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!