It sounds like wholesome bread products baked by the nurturing light of the sun... <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

What I am actually interested in is if anyone here might be familiar with or uses Brunton flexible portable solar panels (AKA SolarRolls), something similar such as the ICP flexible panels, or even the small hardcase solar battery chargers. I'd also like to hear anyone's thoughts on the inclusion of this type of equipment in a BOB.

I thought that I was going to have to make do with my freeplay equipment if ever I found myself in the middle of an LTS situation. However, frankly, this stuff seems to be sub-par in both performance and bulk in my experience, and especially now as I read about some of the equipment mentioned here in the forums. I'm also starting to find bits of information on the web, horror stories really, regarding freeplay equipment and problems charging them up after storage.

I wonder what the long term implications of flexible solar panels are. Most fixed panels have a long life, but once put in place, they don't move that much unless tracking the sun in some cases. After that it's really dependant on the equipment between the panels and the batteries.

And speaking of batteries, there's the issue of battery life, and worse the problem of rechargeable battery "memory" (is this even a factor on newer batteries?).

Or could it be that I'm just not familiar with the best freeplay equipment?

Thanks for any help on this subject!

I dont know of the solar panels you mention, but Canon make some flexible panels and they get a good rap over here.
I have 3 little solid panels that I use. 1x 5 watt and 2x 2 watt panels, and I mostly use them with Sealed Lead Acid batteries.
I have 5x .8 Ahour, 2x 1.2 Ah, 4x 9 Ah, 1x 28 Ah and 1x 43Ah Batteries. I always get 12v chargers for everything I own, or I make one. I have also made some adjustable voltage regulators and keep a range of connections handy for other thing I might come across that I need to use.
I keep a range of thing that work on 12 volt eg compact fluoro's etc
I have all this for everyday use, not as my BOB, but its an easy grab.

The solar rolls are *NOT* that robust. They can't be folded or rolled too tightly. Even the small ones take up A LOT of space in a backpack.
Couple that with contacts that WILL wear out with the constant rolling/unrolling potential and the weight issue -I wouldn't touch these cells.

There are far more effecient cells out there (weight and size wise). I'd purchase a solar battery charger with Nickle Metal Hydride batteries. I too was hoping for something compact from freeplay but nothing has come out yet.

Perhaps you can make your own:

http://www.geocities.com/cameron_goffin/swsolar.html?1013539610790

-NIM

Biggzie and NIM,
Thanks for the replies and information. It definitely looks like solid cells are the way to go for more reliability.

I guess I was looking for an all in one solution, but that would be the way that nearly insures at some point I wouldn't be able to charge anything, huh? LOL

Thanks!