30W Foldable Solar Panel (F16-1800) Black

I just purchased the close out model of this panel that has 3 rows of 4 panels but has the same output. Here is what I have found so far. It will charge my 1st generation Ipad directly in hazy noon sun (August in Wisconsin) with wi-fi turned off, all apps closed in the background and on the lock screen. That is the only way I have tried it. It will charge my iphone 5s directly at approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds per percentage point in hazy noon sun with wi-fi turned off, all apps closed in the background bur airplane mode NOT turned on. I plugged it into a Goal Zero Guide 10 plus that had discharged eneloop AA batteries and put it in the sun at approximately 5pm in lowered angle sunlight with the panel parallel to the ground. At some time during the hour the wind folded it back up so that only a single row of cells was in the sun. I don't know how long, but I unfolded it again and it had at least 20 minutes with all cells uncovered. The guide 10 then charged my iphone 5s 17%. Today I put it out in clear skies with only some puffy clouds moving fast and again plugged it into a guide 10 plus with discharged eneloops. I let it charge for 1 hour. The eneloops in the guide 10 were then able to charge my phone 22% in 23 minutes and 53 seconds. I have a Schumacher 140 watt inverter that I am going to try with it next, I will let you know how that works.Update 8/12/15: Panel was put out at 11:15 AM flat on the ground under clear skies. It charged a Guide 10 Plus with the same set of discharged eneloop AA batteries until the indicator read full charge at 4:15 PM. Tonight the Guide charged my iphone 5s 85% before the indicator went red and charging stopped.Update 8/13/15: Today I put this panel out flat at 9am under overcast skies with no direct sunlight. It charged a Guide 10 Plus with discharged eneloop AA batteries for 1 hour. The Guide then charged my iphone 5s 22%, the same as it did after 1 hour charging under good sunlight. What this says to me is that this panel puts out as much power as a Guide 10 Plus can use under direct sunlight and still puts out as much power as it can use under overcast skies. I find that amazing.Update 8/24/15. I returned the close out model of this panel due to one of the panels delaminating from the backing material. It worked fine, but too much panel had been fastened to too little material, causing it to buckle and peel up in a couple of spots. Being picky about my gear I couldn't live with that. I returned it and ordered this current model instead. I'm glad I did. It is better put together and the cells themselves seem to be a bit more durable, as is the fabric they are fastened to. I also purchased a Drok usb tester that has told me a lot about this panel in a short time. At low angle sun (9am, August 24 in Wisconsin) it was able to directly charge an ipad at 1.11 amps at 4.54 volts. When I used that same tester on the wall charger the ipad came with, it drew 1.35 amps at 4.75 volts. At noon I checked again with the sun as high as it gets today. Again, it drew 1.11 amps at 4.54 volts, telling me that the limiting factor was the usb adapter plugged into the 12 volt socket on the panel. As an experiment, I turned off the ipad and the voltage went up to 5.03 volts and the current dropped to only half an amp. So, if you are having trouble charging your tablet from your solar panel, just turn the tablet off. I had no idea it would draw so much less current when only charging.Update 9/21/15 September 19, about 3 months past perihelion, took the cell out on a clear day and did some more experiments with the panel and Drok tester. Panel was laid flat and horizontal. With the aid of the Drok I found out some new information. The usb adapter that you plug into the 12 volt socket is very important. I had a small Belkin and a dual port Griffin that I tried charging a Gen. 1 Ipad with. The Belkin would start off fine, putting out better amperage than the Griffin, but then would suddenly drop it's amperage to a fraction of an amp. The Ipad still would show charging oddly enough, but wouldn't actually charge. The Griffin would charge at a slightly lower amperage (about 1.11 amps) than the Belkin started out at, but would maintain that amperage. Finally, I plugged a Schumacher 140 Watt inverter into the socket. For some reason, it would not put out 110 volts AC. It would in my trucks 12 volt socket, but not with the solar panel. I'm at a loss why. However, the 2 amp usb socket on the inverter did put out power. It charged the Ipad at 1.61 amps at 4.95 volts. That is every bit as good if not better than the wall charger the Ipad came with. My conclusion is this: Get yourself one of these Drok (or equivalent, there are several brand names that seem to be the exact same thing) testers and do some experimenting. It never occurred to me that the 12volt to USB adapter was limiting me. It actually has a huge effect on your potential success in using your portable solar