In this week's episode of the podcast, I'm going to run you through the basics of solar power and it's uses for overlanding. I see people asking lots of questions in overlanding and camping groups and forums, so while I'm no electrician, I've been using solar for the last 4 or 5 years and I've learned a lot.

I was in the same place as a lot of us 5 years ago where solar seemed really intimidating and scary, but once I got into it, it's really pretty straightforward and there are so many valuable uses that it's a powerful tool for your overlanding build.

As I mention in the video, here are a couple of helpful links to related articles that may help if you're getting started in solar.

Mono vs. Poly: Solar Cells Comparison: https://sunvivalguide.com/amorphous-vs-monocrystalline-vs-polycrystalline-solar-panel/

Solar calculator: https://mowgli-adventures.com/rv-solar-calculator/

And here are some of the solar products I've used over the years that I liked:

The first 100W Renogy Solar panel with controller that I ran on my Xterra ($130 and includes panel, controller, and cords): https://amzn.to/42YED7p

Odyssey AGM Starter battery (ran this in both my Xterra and again in my Frontier-if you're not in a Nissan truck, verify the battery size for your application): https://amzn.to/3SYXnyP

I built a portable power bank on the cheap using this battery (100AH LifePo4): https://amzn.to/3T0a9gC

And I put that battery in a pre-made battery box for tons of capacity for around $300 total: https://amzn.to/3Ifwpyj

If you have a solar panel, but want a decent budget controller to allow you to hook it up to a battery, this one is great and it's $18: https://amzn.to/3P0oQzh

Or, if you want a better MPPT controller, this one is under $70 and has bluetooth connectivity and a phone app: https://amzn.to/3TdyZuK

Here's that Allpowers power bank and it comes with a 200 watt flexible panel (I'm going to mount mine to the top of my RTT for about $500 total including the power bank and the solar panel): https://amzn.to/49Tkfqi