gadgets. If a full power station is more than you need, King still recommends packing at least a power bank capable of charging a phone, tablet or gaming handheld before spending anything on a panel.
Pick the right portable solar panel size
Portable panels range from tiny 30W models that can charge a power bank up to 500W panels built for massive generators. For the C300, King uses a 100W Anker SOLIX PS100 panel — lightweight, small enough to slide into a trunk, and able to top up the station in a few hours during an extended stop at a park, river or beach. He notes it is also the fastest panel a generator that size can handle.
Smaller panels come in all shapes: SHARGE makes one designed to roll out and dangle from a backpack, charging a power bank directly over USB-C. And do not overlook solar camping lights. King keeps a BioLite Solar Flexlight in his glove compartment — its long tail wraps around a wrist or dangles from a neck, keeping hands free in an emergency, and it is far safer than shining a phone down into a car engine.
The bottom line: a compact power station plus a right-sized panel gives you home-style outlets anywhere the road takes you, without buying a new car to get them.
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Source: How-To Geek — read the full story there.
