Jackery SolarSaga 60 Watt Solar Panel Review

"A post PGE California power outage customer here. I got both the 100 W 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 the 100 W 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 have it on hand 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."

"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, "

"I use the Solar Saga to charge my Jackery 240 which recharges a lot of handheld devices on a daily basis. The panel is lightweight, compact and sets up in less than a minute. While parked in your camper, RV, car, truck, etc. you can place the panel on your dashboard faced toward the sun with the 240 charging on the floorboard. This works well in sunny areas while you are shopping, hiking, and don't want to leave the panel outside. The long cord hook-up works great to allow the Solar Saga to be placed in full sun while the 240 and your devices being charged can be in the shade or inside your vehicle. In my opinion for the size, charging capabilities, and weight, the Solar Saga is ahead of the competition and the ease of use is a big factor."

"I can safely say that once you are in the Jackery family you will be hooked and looking for the next addition to it! So when they came out with the new 60 watt solar panel I was very excited to get my hands on one. I’ve had some time to test mine out now and a really like it. I was amazed by how small it was when I pulled it out of the box! It’s 11” x 16” and only a half inch thick all folded up. It’s tri-folded with snaps to keep it together and has a pocket on one side for the 8 foot cable that comes with it. Everything is very self contained and even has a built in handle for carrying. I tested it out for several days and found that even though it’s rated for up to 60 Watts it mostly put out a steady 36 - 38 Watts with occasional spikes into the 50 and 60 Watt range. I’m in New England and we aren’t into the brightest days of the year yet so that output may change. However even at 36 - 38 Watts it manages to charge up at a reasonable speed. The regular wall charger only sends out 41 Watts so the solar panel is not far behind in output. The manual says to be careful how you clean it (use a soft cloth) and to not let it get wet. I found that that is true with the cleaning. You don’t want to scratch up the panels or you will impact your output. And you will want to make sure it’s put away if you think a storm is going to come through overnight. All in all, I’m really happy with this product and look forward to putting it to good use! It is incredibly portable and will do a good job at keeping your Jackery battery packs fully charged! I’m a big solar power fan and this little setup of the 60 Watt Solar Panel and Jackery 160 is a great tool to have for whatever adventure your heading out into! Great job Jackery! Keep up the good work! I look forward to what you come out with next!"

"I'm an avid astrophotographer. I wanted dependable solar panels to charge my Jackery Explorer 500 and 240 power stations during the day, then use that power to run my imaging rig all night while shooting planets and deep space images. I ended up buying both the Jackery SolarSaga 60 watt and 100 watt panels and I couldn't be happier with how they perform. The 60 watt is a great match for the Explorer 240. The 240's charge controller limits the input to about 40 watts so the 60 watt panel is perfect for it. Even with that limitation, it charges the 240 quickly. I use the 100 watt panel to charge the larger Explorer 500 power station and they work well together. I have used this 60 watt panel to charge the Explorer 500 but it takes a little longer. The 500 can charge at around 80 watts so it saves time using the larger panel for charging it. The 60 watt panel is easy to use because it's very light and has a handy kickstand on the back to get it angled up at the sun. It has snaps to keep it folded when not in use. The material is very high quality and should stand up to heavy use for many years. I did buy a Rockpals 60 watt panel and while it works well, it's output isn't quite as good as the Jackery Solarsaga 60 nor is it as easy to use (see photo). The Jackery produces more power with just the three panels vs the Rockpal's four panels. The Jackery power stations charged by the panels allow me to do some nice planetary and deep sky work."

"Today was my test day and I must say I am extremely happy with this product. After reviewing many videos, and product reviews I chose the Jackery 240 watt solar generator. Besides camping, I live in a hurricane prone area and when we lose power it could be weeks before we get it back. With low wattage LED lights and the ability to keep my emergency radios and laptop charged it provides the security to my wife and I. Having a gasoline generator is fine for a little while but eventually you run out of fuel, you need to change the oil constantly and chances are if you don't have power neither will the gas stations. I have charged my laptop, two phones, hand held radios, emergency lighting and tested it with my CPAP and all worked well. When I need to evacuate this will go with me and when I return having a solar generator will be vital for communication. I would also like to mention the sales / service department that answered all of my questions. I took this with me to the VFW post told them why I got this and told them about the other products offered by Jackery, and my fellow post members were interested and are considering getting one of there own."