My favorite solar charger for my phone is 39% off for Black Friday — and it even shades me from the sun

There are a lot of things I carry around with me, but one thing I’ve found especially helpful is a solar charger that juices my phone when there are no outlets in sight. That’s why I’ve been using the EcoFlow Power Hat, which is getting a substantial discount for Black Friday.

Amazon has the EcoFlow Power Hat for just $79 with its Black Friday sale going on right now. That price features a $50 discount from what you’d normally pay for the Power Hat. You could pay just as much for any of the best portable chargers and battery banks out there, but the benefit of this solar charger for your phone is the promise of limitless power courtesy of the sun.

Why it’s a great deal

First of all, I can’t stress enough that the EcoFlow Power Hat is the most compact solar panel I’ve come across — due largely in part to how it folds over a couple of times to fit inside of a pizza slice size cover. It’s svelte enough when it’s folded over to easily stow away in the laptop compartment in my backpack.

Secondly, it’s rated to deliver up to 12W of power delivery. That may not sound like a whole lot, but when you’re in a remote spot or nowhere in sight of an outlet source outdoors, this is good enough to get some charge before it gets dark out. I’ve tested the EcoFlow Power Hat out on a somewhat partially sunny day this fall, and it got my Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus to 8% battery capacity in 30 minutes. Of course, that charge would be more had there been more sun out, even a little bit of power can be helpful when you’re in a crunch.

Since the EcoFlow Power Hat looks awfully like a fishing hat, you can wear it to keep shade from the sun — all while charging your device. The hat has an IP65 rating that protects it from dust and light rain. Meanwhile, it also features both USB-A and USB-C ports to accommodate whatever gadgets need a charge. Under ideal conditions, it could charge most phones in about 3 to 4 hours.

More EcoFlow deals

Beyond the EcoFlow Power Hat, there are other solar panels, portable power stations, and chargers on sale for Black Friday through Amazon. Here are just some worth checking out: