In these weird and turbulent times – when we suddenly need to worry about our home supply of toilet paper and hand sanitizer – it feels like there are 1,000 new things on our collective “worry list.”

Do I have enough food at home? Is my job secure? Can I order takeout? Is that cough just allergies? Can I touch my face? How long will I have to pretend to “homeschool” my kids? Is society going to collapse? Have the zombies appeared yet?

I’m sorry to say I don’t have satisfying answers to most of those questions. But for those of you who are worrying about the stability of basic infrastructure and utilities, Goal Zero might help ease a couple of those worries.

Listen, I’m not telling you to worry about your electricity or local power company. Odds are quite good that the coronavirus outbreak is NOT going to disrupt your supply of  sweet, sweet power.

However, there are plenty of other reasons to have backup power at the ready, and a natural disaster or a bad summer storm (plus a lousy power company) is just the most obvious. Have a detached garage or barn and need a power source? Going camping and want a lightweight source of power? Taking a road trip and want to pack a power source that isn’t your car’s battery?

Goal Zero was founded on – and continues to operate with – a simple premise: “What if we can put reliable power into every human hand on Earth without overwhelming our resources?” It may sound lofty and unattainable, but the company began as an effort to teach villagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo how run a sustainable business and lift themselves out of poverty.

Over the years, Goal Zero has dedicated itself to this mission by designing reliable – and affordable – portable and solar power sources that can be used by everyone, everywhere. And they’ve provided charitable relief here at home (after Hurricane Sandy, for example) and to areas around the world most in need.

Closer to home, Goal Zero produces a wide range of products with an equally wide applicability – from power banks that fit in your pocket to power stations that’ll keep your fridge running for over a day.

We had the opportunity to go hands on with two of the company’s more versatile products: the Sherpa 100AC power bank and the Nomad 28 Plus solar panel. Both are surprisingly lightweight, easy to slide into a backpack, easy to use, and powerful.

We put both through the wringer.

Both the Sherpa and the Nomad came with us on an extended road trip throughout the U.S. Southwest. We had them in our packs while camping and on the trail in multiple national parks, including a rim-to-rim hike across the Grand Canyon.

We used the Sherpa at a couple conventions as supplementary power. And anyone who’s worked at – or been to – a con knows the value in having portable power for your many devices: phone, tablet, laptop, and camera. And when you have multiple devices, those little pocket-size USB chargers just don’t cut it.

We’ve also used both the Sherpa and Nomad around the house and in the garage for more… mundane purposes.

As a result, we’ve concluded that these devices are practically essential for anyone making an emergency preparedness kit or looking for rugged and reliable power to complement their outdoor gear stash, travel supplies, or on-the-road workstation.

The Sherpa 100AC has a variety of integrated power supplies: 2 (60w) USB-C in/out ports, 2 (2.4A) USB ports, Qi wireless charging, and a 100w AC power outlet (thus the name). And yes, you can use them all at the same time if you really want to. Far more likely, however, and the real selling point here is that you can charge up a couple devices at the same time.

GoalZero claims a single full charge of the Sherpa can supply 8 recharges for a smartphone, 4 for a tablet, and 2 full recharges of a laptop. We found these estimates to be pretty much on target, and you can of course use the Sherpa to recharge – or power – pretty much anything else you carry with you (e.g., a small digital camera, DSLR camera, GoPro, portable lights, Nintendo Switch).

The Sherpa clocks in at 2 pounds, which isn’t much, but if you’re counting ounces in your backpack for an extended hike, that’s fairly hefty. Still, it’s realistically worth the tradeoff for the amount of power you’ll be carrying along with it. If you’re not worried about weight? It’s a feather!

The integrated OLED display supplies quick at-a-glance information re: how much power is left, how much time you have until it’s empty (based on current connections and output), and current in/out wattage. The image above shows a single iPhone 7+ recharging.

Charge times vary, based on how you’re charging it up. But that’s one of the other key selling points of the Sherpa. There are no less than 6 ways you can recharge this little bad boy. The fastest ways are via USB-C or wall charger, which take about 2.5 to 3 hours. The slowest are, obviously, via the Nomad solar panels (6-14 hours with the Nomad 28; 12-28 with the Nomad 14), but it certainly is nice to have that option.

The Nomad 28 hard at work in Capitol Reef National Park

At about 8″ x 12″ x 1″ folded, GoalZero’s Nomad solar panels are bit beefier than the Sherpa. They also have an integrated power cord that cannot be removed (and that adds a bit more bulk), but if you’re going somewhere where you need to rely on solar power, it’s WELL worth the size and weight (3 lbs).

The Nomad 28 consists of four foldable panels that can be used to recharge a Sherpa (or other power supply), or it can be connected directly to a mobile device (such as a phone or camera).

It’s important to note that the Nomad cannot hold a charge itself – it must be connected to another device to capture the solar power.

The Nomad 28 drawing 11w of power when placed in the full summertime Arizona desert sun

Taken together, the Sherpa and Nomad form an impressively powerful pair that I wouldn’t hesitate to bring with me whenever I hit the road or trail for an extended period. The Sherpa has already become a staple of my overnight hikes and has a permanent home in our camping gear. If you’ll be on the trail for an extended period of time or if you’ll be traveling to a remote location where power is questionable, the Nomad should absolutely be in your bag.

And if current events have you scrambling to rethink your disaster preparedness or assembling a home emergency kit, the Sherpa and Nomad are a no-brainer addition. They may not power your fridge or major appliances, but keeping your phone and mobile devices powered up is often a priority during emergencies.