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Reviews > Electronic Devices > Chargers > BioLite SolarPanel 5 > Test Report by Bob SandersBioLite SolarPanel 5Test
Series by Bob Sanders
Initial Report: September 20, 2016 Field Report: December 2, 2016 Long Term Report: January 30,2017
INITIAL REPORTSeptember
20, 2016
BioLite SolarPanel Front View BioLite SolarPanel Sundial BioLite SolarPanel USB Charging Port Corner Latch Points SolarPanel Side View INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The BioLite SolarPanel 5 is a charging device that through a USB connection will charge small electronics directly. The SolarPanel 5 does not have a battery for storage. It is referred to as "Real Time Power". The company does offer the SolarPanel 5+ that does have a battery to store the energy collected for use later. The retail packaging was rather unique. An outside sleeve with a simple corrugated cradle for the Panel. The sleeve covers about 3/4 of the Panel so you can see it but you can't remove it without completely removing the sleeve. It actually took me a while to figure out how to get the panel out of the packaging. Upon inspection the SolarPanel was in excellent shape. It is lightweight yet seems robust. It is well made and I believe it should stand up to use in the field. I took it outside for a quick test. The sun was bright and I used the sundial to position the panel so it was facing directly into the sun. I attached my iPhone which was at 75% charged. I rechecked the phone after 15 minutes and it was up to 85% charged. That seems pretty good to me. The charging was slower than normal when plugged into a wall socket but in the field I thought it was pretty respectable.
Pros: • Lightweight Cons: • None so far
FIELD REPORTDecember
2, 2016
FIELD USAGE
I have
used the BioLite SolarPanel on 3 day hikes, 2 road trips and 1
overnight backpacking trip. The day
hikes and backpacking trip were in the 4-corners area of southwest
Colorado. Temperatures were between 20 and 55 F (-7 and 13 C) and
elevations were between 7500 and 9000 ft (2286 and 2743 m). I used the
solar panel to charge my phone (iPhone 5s) for each trip. For the day
hikes I attached the panel to the back of my day pack and I would set
the pack in the direction of the sun whenever I would stop for a
break. All day hikes were between 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km). I attached
my phone to the panel with a USB cable and secured the phone in a side
pocket. I would record the percentage of charge on the phone at the
beginning and at the end of the hike. On all three hikes the
percentage did not budge. I did not use my phone on any of the hikes.
Sunshine did vary from cloudy to bright sunshine. Granted the panel
was not always in the exact straight-on orientation to the sun while I
hiked. I did anticipate that the phone would gain a bit of charge. For
the quick overnight trip I did manage to sit the panel in the direct
sunlight while I stopped and ate lunch for about 40 minutes and then
at the end of the day for about an hour before the sun went down. When
I unplugged the phone that night it did gain about a 12% charge.
Better, and enough of a charge to use the phone if I needed it for an
emergency. I thought this was a reasonable charge based on the time
and the available sun which did vary from cloudy to slightly overcast.
The trip back to the car the next morning was very cloudy and light
rain at times. I kept the panel stowed for the trip home. Road trips were to Scottsdale, Arizona for the Thanksgiving holiday and to Rollinsville, Colorado where there was no electricity to charge my phone. For the
Arizona road trip, elevation 1200 ft (366 m) and temperatures in the
70s F (21 C) I placed the charger on the dashboard of the car whenever
we were out and about. It laid mostly flat but did manage to charge
the phone at least 20% over the period of about 4 hours. Once again
the sun did vary from cloudy to sunny and never did I have the panel
pointed directly into the sun. For the Rollinsville road trip, elevation 9000 ft (2743 m) and temperatures in the 40s F (4 C) I worked outside during the day but I did have a couple of opportunities to re-position the panel to more of a straight-on orientation to the sun. It was snowy out and the sun did vary from cloudy to sunny. In the morning when I started the test the phone was at 65% charge and at the end of the day it was fully charged. I was pleased with that. Had I been more diligent and moved the panel more often I would have had even better results. So far I have been somewhat pleased with the results. If the panel is strapped to my backpack and I am moving around under varied sun conditions the panel does a poor job of keeping my phone charged. However if the panel is properly aimed and stationary it does a much better job of charging whatever is attached to it.
Pros: • Same as
before Cons: • Poor
job of charging if you are moving around
LONG TERM REPORTDecember
2, 2016
FIELD USAGE
I have used the BioLite SolarPanel on 3 additional day hikes/snowshoe trips. Each time the Bio-Lite was strapped to the back of my daypack, pretty much in a vertical position. When I would rest, have lunch or remain stationary for any length of time I would prop the pack up and angle the panel so it was facing directly into the sun. The day hikes were in the Pagosa Springs area of southwest Colorado. Temperatures were between 10 and 40 F (-12 and 4 C) and elevations were between 7500 and 9000 ft (2286 and 2743 m). On
several of these trips I had my new iPhone 7 attached to the panel.
I was hoping with a new phone and possibly with a better battery
that the charging results would be better. But alas they were not.
The only other device I own, that is USB rechargeable, is a small
portable, wireless speaker. There is no percentage scale on the
speaker that shows the level of charge. Only a red light when it is
charging and a green light when it is fully charged. So on one of my
day hikes I decided to bring my rechargeable speaker and see if it
would take a charge. I thought it was best to start from a zero
charge and then plug it in. First, I let the speaker (at home) play
until it was dead. My first test was at home and the sun was shining
brightly. I positioned the panel so it faced directly into the sun.
I plugged in the speaker and the red light came on. It was charging.
About every hour I would adjust the panel so it was lined up with
the changing sun. The red light stayed on all day. It was a
beautiful day, some clouds but mostly sun. At the end of the day, I
figured the speaker had been charging for 7 to 8 hours, the red
light was still on. It was not completely charged (no green light).
I turned the speaker on and used my iPhone to stream music to the
speaker via bluetooth. I let it play through dinner and I estimate
it lasted about 3 hours before it died. The speaker received no
additional charging. The
next day I took it with me on a day hike. I attached the
panel to my pack, plugged in the speaker (red light came on) and
stowed it in a top pocket. I hiked for about 3 hours. Sometimes the
sun was at my back, sometimes it was not. The weather was a mix of
sun and clouds. When I got back to the car I unplugged the speaker,
turned it on and again played music from my iPhone via bluetooth.
The speaker lasted about 10 minutes before it died.
I
believe that for backpacking or hiking when I'm moving around and
changing directions the Bio-Lite panel is not up to the task of
charging my electronics. I do think it does reasonably well if it is
allowed to remain stationary and periodically repositioned it gives
enough of a charge to use my electronic devices. So for me I will
not be taking it backpacking. I will however bring it on car camping
trips where I can leave it stationary to collect some sun. I think
the dashboard or rear window of my car would be a an option so it
stays secure and no one walks off with it. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
I would like to thank BackpackGearTest.org and BioLite for the opportunity to test this Solar Panel. Read more reviews of BioLite gear Read more gear reviews by Bob Sanders Reviews > Electronic Devices > Chargers > BioLite SolarPanel 5 > Test Report by Bob Sanders |