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That fake "solar-powered" phone charger got me good at a camping trip last fall
I was at a campground near Lake Tahoe in October, and a guy next to me was raving about this charger he bought from a Facebook ad. Said it could juice up his phone in 2 hours flat with just a few hours of sun. I was tired of my power bank dying, so I dropped $35 on one right then. Well, I left it on a sunny rock for 4 hours and my phone barely gained 10% battery. Later, I opened it up and found a tiny battery pack inside with a fake solar panel sticker on the outside - it wasn't even wired to anything. That guy must have been part of the ad scam or just got lucky with a dud. Has anyone else ripped open one of these and found nothing but plastic and lies?
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alice_allen54mo ago
Whoa, hold on, I gotta respectfully disagree here. I mean, yeah, that specific charger was clearly a total scam with the fake panel and all, but I've actually had pretty good luck with a different brand I got off Amazon for like $40. It's not gonna fast charge your phone like a wall plug, but I left mine on the roof of my car during a hike at Big Bend last spring and it got my phone from like 5% to 60% in about 5 hours. That's pretty solid for emergency juice when you're out of cell range anyway. The trick is you gotta get one with a real, decent-sized panel and not those flimsy foldable ones the size of a credit card. Your story just sounds like you bought from a shady Facebook ad, not that all solar chargers are fake.
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miasanchez4mo ago
Right, because nothing says "reliable emergency gear" like trusting a Facebook ad for survival equipment. You basically paid to learn a lesson about reading reviews first.
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