I wanted something more capable than a lightweight personal charging panel, especially for outdoor work and longer trips. The Swamp Donkey feels like the right step up. With 100W of rated power, multiple connection options, and a 60W USB-C output, it gives me the flexibility I need when I’m working away from traditional power.
I originally considered going with a smaller panel, but I decided the extra capacity of the Swamp Donkey made more sense for my needs. At 100W, it gives me significantly more power to work with, and the additional size and weight are a reasonable trade-off when I need to run a more demanding setup.
I like using the Swamp Donkey with an external battery bank. Instead of relying on the panel directly for everything, we can collect and store power during the day and then use the battery when needed. For longer trips and off-grid setups, that makes the whole system much more practical.
On our last outdoor trip, we had several devices that needed power throughout the day. The Swamp Donkey gave us more capacity to work with and the different ports made it easier to connect different types of equipment. It’s much better suited to a group or more demanding setup than a small personal panel.
I was expecting a 100W solar panel to be much more difficult to transport, but the folded size is still pretty manageable. It’s heavier than the smaller Cruxley panels, but considering the 100W capacity, the overall size and weight seem reasonable for what you’re getting.
We used the Swamp Donkey at base camp during a multi-day outdoor trip. It’s definitely bigger than the smaller panels, but the extra power was worth it for our setup. We could leave it collecting power during the day and use the stored energy later when we needed it.
The 60W USB-C output is one of the features that stood out to me. We use the panel as part of a larger power setup with a battery bank, and the higher USB-C capacity gives us more flexibility than the smaller solar panels we’ve used in the past.
One reason I went with the 100W model was to make the most of shorter periods of good sunlight. When we’re working outdoors, we don’t always have an entire day of perfect conditions, so having a higher-output panel gives us a better opportunity to collect useful power when the sun is available.
We took the Swamp Donkey along for an outdoor shoot and it quickly became one of the most useful pieces of gear we brought. The 100W rating gives us considerably more charging capacity, especially when we have several pieces of equipment that need power throughout the day.
I work on outdoor production shoots where keeping our equipment powered can be a challenge. The Swamp Donkey gives us a lot more power than the smaller panels we’ve used before, and having USB-C, USB-A, SAE, and DC outputs gives us plenty of flexibility in the field.