panel. Try a small inverter as well. The Schumacher I tried is $19 bucks at Wally World. Just be sure it has that 2 amp usb outlet. I think you will be surprised at the power your panel is able to push out with the right accessories.Update 10/21/15 Two months from the suns lowest angle and light level. At 10:30 AM (Wisconsin) I put the panel out flat, not tilted to the sun. The sun was bright enough to cast a clear shadow but was shining through high thin uniform cloud haze. Using a Griffin dual port 12V to USB adapter in the panel's socket, a first gen. ipad would not charge. In the past I have found that shutting the ipad down halves the amperage it draws while charging, so perhaps it would have worked if I had done so but I was short on time. I took an Iphone 5s, put it on airplane mode and plugged it into the panel. It not only charged, but it charged 4% in 10 minutes. Not bad considering the sun's low angle, the earth's proximity to aphelion, the panel laying flat not tilted and the fact that the sun was shining through a light cloud cover. I continue to be impressed with this panel.Update 10/25/15 Sunny day with high thin clouds moving across the sun. Panel was laying flat on the ground with the sun at 23 degrees above the horizon. An iphone 5s was charging with airplane mode turned off, wi-fi on and not on the lock screen. As you can see in the photo the panel provided .92 amps at 5 volts through the Griffin dual port 12 volt to USB adapter. The wall charger provides .93 at 5.04. The reading did not change when the intensity of sunlight visibly changed as clouds moved by so the panel was producing more power than was required by the adapter. In these conditions, starting with the sun slightly higher in the sky, it took the panel approximately 1.5 hours to charge the phone from 54% to 100%.Update 4/25/16 Still very happy with this panel. I contacted Powerfilm about why the inverter would not function. In their youtube video where they show a representative plugging in what they call an inverter to charge a laptop, the graphics are apparently wrong. What they are actually plugging in is, according to customer support, a DC converter which takes the 12 volt DC and kicks it up or down to whatever voltage is needed to charge your laptop. They tell me that an inverter will not work directly off of the panel without a battery because of the high start up draw an inverter has. If you really do need AC power for something, you are going to need to hook your panel to a battery, preferably through a charge controller, and then hook your inverter to the battery. I would recommend getting a pure sine wave inverter to avoid messing up whatever you are running off of it.Update 11/8/17 I have said in the past that the USB adapter you put in the 12 volt socket of this panel is very important. I have finally found one that will harness the power this panel can put out. Here is the link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MD20Q1X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1It is made by RAVPower. The problem I have had with all the others I have tried (about 6) has been either they didn't put out much amperage, or if they did they would not return to full output if the panel is shaded or shadowed and then in full sun again. As you can see in the pictures, even with this panel laying flat with the sun at a low angle and shining through haze, it supplied 2 amps to the ipad it was charging. I folded the panel shut several times and each time this adapter returned to full output. Finally!!!!!! With this adapter and this panel you will be making the most out of any sunlight you can get.

very pleased; works well; this is an excellent quality mil-spec(?) solar charger; I like the fact that it folds super flat and thin and has some flexibility; prefer the 12V lighter car charger adapter over a built-in USB that other solar panel chargers have; the 12V is more versatile (can trickle charge your car battery in an emergency). Was getting 5V and between 0.3A and 0.5A draw when charging my iphone5 in non-sunny conditions per an attached DROK usb meter and a 2.1A rated USB charger (Anker); nothing exceptional but it was certainly consistent; the panels are designed to take damage but continue working (see youtube videos); will probably buy another one and use the daisy chain adapter that PowerFilm sells, to connect them together to get more amerage output

This is a simple piece of equipment that works really well. Just lay in on the ground and it will pretty much charge anything. I use it with a goal zero Sherpa 100. I would buy the extension cord with this so you can charge your battery or device in the shade. The only down side it that it is hard to always face this thing directly to the sun.

The output is amazing, I dont have a inline amp meter to show specs but it charged my Galaxy 8+ as if it was plugged into the wall.

It works great and it's made very well.

Got this for camping and hurricanes. Works well with a JuiceBox RC2.

Durable

good product