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Thread: Flexible solar panel

  1. #1
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    Flexible solar panel

    I’m looking for a flexible, lightweight solar panel to mount on my pack to charge a phone/GPS for an upcoming elk hunt. Does anyone here have a recommendation? Thanks in advance
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    I've got older versions of the Anker and Foxelli solar chargers linked below. I did some back yard testing with them when I first got them, but have not used them in the field, so I can't speak to their durability. Both seem well made and functioned well.

    https://www.anker.com/products/a2421

    https://www.foxelli.com/products/fox...ar-charger-21w
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    There's been some mil contract overruns or did not meet spec surfacing at hamfests. Folds to about 8x10 by inch and a half thick.

    I've seen the exact same panel with Mill labeling from the same guy, so my bet is it's panels that didn't quite meet spec.

    It's not as efficient as the same area rigid panels, but for something you can take on a hunting trip would be ideal.

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    if you're using a stove, the BioLite ones use a thermoelectric generator with the heat of the stove to charge a battery or electronics. I just fill with twigs or leaves or anything combustible, throw in a waterproof match to get it started. Sometimes I pack smoker pellets as they work nicely and are easy to carry in a ziplock. I always charge the battery before my trip and boiling water/cooking anything recharges it rabbit slower than I would like. Since I'm not really on my phone when camping it works pretty well.

    The company also has various solar options to recharge devices as well.

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    Thanks for the input gents

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    I don't know how many days you are going to be out for, so that may be a factor in this, but, even with some of the newer solar panels, they seem, at least for the research I've done, to have a bit of a rep for not working so well, especially in the role you describe, IE, "charge on the move".
    Of course the obvious, if clouds/rain/etc, you get poor or zero charge.
    But if strapped to a pack while moving, it also sucks because you are likely never going to get an exact angle inline with the sun fully, so the effectiveness goes way down.
    Most of these solar panels need to be set up in a fixed position anyway, in the best direct sun angle possible, to get what you can out of them, so trying to use a variant that touts on-the-go use as a selling point is moot.

    Assuming combustibles availability/days in field/weight, I'd be just as tempted to try the Biolite stove, instead of a panel. At least I'm sorta saving weight, theoretically...
    Another thing I'm seeing people use instead of solar, is a portable power pack. Basically it's a battery about the size of an external hard drive that you charge at your home, then plug things in to draw off to charge/run in the field. Depending on the size/type of solar panel, it's either a little extra weight, or a wash. But it works regardless of what angle it's at or how many clouds are out...
    "Once we get some iron in our souls, we'll get some iron in our hands..."

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jellybean View Post
    I don't know how many days you are going to be out for, so that may be a factor in this, but, even with some of the newer solar panels, they seem, at least for the research I've done, to have a bit of a rep for not working so well, especially in the role you describe, IE, "charge on the move".
    Of course the obvious, if clouds/rain/etc, you get poor or zero charge.
    But if strapped to a pack while moving, it also sucks because you are likely never going to get an exact angle inline with the sun fully, so the effectiveness goes way down.
    Most of these solar panels need to be set up in a fixed position anyway, in the best direct sun angle possible, to get what you can out of them, so trying to use a variant that touts on-the-go use as a selling point is moot.

    Assuming combustibles availability/days in field/weight, I'd be just as tempted to try the Biolite stove, instead of a panel. At least I'm sorta saving weight, theoretically...
    Another thing I'm seeing people use instead of solar, is a portable power pack. Basically it's a battery about the size of an external hard drive that you charge at your home, then plug things in to draw off to charge/run in the field. Depending on the size/type of solar panel, it's either a little extra weight, or a wash. But it works regardless of what angle it's at or how many clouds are out...
    A month or two ago Big 5 Sporting Goods around Seattle had a 10,000mAh combined solar cell/battery pack on a weekly sale for $15-20. Chinesium (yuck) but it's earned a place in my EDC even if the tablet sucks it dry fast. (I also keep a 10,000mAh powerpack alongside it in the "mobile tech/docs bag".)
    https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/st...21/_/A-7053325
    One thing to watch for, it has a belt clip but it's not real secure and the clip pops off at the drop of a hat--recommend cyanoacrylate or Loctite on it. This one's twice the capacity but might be better for keeping a phone charged"
    https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/st...22/_/A-7053333

    This is the "backup pack" my aunt and I went halves on a 2-pack, also on sale at that time: https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/st...00/_/A-7210859
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
    A month or two ago Big 5 Sporting Goods around Seattle had a 10,000mAh combined solar cell/battery pack on a weekly sale for $15-20. Chinesium (yuck) but it's earned a place in my EDC even if the tablet sucks it dry fast. (I also keep a 10,000mAh powerpack alongside it in the "mobile tech/docs bag".)
    https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/st...21/_/A-7053325
    A solar power bank that doesn't charge in the sun... now if that isn't max level chinesium...
    Did you actually get yours to work?

    This is the "backup pack" my aunt and I went halves on a 2-pack, also on sale at that time: https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/st...00/_/A-7210859
    I don't know the brands for these things, but this design is more along what I was suggesting for the OP.
    "Once we get some iron in our souls, we'll get some iron in our hands..."

    "...A rapid, aggressive response will let you get away with some pretty audacious things if you are willing to be mean, fast, and naked."-Failure2Stop

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  9. #9
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    I have used small flexible solar cells mounted to the top of a pack before for ham radio work. I was doing good to get 200 milliamps of charge due to non-optimal Sun angles, etc.

    That is more than enough to offset receive current in many radios and also charge the battery some to offset discharge from transmissions.

    Bottom line is it's better than nothing but you would not be able to completely charge a 10,000 milliamp hour battery pack or something like a tablet in a day with something that would fit on the top of a backpack.

    As to the fold-up panels, this is what I have, though I believe mine is one that did not quite meet specs:
    https://californiapc.com/Portable-So...EALw_wcB<br />

    It is nominally a 60 watt panel and weighs a couple of pounds. It folds up about the size of a 1.5" three ring notebook binder.

    I say normally 60 w as it'll only do that in bright sunlight and at optimal Sun angle. It's also only going to produce the peak wattage at a certain voltage, so depending on what batteries you're trying to charge may not quite do that.

    Mine is still a good panel, even if it's off spec like I think it is. I think I was seeing three to four amps into a 12 volt battery at the Dayton hamfest last I measured. That was laying flat on the roof of an SUV tied to the roof rack.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jellybean View Post
    A solar power bank that doesn't charge in the sun... now if that isn't max level chinesium...
    Did you actually get yours to work?
    It does generate enough to charge my phone (which is admittedly a potato that shoulda been scrapped years ago), but its built-in battery runs down fast feeding the tablet. Horses for courses--it's there to buy me emergency power and have its own built-in recharge source, not to let me be a full-on IT Road Warrior running a field-office from a moving vehicle.

    Like Dirty Harry might say, a man's gotta know the limitations of his tools--and as much as these things weigh and as many cubic inches as they take in the tablet bag, I wouldn't have them in the Everyday Schlep if I didn't find the juice worth the squeeze for my purposes of a few hours out at a time off the chargers while I'm out on Neighborhood Watch, errands, groceries etc.

    If you can find a foldup cell the size of a legal padfolio, that might be better for tablet-size electronics, but I was looking specifically at phone/GPS/palmpilot-type device use.
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