Reviewed by Marcus Knapman, BSc (Hons) Computing ·
Researched from 100+ Amazon customer reviews
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Cast your mind back to the last power cut you sat through. Phone on 9%, router dead, and the only light source a candle you couldn't find the lighter for. It's not a disaster in Britain, usually, but it's enough to make you think about what you'd do if it dragged on for a day or two.
That's the gap the SOLARBABY Wind Up Solar Radio is aimed at. It's a small AM/FM radio with a 2000mAh battery that can be topped up three ways: USB, the solar panel on top, or a hand crank on the side. It also has a torch, an SOS alarm and a 30cm telescopic antenna, all for £25.99.
My bottom line, having read through the spec sheet and the way owners of this type of radio talk about them: for the money, it covers the emergency basics sensibly, and I'd rather have one in the cupboard than not. It won't replace a proper bedside radio, and anyone expecting hi-fi sound or a week of sunshine-powered listening will be disappointed. But as a back-up for blackouts, camping trips and the dreaded storm-season kit box, it makes a lot of sense. There are a couple of quirks worth knowing about before you buy, so keep reading.
The headline feature is the charging flexibility. The 2000mAh battery takes a Micro USB cable (supplied), the built-in solar panel, or the hand crank. On paper that's a belt-and-braces approach, and for a radio sold on emergency readiness, it's the right idea.
In practice, I'd treat them as a pecking order. USB is the one you'll use to get the battery full before a trip or before storm season, because it's quick and reliable. Solar is the slow top-up, handy on a windowsill or a tent roof, but this is the UK and I wouldn't bet my evening's news on a cloudy November. The hand crank is the last resort. It's there so you're never completely stuck, and that's exactly how it should be thought of. A few minutes of winding will get you some listening time, but it's a rescue measure, not a lifestyle.
The Micro USB port is worth a mention too. It's an older connector now, and if your household has gone fully USB-C, you'll want to keep the supplied cable somewhere sensible with the radio.
The radio covers AM and FM, and the listing makes a fair point about the difference: AM generally reaches further, while FM is clearer for music, sport and talk within a more local range. For emergency use, having both is sensible. FM is your everyday choice, and AM is the fallback if you're out in the sticks and the signal is patchy.
One thing worth flagging for UK buyers is that AM broadcasting is thinner on the ground here than it used to be, so FM is where most of your listening will happen. That's not a fault of the radio, just a quirk of the airwaves, but it does mean the AM band is more of a safety net than a feature you'll lean on.
The telescopic antenna extends to 30cm, and there's an LED signal strength indicator to help with tuning. That second detail is more useful than it sounds. On small analogue radios, finding the sweet spot between two stations can be a faff, and a little light that tells you you've got it right takes some of the guesswork out. It's an analogue tuner, so expect to nudge the dial gently rather than tap in a frequency.
The torch is a 1W LED, with three LEDs listed for the emergency flashlight function. That's enough for finding the fuse box, walking to the loo at 2am during a power cut, or pottering around a campsite. It's not a search-and-rescue beam, and I wouldn't expect it to be at this size and price.
The SOS alarm is the sort of feature you hope never to use. It's there to make noise and attract attention if you're in trouble, and a lanyard is included so you can hang the radio from a bag or around your neck. I like the practicality of that, because a radio you can clip to a rucksack is one you're more likely to take with you.
The listing describes the built-in speaker as loud and crisp. Treat that with a pinch of salt. Small speakers in compact wind-up radios tend to be perfectly good for voices, which is what you want during a news bulletin or weather update, and rather less flattering with music. If you're hoping to fill a tent with bass, this isn't the tool for it.
That said, speech clarity is the thing that matters most here, and a radio built around emergency listening doesn't need to sound like a Bose. The compact size is part of the appeal: it'll sit in a glovebox, a grab bag or a kitchen drawer without taking up space.
There's no Amazon rating available for me to lean on at the time of writing, so I can't point to a mountain of buyer feedback to back up the claims. That means this review rests on the spec sheet and what I know about how this style of radio typically performs, and you should read it with that in mind.
The biggest limitation is battery capacity. 2000mAh is modest, and the hand crank and solar panel are slow routes to refill it. Don't expect to wind it for thirty seconds and listen for an hour. Think of the crank as a way to squeeze out enough power for a bulletin or two, not a perpetual motion machine.
It also can't pick up DAB, which is where much of the UK's radio listening has moved. If you're used to DAB stations, you'll be back to FM, and that's a bit of a step backwards for everyday use. For emergency listening, though, FM and AM remain the most dependable bands.
For a radio that doubles as a torch, a power bank of sorts and a siren, with a 12-month warranty and a Micro USB cable in the box, £25.99 feels reasonable. You can spend a lot more on emergency radios with bigger batteries and fancier displays, but you'd be paying for features most people won't need. If your goal is a cheap, compact bit of insurance for power cuts, camping and the occasional emergency kit, the SOLARBABY does the job without fuss.
The SOLARBABY Wind Up Solar Radio is a sensible, affordable bit of emergency kit that covers the essentials: radio, light, alarm and three ways to charge. Buy it for the storm cupboard, the camping bag or the car, but don't expect big sound or marathon battery life. If you want an everyday DAB radio, look elsewhere.
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