I tried a wizard hat that captures solar energy to charge the phone. Magic or marketing?

Like many middle-aged men, I have a prominent, solar-powered area on the top of my head – known as the bald spot. Leave it uncovered while working in the yard for too long, and it will turn into a glowing red beacon by nightfall. I learned to wear a hat, but all that initial solar energy bouncing off my scalp seemed like a waste of time — until I discovered The power of Eco-Flo Haa sun hat and solar power supply that retails for $129 (currently $129). On sale for $99).

The concept is clever: Eight solar panels built into the hat feed power to two USB ports (one USB-A, one USB-C) housed in a small box under the back brim, complete with a small LED indicator. But in practice, the results were disappointing. Although it did an adequate job of protecting my scalp from the sun, it barely charged my phone at all. Perhaps most damning, it’s an ugly hat — the kind of thing that solves a problem no one asked about while creating many new ones.

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Design: The least attractive hat I’ve ever worn

If I wasn’t already clear: This is a really ugly hat. Sun hats aren’t generally stylish but this thing looks like a melted flower pot or a giant version of one of those awful flower pot holders made out of vinyl records. I’m not a fashion designer however The OASIS encounter has made bucket hats cool again Such as wide-brimmed hats Tele TS1 Keep in the sun without looking like you’ve been hit, Wile E. Coyote style, by a falling satellite dish. I’m a big fan of practicality over style, but there are limits, especially since it’s not very practical.

It is not easy to clean or wear

All the electronics in the hat mean you can’t wash it. When my baseball cap gets dirty, sweaty, and covered in the dirt of hard work, I can throw it in the wash. Try that with an EcoFlow Power Hat and you’ll ruin it. You also need a cable connecting the hat to the phone, which is not very practical when you’re trying to weed. I ended up running a cable under my shirt, which made the whole thing look even more goofy.

Charging: Nothing worth using can really be charged

The problem is how solar energy works. Sunlight hits the solar panel, converting it into electrical energy. This is called the photoelectric effect, and was first explained by Albert Einstein, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering it In 1921. The amount of energy depends on the size of the panel and the amount of light that falls on it. This in turn depends on how the panel is positioned in relation to the sun.

This is why the solar panels on your roof are tilted south to face the sun. The EcoFlow Power Hat features eight small solar panels placed around its large brim. This means that most of them don’t get much or any direct light unless the sun is directly above their heads. The sun has an annoying habit of rising and falling, so most of the time, you don’t get a consistent amount of direct sunlight.

What does all this mean in practical terms? This means that this sun hat does not work well. I tested the hat in full afternoon sun in my garden near Boston and found that, at best, it generated about 5 watts of power; That’s not much. It was generating 5 volts on the USB port, but the current flow was only 1 amp, meaning it was still only generating about 5 watts of power. In the morning or afternoon, when the sun is at a certain angle, the current generated drops to less than 0.3 amps, which is about 2 watts. EcoFlow claims it can generate up to 12 watts but I wasn’t able to achieve anything close to that.

100 hours to charge iPhone 17 Pro

To test it further, I conducted a strenuous gardening session. Well, well, I hung it on a pole, and I connected it to Huge portable power bank And I watched from the deck to make sure my local groundhog (we call him Wilbur) Pig whistleHe didn’t steal it. After six hours of this hard work, the charge level was up 9%, which represents about 225 mAh of stored charge. This is about 5% of capacity iPhone 17 ProSo this hat will take about 100 hours to charge the phone. This is assuming that the phone is not working at the time.

Specifications

• Two sizes: Medium-Large (56-58cm) and Large-XL (59-61cm)
• Dual USB-A and USB-C ports for charging two devices simultaneously.
• It has eight small solar panels on the edge.
• UPF 50+, sun and UV protection
• It claims 24% heat-to-electricity conversion and up to 12 watts of power; Tested to only 5 watts
• IP65 water and dust resistant

Buying Tip: Skip, there are better hats and better solar charging options

Many of the products I test end up being a great idea but poorly executed. The practicalities of manufacturing products and compromises in real-world engineering often undermine the intended purpose of the product. However, it’s $129 full or $99 on sale if you’re Buy directly from EcoFlowThe EcoFlow Power Hat is one of the rare exceptions that is a bad idea with poor execution.

It’s ugly and has solar panels that are too small to be effective for anything. It might be better if they went with Flat cap designor a the desert or Hiking hat design With solar panels on the top or neck flap instead. It’s also an inferior solution to just getting Fast and compact portable chargerlike InfinityLab InstaGo 5000 or Anker 523 PowerCore Slim 10K PD. Another alternative is to use larger Portable solar panelwhich you can pair with Power station Or strap it to your backpack while hiking to charge your devices, like with Blueity manual 2.

All of these options will give you more power than an EcoFlow solar hat, and they’ll do it better and faster. So keep the solar panels off your head and Stick it to your roof instead.