Jackery SolarSaga 100 Review

The Jackery SolarSaga 100 is one of the best 100-watt solar panels we tested across every category. It charges devices faster than most other panels in any condition, in full sun and on overcast days. Its design is simple yet effective, so it's super easy to use. It sets up in seconds, and it stores away just away quickly. This panel has everything you'd want in a large solar panel for camping or off-grid living. And it's one of the best deals we've seen, making it an even better value.

Performance Comparison

Direct Solar Charging Speed

For most people, the most important aspect of a solar panel is how efficiently it works when placed in direct sunlight. The SolarSaga 100 is one of the best in this regard. During our direct solar charging speed testing, it charged its Jakery Explorer 160 test battery at impressive speeds.

The SolarSaga 100 performed better than nearly every other panel we tested across all our direct solar charging tests. The monocrystalline silicon solar cells efficiently convert sunlight into power. The SolarSaga was one of the fastest panels we tested in our direct sunlight charging tests, giving you more freedom to charge up quickly after spending all day out of camp or taking advantage of those brief sunlit moments between clouds.

The SolarSaga 100 is a 100-watt panel with a high sunlight-to-energy conversion efficiency. We tested all panels simultaneously to cut down on contributing variables. On a sunny day at 5,000 feet in Colorado, the SolarSaga charged a 167-watt-hour battery from 20% to 80% in just 101 minutes. That's over 40% faster than some other 100-watt solar panels we tested.

Even as sun conditions varied, we watched the watt output from the SolarSaga 100 stay consistently higher than other panels we tested. At peak sun, this panel reliably put out over 60 watts. It also was less variable in its watt output than many other panels we tested, which adds to its overall efficiency. Compared to most other 100-watt panels with output wattage in the 40-watt range in our lineup, the SolarSaga is extremely efficient.

Indirect Solar Charging Speed

While just about any panel for a solar camping setup will perform well in sunny conditions, it isn't always sunny. The SolarSaga 100 also performed very well in our indirect solar charging speed test, which simulated conditions on a cloudy day. This panel charged its test battery faster than most others in indirect sunlight.

Using a white sheet to mimic thick cloud cover, we tested our 100-watt panels side-by-side, monitoring their watt output and measuring how long each panel took to charge its test battery from 20% to 80%. While all panels in our testing showed a wattage output drop during our "cloudy day" tests, the SolarSaga continued to impress us and outperformed the rest. The total time to charge its 167-watt-hour test battery from 20% to 80% was just 197 minutes. This is considerably faster than most other solar panels' performances in our indirect solar charging speed test.

The SolarSaga 100 saw less of an increase in charging time than most of the models we tested. Some panels took over 100 minutes longer to charge their test battery during indirect charging speed tests than it took the SolarSaga. The SolarSaga took longer than it did under direct sunlight but still charged its test battery faster than nearly all the other solar panels in this review.

Portability

The SolarSaga 100 is one of the more portable solar panels we tested. It weighs 10.3 pounds and folds to barely an inch thick, so you can easily pack it into your trunk with all your camping equipment. It also has an integrated handle to carry it to wherever you'll set up your solar power station at camp.

The SolarSaga 100 only folds in half, so you can't origami it into quite as small of a package as some other panels. However, since it only folds once, you can pack it away nearly twice as fast as panels that fold multiple times. You can set up this panel very quickly for the same reason.

While some panels are more portable than the SolarSaga because they fold down smaller, this panel balances ease of packability with overall portability extremely well. Most of the panels that fold to a smaller size take as much as twice as long to pack away. For this reason, the SolarSaga 100 earns high marks in our portability metric, even though its packed size isn't the smallest.

Functionality

The SolarSaga 100 is one of the most functional solar panels we tested. It's incredibly easy to use and has a USB-A and USB-C output. It also has a hardwired DC 8-millimeter cable for connecting to larger power stations.

If necessary, you can charge three devices simultaneously with the SolarSaga 100. While most people will probably plug the DC cable directly into a power station and charge their devices from there, you can charge two devices directly off this solar panel. This isn't the most efficient way to charge multiple devices, but it is worth noting that it is possible.

The SolarSaga 100 has fold-out kickstand legs to angle toward the sun during early morning or late evening when the sun is lower in the sky. These legs are adjustable so you can track the sun's angle throughout the day to ensure maximum efficiency. They fold flat and are held in place with velcro when you aren't using them. They're not the most secure in use, though, and we did have to rescue the panel after it blew over in some large gusts of wind. But, the SolarSaga didn't tip over any more often than any other panel we tested in high winds.

Should You Buy the Jackery SolarSaga 100?

The SolarSaga 100 is one of the best values of any 100-watt solar panels we tested. It performs as well as or better than other panels in every metric we tested and costs less than most. This panel charges a power station quickly in direct sunlight and is more efficient than most in cloudy conditions. It's convenient to use and easy to tote around and set up. The SolarSaga is an excellent option for just about any solar camping setup.

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