Jackery SolarSaga 100W Portable Solar Panel for Explorer 240/300/500/1000/1500 Power Station, Foldable US Solar Cell Solar Charger with USB Outputs…
$299.00
Description
- EASY SETUP & KICKSTAND INCLUDED: The Solar Saga 100 features 2 kickstands that can be placed firmly on any surface ground. With just a few seconds of setup, you can start soaking energy from the sun for your Jackery power station. The TPE rubber handle allows you to carry around easily when taking off-grid adventures.
- HIGHER ENERGY CONVERSION RATE: Covered by monocrystalline silicon solar cells, the solar panel adopts multi-layered cell technology to generate energy from the sunlight and perform better with higher conversion efficiency that up to 23% than other conventional panels.
- DURABLE & SPLASH-PROOF: The ETFE-laminated case is durable enough to extend the lifespan of the solar panel. It is IP65 water-resistant that will protect from water splashing (Do not place it under the rain, or to soak in water). The zippers on the pocket can hold the power cords, and cover the power port.
- COMPATIBLE & VERSATILE: This solar panel is compatible with Jackery Explorer 300/500/1000/1500 power station (sold separately), ideal for off-grid camping and unexpected power outage. Solar Saga 100 features 1* USB-C(5V,3A) output port and 1* USB-A(5V, 2.4A) output port to charge 2 small devices directly.
- WHAT YOU GET: 1*Jackery SolarSaga 100 Solar Panel.
, Jackery SolarSaga 100W Portable Solar Panel for Explorer 240/300/500/1000/1500 Power Station, Foldable US Solar Cell Solar Charger with USB Outputs…, 299, USD,
Additional information
| Product Dimensions | 22.83 x 19.69 x 2.36 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 5.5 pounds |
| Manufacturer | Jackery |
| Item model number | Jackery SolarSaga 100 |
English
Leon –
It’s far heavier than my 70w XDragon, it’s far less portable mostly because of the design, and it’s not even water-resistant. I have no idea why the reviews are so high, I honestly regret buying this. For the same price, I could’ve bought 2 70w XDragons. Damn it.
J Kessler –
I purchased the Jackery Explorer 500 and the SolarSaga 100 watt system together to use in our full time fun in our 4×4 adventure van. We love to be off grid taking our van into the backcountry mountains, deserts, grasslands, along rivers and oceans, you name it. Even on the infrequent times when we pull into an RV park with hookups, we often will place ourselves in a quiet private spot away from the cramped RV spots.
Out comes our screen tent, chairs, big sun umbrella, propane fire pit, laptops, iPads and the Jackery Explorer 500. Then the SolarSaga is set up in about 2 minutes by retrieving it from the rooftop cargo box, open it up, place it leaning against its legs and plugging it into the Jackery. No fuss, no muss. Works instantly. I plug in my laptop to the Jackery, sit on the picnic table and surf the web, play games, watch YouTube, plan our next adventures. I have been in pouring rain in the Washington rain forest inside my screen tent just happy as can be with my laptop and Jackery 500 to power it. I do not have the SolarSaga set up in the pouring rain though. My MacBook Pro uses a lot of power when gaming but the SolarSaga keeps the Jackery 500 topped off. It is beyond me how the SolarSaga keeps up with the laptop power but it does. The Jackery charge usually stays at 100% dropping to 98-99% intermittently. When just charging the Jackery 500 without power draw from electronics, the SolarSaga impresses me how quickly it recovers charge percent.
So enough about the power aspect. Let’s talk about convenience. The SolarSaga makes it real easy to get solar power. It opens up from a fairly compact size and is set up in a minute or so. It looks and feels very quality and it is light as can be. The covering has a nice feel to it. It appears that there are water resistant zippers on the pocket that hold the power cords and cover the power port. This could help keep water at bay should your SolarSaga be left out in some LIGHT rain. The unit is not claimed to be waterproof, but I have heard from reliable sources that they have had the SolarSaga in rain (not heavy rain) without issue. It will probably happen to me as we have frequent unexpected rain showers where we go. But normally, I retrieve the SolarSaga in an instant when the clouds roll in.
