Jackery SolarSaga 60W Solar Panel for Explorer 160/240/500 as Portable Solar Generator, Portable Foldable Solar Charger for Summer Camping Van RV(Cant Charge Explorer 440/ PowerPro)

So I am now an owner of almost every item in the Jackery product line, but here I will focus on the Solar Saga 60W solar panels for one primary reason: they are the most portable item in the entire line. There are a bit smaller than the 100W solar panels (as intended), but theyre also designed to be used with the smaller powerstations/batteries (further promoting portability). I use these whenever I am taking my car to go to the outdoors, along with the Explorer 240. They work as described by the manufacturer (i.e. it takes full daylight hours of a day to charge the battery), which means theres a risk of not having power during the day when it is charging (since pass through charging is not recommended). My solution? I purchased 2 batteries, so that one is charging using these solar panels, while the other one is in use! This way I have power round the clock.

I had this product about two years and it works well as expected. Unfortunately now this solar panel does not charge battery any more, Batter can be charge from wall outlet. This solar panel does not last then it should be.

Super easy to use and very fast charging of my jackery power station. I had been charging in the car or at home but this is so much better. I can leave at my off grid cabin and recharge whenever the battery gets low. Great addition to my jackery.

I own both the Jackery 500 and the 240. Love how they work as a remote power source! While I didn’t figure I’d really need the solar panel, I thought the power option of solar would be nice to have. So I decided to get this SolarSaga 60. Keep in mind that this is the older version. I made the purchase in 2019. I have the trifold version that includes USB charging. Well, once I received this panel I inspected it and it seemed to be of really great quality. My mistake was not testing it out. Several days ago, we had a power outage in the community. I pulled out the 500 and 240 in preparation of backup power for charging devices, running fans, etc. Both were well charged, but I decided that it would be a good time to test out the solar panel. I connected the solar panel to the Jackery 500 during a sunny afternoon without a cloud to be seen and got nothing. The display showed 0 input. The light next to the input jack didn’t even come on. Connected the panel to the 240 and got the same results. After my disappointment subsided I tried wiggling the wire at the black and red connector. Low and behold, I received input from the panel. Unfortunately, I had to hold the wire at a particular angle to maintain input. I’ve seen others complain about their Jackery solar panels not working. If you’re not getting any input at all, check the connector. And obviously, test your panel as soon as you receive it.

The sun moves, you have to reposition this during the day if you are charging the generator battery. It does take all day, and we needed this for my husbands cpap when camping. I did have to top off the charge when I had a phone attached to the solar panel as well as the generator. I would have lasted all night anyway, but just to be sure, I plugged it into the campsites outlet in the bathroom. It is larger than expected and bi-fold, despite what another review mentioned-or any pictures. So it is a bit more awkward than I expected, but still folds flat. It is held together with magnets. The cord inside the flat pouch has a couple outlets for usb. I have included a picture with the generator on top and measuring tapes so you can see the size more clearly. The customer service shines, nothing but good things to say. I had a small issue and it was resolved IMMEDIATELY. Very impressed with the seller. If I think of more I will add. Bottom line, if you have sun and no outlets to plug into, this solves that issue. it is very flat so it can slip in next to a sleeping bag and tent for travel as least in a vehicle. More awkward to carry on a hike.

Definitely one of the best panels on the market from a reliable manufacturer. USB-C charging port advantage, however, prefer to have additional standard MC4 connectors for better compatibility.

