The 6 Best Solar Backpacks
Updated by · How we research
Six solar backpacks compared on panel output, battery, laptop room and weather; the Voltaic Systems OffGrid leads because its battery stores sun for later. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
A backpack panel makes far less power than its label suggests: independent panel tests found shade or cloud can cut output by three quarters, and a panel hanging on a walking back rarely faces the sun. That makes a stored battery the part that matters most. These packs suit hikers, commuters and travelers who want a phone top-up away from outlets.
Editor's Notes
October 23, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Admin:
The Voltaic Systems OffGrid is the new top pick for one plain reason: it carries a battery, so sun collected on a morning walk can still charge a phone that night. Most of the old list had disappeared. The Eceen External Frame, Eceen Biker Pack, Eceen Daypack, Kingsons Beam, XD Design Bobby Tech and XTPower Hiking have all vanished from sale, while the Voltaic Systems Array and PowerKeep Energizer Wanderer were discontinued. The Z ZTarx Soul Gear turned out to be a dry bag with a speaker, not a backpack.
The Voltaic Systems Converter stays as the slimmer, lighter choice. The XTPower Xplorer Globetrotter 42 takes over from its maker's older hiking pack, and the Jauch London 40, Road2Summit 20W and Tozlu 14W are new.
Nobody seems to have run lab charging tests on solar backpacks themselves, so we leaned on Voltaic's published charge times, an independent test of portable panels that shows how fast output falls in shade, and the TSA's battery rules for flying. We stopped at six because the other packs we found were relabeled copies or had no track record at all.
March 22, 2021:
It wound up being an extremely busy round of updates, in a fast-moving category that has seen more than its share of discontinuations and new entries during the past year. We removed the SunnyBag Iconic, due to availability issues, and almost took the same step with the Z ZTarx Soul Gear – a dry-bag backpack with a built-in Bluetooth speaker, which we thought, given its relatively reasonable price, might be particularly interesting to budgeted canoeists – but we wound up being able to source this option from an alternative vendor, and so it maintained its position close to the bottom of our list.
The PowerKeep Energizer Pro and Voltaic Systems OffGrid both lost their spots to upgraded models from their respective companies. The 30-liter PowerKeep Energizer Wanderer offers an average amount of storage, and its 10-amp-hour power bank (brought to you by that relentless pink bunny that’s known and trusted by so many) offers decent capacity, but it should be noted that its three-watt panel is significantly smaller than many models in the category. The 25-liter Voltaic Systems Array is 20% smaller than the Wanderer, but it still managed to clinch a top spot on our list with its two-year warranty, 10-watt panel and 24-amp-hour power bank. Its side pocket and bottom straps provide two means to transport a tripod, and a useful insert can be purchased from the company to offer further organization and effectively transform this unit to a camera backpack.
Other notable additions this time around include the Eceen Biker Pack — which features an integrated hydration bladder; the Eceen External Frame — which features a whopping 68-liter capacity, 20-watt panel and D-rings for carabiners, in case you want to hang it from a tree; and the Kingsons Beam — an anti-theft bag that also distinguishes itself by having one of the nicest designs in the category (if I may say so).
Backpacks like these can be a lot of fun, and are especially useful for things like hiking and day-trip adventures, but if you really want to furnish your campsite with some serious solar-powered luxuries, then you might be better heading over to our list of portable solar generators.
February 06, 2020:
While it seems like there are a ton of worthwhile solar backpacks out there, quite a few of them don't seem to be made well, from the backpack itself to the solar panel, regulator, and battery pack -- if a battery is even included. So we dug deep to figure out just which are worth your time and money. The Voltaic Systems OffGrid and Voltaic Systems Converter are two of the most popular, and while they're somewhat costly, we're comfortable with the reliability and long-term durability. The Energizer PowerKeep Pro is priced a bit better, and seems to hold up the Energizer name quite well. The SunnyBag Iconic is just a bit more expensive and is a large and convnient bag even before you consider its integrated solar panel. The same is true of the XD Design Bobby Tech, aside from the price -- it's extremely expensive but is also engineered and manufactured with the quality you'd expect from such a costly model.
There are a couple that are relatively affordable and happen to occupy somewhat specialty niches. The Eceen Daypack is remarkably lightweight and rolls up into one of its pockets, so it's great for taking along on a camping trip so you can tote your most useful gear around during day hikes and not worry about your phone, GPS, or camera battery dying. The Z ZTarx Soul Gear is essentially a high-tech roll-top waterproof bag, and although it's not recommended to fully submerge it in water, it should serve most aquatic purposes well.
If none of these are big enough for your purposes, there's always a DIY option available. If you pick up your own portable solar panel and battery bank, you can attach it as you see fit to a day hiking or internal frame backpack and you could end up with something notably more functional than a pre-built solar backpack, though you'll likely spend just as much, if not more.
