A solar panel with an integrated Powerbank is perfect on on the trail. Pack it out at the beginning of a break, pack it back at the end and charge your smartphone at night. If the maximum 2.5 watt / 2.6 Ah of a HeLi- on are too little for your needs, the Austrian SunnyBAG PowerTAB offers double the specs for almost half the price. [...]
Many solar panels are bulky in the backpack (DIN A5 to DIN A4), weak (because they are thin and flexible) or require an external buffer battery to ensure a stable voltage. The HeLi-on of the Danish company infinityPV, financed via kickstarter, is rollable and contains an integrated PowerBank. [...]
PowerBanks sometimes just switch off for safety reasons (e.g. shortcut due to high humidity or a defective cable) and appear to be defective. Here is how you bring it to live again, even if it has no ON/OFF-switch.
Obviously the purpose of a powerbank is to provide energy while you don’t have access to a wall socket. But if your powerbank switches itself completely off, it cannot fulfill its purpose. Better to know how to restart your powerbank on trail.
Hints
If you have a solar panel with you instead of a power supply, you will be able to restart your powerbank even if you’re solo and backcountry.
Just ask another hiker for his powerbank to restart your own powerbank. It will not take much energy, just a little bit of kindness.
