Does anyone have any experience with PowerFilm's foldable solar chargers ?

These look like the cream of the crop of the portable solar world in terms of weight and output. For example, the PowerFilm F15-1200 is rated at 20 watts at 1.2 amps and weighs under a pound. That is pretty amazing. This is certainly enough to charge a fairly high capacity sealed lead acid (SLA) battery, which many of us use for backup AC/DC power.

The downside is the cost of these things. They seem to have a single US civilian supplier , who I've never heard of. I can't find any substantive reviews online, and I'd to know more about their durability and performance before shelling out the $$ for one of these. (I currently have a much lower performing older-fashioned folding panel which needs replacing.)

Any thoughts or info would be very appreciated!

Fitz

I think Brunton makes some as well.

They look like they've come down considerably in price over the last year. If I remember correctly, the F15-1200 or F15-1800 was $899.00 and only came in Woodland and Desert Camouflage.

On the upside, I think these are the ones that work with bullet holes in them. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The really nice thing about the PowerFilm chargers are they fold down to the size of a paperback book or magazine, depending on the power rating. You can actually cargo pocket some of them.

They also weigh a fraction of the roll-up kind chargers that Brunton makes. This makes them great for camping use and for putting them in your BOB.

They come in black too now. Camouflage is actually a real consideration with solar chargers, because you want to be able to find them again but you don't want other people finding them, presumably because you have something expensive hooked up to them charging.

I'm not quite sure which way I'm leaning on this one, but bright organge is definitely out for me. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Just a quick FYI on the Brunton roll ups. Unless you are using a vehicle, I wouldn't use them, they dont roll up that small. We took some to Afghanistan, and while the small ones were great for strapping across your ruck to work while you walk, storing them was a bit of a pain. The one I do like is the tri-fold 25 watt system they have, it's a bit bulky, about the size of a small laptop, but what a powerhouse! I'm not sure if they even make them any more, but it was tough, and provided a lot of juice in a short time. Because it folds into it's own case, it was pretty rugged too.

Cheers,
Mike