Off-grid living, here we come!

The EcoFlow 400W portable solar panel folds into four sections. The panel is surprisingly thin and floppy, making it somewhat cumbersome to set up. The carrying case serves as a kickstand, which works well once you get the hang of it. You'll appreciate that it's waterproof. If you already have an EcoFlow power station, this will pair exceptionally well. You can also charge other compatible batteries with this solar panel, but you might need adapters.

Most portable solar panels deliver 100W to 200W max. While you can find 300W panels, the EcoFlow seems to be the only portable solar panel that reaches 400W. But are those claims accurate, and is it worth its price tag? Let's unfold this panel to find out.

The EcoFlow 400W solar panel ships in a cleverly constructed cardboard box with minimal plastic wrapping and only one Styrofoam spacer. We appreciate the eco-conscious packaging.

The box contains the solar panel itself and the following accessories:

The installation steps are printed in the instruction manual and on the cardboard box.

The EcoFlow solar panel comes wrapped in its carrying bag. When using the solar panel when the sun is highest between 10am and 2pm, you can just remove it from the carrying bag and lay it flat on the ground for maximum sun exposure. Before and after midday, use the kickstand setup seen above.

However, setting up the kickstand isn't as easy as pulling off a velcro tab. Instead, here's what we thought was the easiest way to set up the solar panel with its kickstand.

Once all the carabiners are hooked in, you can adjust the angle from 40° to 80°, until you reach a 90° angle between the panel and the sun. At this point, it would be good to connect your portable battery to the panel, to see at which point you get the highest input charge.

When you connect the panel's MC4 connectors (on the left in the photo above) to an adapter, note that you might have to reverse the adapter's polarity before you can connect another cable that plugs into your battery. If you use an MC4 to Anderson connector, which plugs directly into your battery, this won't be necessary. Since we already had two SAE cables in our collection, however, we opted for an MC4 to SAE adapter (connected to one MC4 connector in the photo above), which conveniently came with an SAE polarity reverse adapter (in the middle in the photo above).

The EcoFlow 400W solar panel makes a great first impression. The fabric used to cover the backside of the panel and the carrying bag feels high quality and repels water. The design is sleek and functional.

At over 35 pounds (16kg), this panel is at the top end of what we'd consider portable. You won't want to haul the panel across long distances, though the carrying handles and shoulder strap make it reasonably comfortable to carry. Setting the panel up is straightforward, but since it's sectioned into four floppy parts, it needs good coordination or a bit of help.

The panel is IP68 rated, meaning it should withstand dust, dirt, sand, and submersion in water up to a maximum depth of 5ft (1.5m) for up to 30 minutes. However, EcoFlow cautions that only the panel's main body is completely waterproof. While the junction box and connection points should not be immersed in water, rain shouldn't affect them. To confirm this, we opened the junction box and found the inside sealed with waterproof material.

When using the carrying bag as a kickstand, we found it impossible to set the panel up completely straight. The sides would always bend back a little. We didn't have a chance to test this, but we suspect wind would be problematic, as it's somewhat bendable and presents such a large surface. You could use the additional grommets to secure the panel. Better yet, avoid the kickstand and create a more permanent mounting solution.

Before you can hook the panel up to charge a power station, you'll probably need a suitable adapter cable. This panel comes only with the MC4 connectors attached to the junction box. Depending on which cables you already have and what you'd like to charge, pick either a MC4 to Anderson adapter or a MC4 to SAE adapter.

According to EcoFlow, you can expect this panel to output up to 350W on a clear cloud-free day with sunlight hitting the panel at a 90° angle. EcoFlow did not specify which conditions would yield the full 400W output, but the conditions they quote for reaching 350W sound about perfect. With an output of 350W, the EcoFlow 400W solar panel would charge the Oukitel P2001, a power station with a capacity of 2,000Wh, in just under six hours. Before you hook the panel up to charge a battery, make sure its maximum charge capacity is compatible with this panel.

If you own the EcoFlow Delta Pro, you can wire up to three EcoFlow 400W solar panels in series to power your portable battery. Note that EcoFlow doesn't recommend wiring panels from different brands or with a different wattage in series. You can, of course, charge a non-EcoFlow power station, given it's compatible with MC4 standards and can handle up to 400W input.

The EcoFlow 400W solar panel is one of the most powerful portable solar panels on the market today. The panel is sleek, functional, and fairly easy to set up. We also liked its low-waste packaging.

Thanks to its foldable design, the EcoFlow 400W solar panel remains portable, though it's rather heavy and somewhat floppy. As mentioned above, we had trouble keeping it from bending when setting it up using the carrying bag as a kickstand. While you can secure it using the grommets along its upper and lower edges, we recommend mounting it on a solid support structure. However, if you're looking for a truly portable unit to use in all kinds of weather, including windy conditions, this panel might not be the best option. You could opt for connecting several smaller EcoFlow solar panels or invest in a more rigid panel from a different manufacturer.

At around $3 per watt, the EcoFlow 400W solar panel isn't the cheapest panel you can get, and you'll pay extra for adapters if you need them. And if you can believe EcoFlow, the panel will likely top out at 350W, so it's more like $3.43 per watt. The $3 per-watt price point is similar to the Jackery Solar Saga 100, but that's a much smaller and hence more flexible 100W panel. If you have the space and don't need something ultra portable, you could consider the FlexSolar 200W briefcase solar panel instead, which costs approximately $1.85 per watt. The FlexSolar even comes with a selection of cables and a solar charge controller included.

The panel is made from layers of pliable ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) polymer and durable fiberglass. Each monocrystalline silicon cell is covered with ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) film, which yields its IP68 waterproof rating.

Generally, the materials this panel is made from will easily outlast the solar cells themselves. According to a 2016 study on EVA, the polymer used in constructing EcoFlow solar panels, this polymer degrades by just 1% in 30 years, which "is likely to have little impact on the module performance." Monocrystalline solar panels like the EcoFlow 400W solar panel, have a typical lifespan of up to 30 years.

We hope you like the items we recommend and discuss! MUO has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from some of your purchases. This won’t affect the price you pay and helps us offer the best product recommendations.

While completing a PhD, Tina started writing about consumer technology in 2006 and never stopped. Now also an editor and SEO, you can find her on Twitter or hiking a nearby trail.

Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!