>>2492785>What should I know about them?first of all find out if you live somewhere they are even usable.
if you live in the northern united states, canada, norway, anywhere like that, they are virtually worthless and you are better off just carrying more battery banks.
if you live somewhere close to the equator that gets a lot of sunlight they're really useful on long trips.
second thing you should know is that portable size solar panels only have 1 useful niche for hiking:
they're good for thru hikers who do NOT want to stop in towns and want to maximize their time on trail.
if you're not going on a 2000 mile thru hike you don't need one at all. if you're the kind of person that stops at the towns and gets some beers, do like 99% of thru hikers and use battery banks and charge them along the way.
if you're not a thru hiker, just forget the idea, the tech isn't good enough yet. maybe in 5 years.
>Or should I just buy some shit randomly from the internet, try it out, discover what I don't like, and then after two-three attempts find one that actually works well?no. it needs to be usb ready, 10w+, and light enough weight to justify bringing it over more battery banks.
here's the standard thru hiker solar panel:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y655DJDthere might be a better one these days, that's the only one i ever see on trail though.
