Back in about August of last year, a friend of mine from the other side of the world sent me a picture of a specific solar power bank and asked me to look for it on a local online store. After some proper checking, I found out that it was selling at a little over $50.
He then told me he needed me to get two of it. His reasoning was that I wouldn't have power supply problems with the work we were planning to do together. Honestly I wasn't keen on buying them, as the total money spent would already be enough for a small solar generator with panels which can power my house while also charging all my devices.
But he insisted.
His main argument was the portability and that I'd always have to recharge them by the sun. He finally sent me $100 to cover the price of both power banks and about 7 days later, I got the power banks.
I was incredibly excited when I received the power banks, because I had been spending nearly $1 daily on charging my phone and other gadgets, and I thought I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
That was the perception, but the he reality was totally different.
When they arrived, they had little to no charge and I had to place them under the direct sunlight to charge since that was the primary reason for buying them. From morning till evening after leaving it under the sun, only 1 bar (25%) could enter the device.
I couldn't even use them that day because I reasoned they needed to be fully charged before use, but eventually, I was forced to take them to a charging centre to charge with electricity since there was absolutely no charge. That was the first disappointment.
Since then, I've been charging them with electricity.
No matter how bright the sun was, I couldn't achieve more than about 10% added to the device and then I gave up using the solar charging function and decided to leave them untouched. Also, it cannot even charge my phone for a full day if I use it while charging (I don't mean when I leave it charging and not using it). Instead of helping me save money as it was initially purchased for, I am actually spending money.
What is the purpose of these solar power banks anyway? If I have to charge it with electricity, then what did I actually buy?
Looking back, I really wish I had listened to my gut feeling and just bought the solar generator that I was intending to buy earlier.
I do not know if there are actually better solar power banks out there but based on my experience they definitely are not what they are marketed as. It was truly a scam.