The Solar Sega is the latest component added to our emergency preparedness schematic, which also includes the Jackery 160 and 240 Power Stations, as well as a host of power banks, etc. During short term power outages (which don’t necessitate cranking up the generator), the 160 and 240 each have a primary job addressing design flaws in our personal weather station, and our fixed wireless internet. I purchased the Solar Sega for use during longer term outages due to hurricanes, ice storms, etc. After the hurricanes and severe summer thunderstorms blow through and knock the power out, the weather is always clear and sunny. So the Solar Sega’s job will be to keep the Jackery Power Stations up and running, so that they in turn can keep the weather station and internet, as well as all of our devises and battery banks, up and running without having to string more extensions cords to the generator. This can be a real pain and a danger as well. Cords, splitters, more cords… . Now, thanks to Jackery, we are able to set up two “charging stations”-- one for wifi, husband’s computer, and his devises, and one for weather station monitor and all of my stuff. Before I provide the details of how my test run went, I’d like to address a comment a video reviewer had about the pouch on the back of the folded panel which holds the 9’ extension cord. The reviewer thinks this is a design flaw and I agree, to a degree. The issue is that when the 3-section panel is opened, and laid on the ground, the bulge in the middle (pouch on back of center panel) makes it impossible for the panel to lay flat. This is true. But it does not take into consideration that there are only three places on earth (and for each, only twice a year) where this matters-- where the panel would properly be flat-- 0° angle-- for optimal absorption of the sun’s energy. Here in the deep south, my angle of incidence for summer-- the smallest it will be all year-- is 6°. As you can see from the photograph, I did some improvisation with a piece of cardboard to get the correct tilt. At 6° the pouch is just barely was off the ground except at the middle. At all other, greater angles, it will be above the surface. So for folks who determine what angles of incidence are optimal at their latitudes, this isn’t that big a deal. If you just pitch the thing out the on the ground, it is. All that said, I would have liked to see the panel with a fourth section at one end, i.e., the pouch section. This would also allow the extension cord to be connected without the panel resting on it. How did it go? Good and bad. In the end it was fine, though I have some general questions for Jackery. The panel arrived just before noon on a day that started out with 25% scattered high clouds, and 102k LUX in full sun. I gathered up a white sheet upon which to lay the panel and deflect the heat, a piece of cardboard to get a tilt close to optimal, the Jackery 160 which was down to 63%, and had it set up and running by 12:15. Started off slowly but jumped up to 35W input in just a few seconds. (Maximum input to the station is 42W.) At 12:54 curiosity got the better of me and I’m glad it did. The Jackery 160 was in full critical mode! Lots of warning lights, and about 1/3 of the display was solid black. Hot as blazes-- this is not good-- unplugged it and took it inside. I just happened to have a lazar thermometer: the front was 110°; sides, about 100; back 90; top measured 122° and that’s after a couple of minutes inside. Took it out to the shop and put it in front of a window unit A/C. Within 10 minutes it had cooled to less than 80, and had been charged to 72%. But this was still not good. While I was at it, I measured the surface of the panel, 170°. Very not good. The maximum recharging temperature for the Jackery is 104°F. The “operating temperature range’ for the panel is 14-104°F. The air temperature was about 92 (didn’t think to get ground temperature). I risked it and put the Jackery back out there-- in the shade!-- at about 1:10pm. I monitored the temperatures. Jackery 160 surfaces stayed at 86-96, it was starting to cloud up and the temperature of the panel surface dropped to 150. Bottom line, the panel charged the Jackery 160 from 63% to full in 2 hours and 45 minutes which included about 15 minutes of panic and I’m guessing self-shut-down for some amount of time during the high temperature warning. To its credit, the station did what it was supposed to do-- shut down if over heating-- and recovered nicely. I’m assuming that maximum recharging temperature for the 160 is the temperature of the unit, since the air temp was not 104. So that’s on me; in the summer in Mississippi keep it in the shade (that 9’ extension cord will do the trick). But, question for Jackery (which has great customer service by the way). What does “operating temperature range” mean? It must mean the temperature of the panel itself. If so, what suggestions do you have for keeping the panel cooler? I’m thinking elevating it above ground to increase airflow is the place to start. If it’s going to do the job after summer storms/hurricanes that I described above, it has to work when it’s hot outside. Suggestions? Please note, this is not unique to the Solar Sega. All portable solar panels are black. That’s a heat absorption problem. A couple of other things. As I mentioned, the angle of incidence at your latitude matters for efficiency. I’d like to see Jackery include a map or table (season by latitude) in the owner’s manual with that information. I also tested how well the 160 did with pass-through wattage while charging with the panel. About as good as AC changing. Bottom bottom line is I’d like to see Jackery do three things: 1) explain to consumers the efficiency of its solar panel as it relates to angle of incidence; 2) highlight the recharging maximum temperatures with a waring to place the Power Stations in the shade; and 3) give some ideas about how one would efficiently recharge a Power Station via a Solar Sega in the heat of the summer.

Due to the pandemic, I decided to upgrade my emergency kits. I came across the Jackery products here on Amazon and read hundreds of great reviews, and now I am hooked. I started out with the Jackery 240. I liked it so much that I immediately ordered the 500. Then they came out with the 1000, so I got that one, too. I also got two of the Jackery 60w solar panels, as well as two of the 100w solar panels. All of the products are amazing. They are easy to use, quiet, very portable, and they look great. All of the power stations come with a wall charger and a car charger, as well as a pouch for the chargers. I really like how Jackery includes the pouch so chargers arent all over the place. The solar panels have a zippered pouch attached on the outside, which is also great. The cables that connect the solar panel to the power station are long, so you can keep the power station out of the sun while you recharge it. You can also charge your small devices directly from the solar panels (when they are in the sun) via a USB port. The 60w solar panels cannot be connected to each other (as far as I can tell), but you can connect two of the 100w solar panels together. The connector is included with the Jackery 1000 power station, not the solar panels, fyi. One thing to note about the Jackery 1000 (besides having more power) is the DC 12v output (i.e., cigarette lighter hole) is now covered with a rubber flap. There were many reviews that complained about that being exposed, and it seems that Jackery listened. Jackery makes carrying/storage cases for the power stations, too. I have one for the Jackery 240, and it is a very nice case. I will probably get one for the 500 and 1000 in the near future. I havent used these products extensively yet, but I look forward to years of use whether camping, traveling, power outages, etc. A huge thumbs up -- I definitely recommend.

This panel is great while camping. I used it for camping and it was great. You need patience because the sun charges as fast as it is clear. There are connectors for different items. I recommend a higher panel if you can afford it.

I debated whether or not to buy a cheaper panel than the Jackery. Ultimately, I decided the kickstands, the magnetic closure, the ability to charge usb and USB-c directly from the panel, and the proper charging input without the need for an adapter for my 240 were worth the price. I dont have other panels to compare it to, but I can say that, so far, I am 100% happy I chose the SolarSaga. For one, I didnt realize that its actually a 68w vs a 60w panel. Im testing it as we speak and am currently getting 65w out of it when the sun peaks out and 25w when it goes behind the clouds. Thats at 10:30 am. For two, I also didnt realize that my 240 unit could handle that. I thought it topped out at 42w input. Apparently the later models can? During my testing yesterday the unit rose from 0% to 34% in 2 hours. I did have good sun and was getting about 50 watts. Well see what it does when the sun wont come out at all, but so far I can say that is plenty for my use. My wife and I camp every other weekend and never fully drain the 240 in a day, so I think well be able to top it off every day no problem with 2 or 3 hours of mediocre sunshine. That alone makes it a game changer for us. Were going camping again in10 days. Ill update this if Im wrong about any of this.