Solar panels come in many sizes. Popular brands include Solio, Freeloader, Brunton, IceTech, Sunsei (ICP), Coleman, Solar Gorilla, Energizer, iSun and SunForce.

A 5 watt solar panel is the minimum practical size. Depending on the devices to be charged and the strength of the sunlight (geographical latitude, time of year, cloud cover) it just might charge:

  • handphones
  • MP3 players (iPod)
  • NiMH AA batteries

A 10 watt panel is a safer bet. 20 watt models are even better (especially for charging notebook and laptop computers) but these are heavy and expensive.