Solaris by Brunton

Mary R.
11 reviews
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Brunton Portable Solar Shines - Usually

I’m committed to never burning coal again to charge the small stuff. The Brunton Solaris portable solar panels fold- or roll-out into a solar sheet is nearly paper-thin. The 12-volt battery (12 ounces to 4 pounds, depending on which model) allows you to store that energy for bigger power draws, like running your laptop. You’d have to be more hard core than I am to backpack with this, but it’s a no-brainer for car camping or even around the house. All you need is sunlight and you’re ready to go. I’ve charged my camera battery, cell phone and iPod, all in a couple of hours or so. The most obvious backcountry use of the Solaris is to recharge a GPS unit.

Using the battery, I’ve even run my laptop on it for a couple of hours. With Brunton Solaris in hand, there’s no way to better show off your backcountry and eco cred at the same time. Go to http://www.brunton.com/catalog.php?subcat=7 to find the portable solar product that's best for you.

Cost: $160-$1,300 for the panel – there’s obviously a wide variety; batteries run $65-$650 – ditto the variety.

Now that I've owned the panel for some time, the downside has appeared: the panel can't charge anything on its own - the battery is required. My battery quit working and e-mails and phone calls to Brunton have gone unanswered. Even in my original review for this product (http://www.getoutzine.com/node/353) I noted the fact that the customer service line is hardly ever staffed.