Special Honors
Sunnybag Sunnybag, a solar-gear maker in Graz, Austria, sells its own solar backpacks, including the Iconic and the Explorer+, mainly through its own store. The panels are small, about 6 to 7 watts, so expect phone top-ups rather than big charges. It's worth a look for readers in Europe, or for anyone who wants a smaller everyday pack with a panel built in. sunnybag.com
Battery Or No Battery: The Choice That Matters Most
If you pick one of these, carry your own power bank and let the panel fill that, then charge the phone from the bank.
A solar backpack comes in one of two kinds. Some carry a battery: the panel fills it over the day, and the battery charges your phone whenever you plug in, even indoors or at night. Voltaic's packs work this way. The OffGrid ships with a 12,800 mAh battery that Voltaic says the panel fills in about five hours of good sun, and the Converter carries a 6,400 mAh battery that fills in about four.
The rest have only a panel and a USB port. They charge a device only while the panel faces direct sun, and output stops the moment you step into shade. MountainIQ makes the same point. If you pick one of these, carry your own power bank and let the panel fill that, then charge the phone from the bank. A phone plugged straight into a panel keeps stopping and starting as clouds pass, which is slow and hard on the phone's charging circuit.
A pack with a battery costs more and weighs more. It also works with any wall charger, so many owners top it up at home before a trip and treat the panel as a bonus.
What A Backpack Panel Really Delivers
The watt rating on a panel is a best case, measured with the panel facing full sun at the right angle. Real output is far lower. In OutdoorGearLab's tests of portable solar panels, a panel rated at 10 watts delivered about 1,400 mAh per hour of full sun, indirect light cut output by 70 to 80 percent, and shading a single cell dropped a 60-watt panel from about 40 watts to about 4.
A backpack panel has it harder still. It hangs upright on your back, it faces whatever direction you're walking, and your head and shoulders can shade it. So expect phone top-ups, not laptop charging: these packs put out 5-volt USB power, and laptops need far more.
To get the most from any pack, take it off at rest stops and lay it with the panel tilted toward the sun. A pack with a removable panel, like a trekking pack whose panel unstraps, makes this simpler. Keep the panel clean, since dust and grime cut output too.
Flying, Rain And Care
The panel is just glass, plastic and wiring, but the battery is a lithium power bank, and the TSA allows those only in carry-on bags. Batteries up to 100 watt-hours need no airline approval, and Voltaic's packs carry 47 and 25 watt-hour batteries. If the airline gate-checks your bag, take the battery out first.
Most solar packs are water resistant, not waterproof. Rain on the panel is fine, but the USB connection is the weak spot, so keep it dry and never submerge the bag. Don't fold or crush the panel, wipe it with a damp cloth, and don't leave a pack with a battery in a hot parked car. A battery that swells or gets hot should be retired. Power banks are recalled often, so check yours against the CPSC recall list; we found no recalls for any brand on this list. Voltaic covers its bags and panels for two years and its batteries for one, per its warranty page.
How we researched this
We compared about 20 solar backpacks, including every pack on the earlier list, read Voltaic's spec, charge-time and warranty pages and the sellers' specs for the rest, used OutdoorGearLab's portable-panel tests to judge real-world output, checked TSA battery rules, and searched U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls for every brand. We found no independent charging test of solar backpacks themselves.
Sources (8)
- Voltaic Systems: OffGrid solar backpack
- Voltaic Systems: Converter solar backpack
- Voltaic Systems: warranty and returns
- OutdoorGearLab: best solar power banks and panels
- MountainIQ: best solar backpacks
- TSA: lithium batteries 100 watt-hours or less
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: recalls
- Sunnybag
Frequently asked questions
How long does a solar backpack take to charge a phone?
In good sun, Voltaic says its 10-watt OffGrid panel charges a phone in about 2 hours and its 5.5-watt Converter panel in about 3.5 hours. Clouds, shade and a panel facing away from the sun can stretch that to many hours.
Do solar backpacks work on cloudy days?
Barely. Indirect light can cut a panel's output by 70 to 80 percent. A pack with a battery helps, because you can charge the battery from a wall outlet before you leave.
Can I take a solar backpack on a plane?
Yes. The bag and panel can go anywhere, but a lithium battery must ride in the cabin. The TSA allows batteries up to 100 watt-hours without airline approval. Take the battery out if the bag gets checked at the gate.
Are solar backpacks waterproof?
Most are water resistant. The fabric and panel handle rain, but the USB connection should stay dry, and none of these packs is made to be submerged.
Can a solar backpack charge a laptop?
No. These packs put out 5-volt USB power, enough for phones, earbuds, GPS units and small tablets. Laptops need far more power than a backpack panel can make.