When it is time to pack up, I simply unplug the power cord from the Jackery 500, roll the cord up and place it in the zippered pouch of the SolarSaga, fold the unit in half and snap it shut, fold the legs against the sides and the velcro holds them tight against the sides. Then I put it in the rooftop cargo carrier and that is it. Again, about a 2 minute process. The SolarSaga is extremely thin, very light, feels like quality materials, seems durable, and puts out some good power. That’s pretty much what I need it to be.
So yeah, I’m happy with it. Any downsides? Hmmm. Okay, the included power cord could be longer. I have purchased a separate 30 foot 8mm female/male extension from another manufacturer to reach when the sunny area is far away from the Jackery 500. I haven’t tried the extension yet so I don’t know what power loss there will be yet with the longer cord.
One other thing to mention, I am very paranoid about my SolarSaga walking away from my site. Well, there are some convenient grommets at the corners of the solar saga. Unwind a thin wire cable (50 feet is enough) to the SolarSaga, secure it with a simple lock and lock the other side of the cable to your vehicle. It keeps the casual thief from walking away with your solar panels. It’s enough security for the vast majority of where you will be. When the SolarSaga is near my vehicle, I have a much more robust cable to lock it to my vehicle. I believe those grommets were designed as a way to tie your panels to an object so they don’t move in heavy wind. The SolarSaga will tip over if a gust comes along without securing them but most of the time, they do fine on their own.
I hope this helps you in your research of what portable solar panel to get. I did my research too. Some selling points for me are the two year warranty, good customer service (I have heard), quality of the unit, and ease of use/compatibility with the Jackery Explorer 500. I have no ties with Jackery so what you have here is the real deal review. If ANY issues come up, I promise you I will do an INSTANT update and tell you all about it. I have a feeling that Jackery will be very responsive to help out if any issues arise.
Amazon Customer –
A post PGE California power outage customer here.
I got both this and the lighter-weight 60W, so this review is a comparison. I would have just bought the 60W first, but it was out of stock, so I bought this one; then the 60W became available again a day later. Thanks to Prime free shipping, I figured I would compare them and keep the one I thought better suited my needs.
[NOTE: maybe because the 100 W is so big and heavy, I could only get totally free return shipping by taking the panel to the nearest Kohl’s store. To bring it to UPS for returning, the shipping would have cost $12. That surprised me–I’ve never run into it before.]
The 100 W is sturdy, solid, has the capacity to charge off 2 built in USB ports directly. A very well designed panel, I liked it a lot. It is pretty big, and would take some wind without being bothered. It weighs 9 lbs.
The 60W is much flimsier. It weighs only 3 lbs. It would blow around in a lighter wind. It has no way to charge anything off it directly, only the hookup to the Jackery battery power station (I got the 240. Love it.). The 60W is also $120 cheaper than the 100W. You can see why, when you sit them side by side. There’s just less to it. But it does its job perfectly.
Both have a zippered pouch for storing the connection cable right with the panel. Both have kickstands that help the panel stand up at an angle. The 100 W is more secure with its two kickstands than the 60W is with its three parts and only one kickstand; but you can put the battery behind it to help hold it up, which also keeps battery out of direct sun. The 100 W holds itself closed with magnets. If you want to carry it with one hand, you’d need to buy the separate case. The 60 W has snaps and becomes a sweet little portfolio type thing with a handle. You can carry both it and the battery station easily with one hand.
So it all depends what you want.
I set them up side by side and used the battery station as a meter. Under the same conditions (sunny day in November), the 100 W was putting out 63 Watts, the 60 W was putting out 50. (Other reviews say the battery charges at 43 W, so each would work equally well if that’s true.)
One other time I tested it, the 60W panel was putting out 52 watts. Good job, in weaker autumn sun!
I’m keeping the smaller and less expensive 60W one. I like its lightness and smaller bulk, and I don’t think I’ll have many occasions when I would want to charge something and not have the battery with me. (But like many others, I wish that Jackery offered an adapter for the plug that would let you charge from the 60W panel directly. )
Customer service says the 100W will charge the battery quicker. On an inefficient/less sunny day, I’m sure it would make a difference. You could also charge the battery and your phone or whatever separately and at the same time. It’s a terrific solar panel. I give it 5 stars because it’s just personal preference that I want something less big and heavy.
I give the 60W one 5 stars too. And am very happy to be better prepared for the next outage. Unless it happens in a winter storm, in which case any solar panel would be useless–but I’d still have the charged up battery to get me through at least a couple days of being able to stay quite functional.