REVIEW – I’ve been eyeing solar phone chargers for quite a while and when the opportunity came up to review the Sunmoove 6.5W Solar Charger I decided to give it a try! An alternative charging method in case of emergency or while out in the woods could be a very nice thing to have on hand. Let’s see how it performed…
What is it?
The Sunmoove 6.5W Solar Charger is a small, hand-held solar charger that folds up to the size of a small book.
What’s included?
- Sunmoove Solar Charger panels
- USB-A to Lightning/USB-C/micro-USB cable
- 4 Suction cups with hooks
- 2 small carabiner clips
Tech specs
- Dimensions:
- 5cm closed
- 14x40x1cm open
- Full sun output: 6.5W (5V at 1300mA)
- Output port: USB-A
Design and features
Opening up the box, it is very clear that some thought and deliberation was put into the design and packaging of this product. Almost all of the packaging is recyclable, so no pesky hard to open plastic containers. The solar charger itself is small and folds up neatly in your hand. There are multiple locations to connect the panels, whether it’s set up in a window with the included suction cups or attached to a backpack with carabiners.
Performance
I was very impressed by the construction of this little solar charger and at the same time a little skeptical of its ability to generate enough energy to charge a device. Reviewing the instructions, in full sun the output can reach 1300mA. That is barely enough to start to charge most phones now. I took an old Moto G Power phone and plugged it while it was powered down. That was so that I could see the optimal charging without device activity also affecting performance. Outside and in full sun, the device charged very slowly. In 1.25 hours of sunlight at noon it gained about 15% charge. In a pinch, it would definitely be a good option where no other power sources are available. In less than optimal light conditions, the mA output drops considerably. The best option in those conditions is to pair the solar charger with a battery so that you can let it trickle charge over time and then use the battery to charge up your phone faster. This was also the recommendation of the maker.
The included suction cups on the device worked very well to attach to a window any other smooth surface. Performance on a house window was very much decreased, I assume because the angle isn’t great and the tinting on the window also decreases how effective the solar panels perform.
What I like about the Sunmoove 6.5W Solar Charger
- This is a well-made solar charger. The material is very tough and would easily stand up to being thrown in a backpack and carried around
- The multi-connector tip so that you’re covered regardless of what device you’re charging
- Eco-friendly packaging
- You can tell that this is designed for portability and size and this perfectly fits that use case. There are larger solar chargers available from Sunmoove if you want a faster charge and higher power rating, but those are also going to be larger and heavier.
What needs to be improved?
- Nothing
Final thoughts
I think this design of the SunMoove Solar Charger perfectly fits its intended use case. It’s not a high-powered solar charger that will charge your phone up quickly, but as I said above, it’s not intended to do that. There are other products that better meet that, but are going to take up more space and weight. I see this as a good option for camping and backpacking where the portability is going to trump the power delivery. Combine it with a small battery and this is something you can leave out and charge while you’re out doing other things. I recommend this product and maker.
Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Solar Brother
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Solar Brother. Solar Brother did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
