Topsolar 100W Foldable Portable Solar Panel Charger Kits for Portable Power Station Generator Cell Phones Camera Lamp 19V DC Output

I have extensively used very many solar panels over the past 5-10 years. Most of these have been of the folding plastic portable variety. (including every previous model from topsolar).What i have found is that, in this class, topsolar panels are the ONLY brand which consistently lives up to the listed specs in every possible configuration. Most others don't even come close.The output voltages are regulated (but the load can pull them down a bit), so at 19 volts, you get a solid 5 amps or so in good sun, but you still get 19 volts even in poor sun.Many other cheap folders ($50 to 100) don't even have reverse bias protection. So, if a hard shadow falls across some other panel, many will actually start *sinking* current from your device or battery! Your battery may actually *discharge* if you aren't paying attention. This *never* happens with topsolar.**configurations**Aside from the 19 V output, the panel provides 14.5 V (at about 4 amps) and USB (at about 2 amps) including power delivery and quallcomm quickcharge at up to 12 volts.The 14.5 V output can be used to charge a 12 V lead or LiFePO4 battery at the same time as the USB is being used to charge a *single* device. (this is one ideal configuration)If you are using the 19 volt output, i recommend leaving the other outputs disconnected (this is the other ideal configuration)either way you can get close to 100 watts in full sun.**advanced configuration**If you need more than 19 volts, you can connect multiple panels in series by connecting the mc4 connectors black to red + black to red, etcFor instance, i use 3 of them in series to directly charge my electric bike from the sun. this gives me up to 57 effective volts to charge my battery. If the battery is low, the voltage may be pulled down to, say, 50 volts, and it will slowly increase as the battery charges. When the voltage reads 56V, my bike is recharged.^^this is definitely an advanced config, so be very careful to know the limits of your equipment. Also, be careful to cover the extra connections with electrical tape when creating series connections, or you risk creating an arc!!*NEVER* continue to charge a battery directly from solar once it has reached MAX voltage or you will damage it. (solar panels are a current source, not a voltage source). If you are in doubt, use a dedicated charge controller.other than that, it works great! Works just as well as the bikes included wall adapter (which is only 50 percent efficient, a common problem with ebikes)**form factor**this is something i dont like as well. These things fold in half and snap together with a magnet. They are maybe the size of an artist's folio. There is no way to carry them in even the largest backpack. If i want to take them with me, i have to put them in a large travel bag and strap it to my bike.By comparison, last year's 100 watt model folded in fourths and could be carried in a large backpack. Models from previous years folded in 10ths (size of a college textbook). These could easily be carried in *any* backpack!I wish topsolar would revisit these more compact form factors! This 2024 model is *just barely* "portable" in my opinion.**build quality**One other reviewer mentioned that his panels warped in the sun. I experienced the same thing when using the panels at 100F+ temps. The warping has not affected the performance.The same reviewer mentioned that the plastic film on the panels was bubbling off.. That was protective film which is intended to be removed before first use.That said, this new 2024 model kind of needs protective film when transporting. The new glossy topology is much less rugged than previous year's offerings.The panels can easily become scuffed when transporting. This scuffing, while unsightly, has not affected output. (and i do measure the output frequently, given my use case)The new topology is slightly more efficient and has slightly better low and indirect light performance than previous years, but i still prefer the older, more rugged, more compact models, which will still do 10 watts in the rain, if oriented correctly.And that brings me to my last concern about the 2024 model: They *removed* the solar insolation meter! WHY?? In some lighting, it can be difficult to correctly position the panels just by eyeballing it. Having a meter right on the panel was brilliant!**conclusion**Would i recommend this panel? I would say that it is the only "portable" panel i have tried that i *can* recommend!It actually does everything it claims to! And does it well.with typical cheap folders you are lucky to get 30 percent of the rated output in full sun... and most of these will discharge your battery if they become occluded by a hard shadow (or if you forget to disconnect before sundown)I don't love the new topsolar build quality and form factor which have stretched the limits of the term, "portable". But if you dont move them much, or if you move them by car or truck, then the new form factor is fine...I dont recommend them for a bike trip although they certainly work great for it! I am carrying my own, infinite fuel source on my vehicle! How cool is that?and the pricepoint is *truely* a dollar a watt! Plug and play!

I have a ton of rigid panels and few flexibles, even a couple folding panels in the lower wattage range. This was my first larger folding panel purchase and I was feeling discouraged while shopping reading so many reviews of dismal output from many top brands.I've had this panel for a whopping 4 hours and just got it set up outside for a test. The sun isn't perfectly overhead so these numbers may increase slightly, but I don't plan to angle it or anything - flat is better than anything I could rig up given the position of the sun right now.Immediately showed 74-75w being produced when connected to a Victron MPPT (see attached image). I expected this number to fall as the panel heated up - it's 95* outside and it's laying on hot plywood with no airflow beneath the panels, or from anywhere - perfectly still wind-free day.So, 30 minutes later it's producing 72w. The 2x100w series'd rigid panels on my truck are producing 143w right now and actually have good air flow. So I'd say the output of this panel is a lot better than what I've read of Dokios and similar, producing 60w from a "200w" folding panel.It's heavy but that's okay, it rolls up tight and compact and feels more durable than my smaller folding panels. The smaller ones I have can be flexed but these feel like unfolding a book of floor tile, so that's where the weight is coming from. No other comments on durability though, too soon to tell. Just feels like it'll last. Unfolding it is straight forward, you just flip the 6 tiles open and then unfold the other 6 from on top of it. I liked that because I could unfold without having the panel producing any voltage until I flipped the last fold over - one side covers the other until this point. People who are familiar with throwing blankets over producing solar panels to halt current will understand and appreciate this.The flap that hangs off the side where the output box (or whatever you want to call it) is ok, I previously thought it was stupid when shopping. Part of the flap has the output box and the other part is what wraps over the panels and velcros them shut when folded up. I don't think you could use this panel hanging horizontally (landscape mode!) without that flap catching the wind and being obnoxious, and causing stress on the wires inside that lead to the flap. But would be easy to hang vertically with the flap hanging down.If you review this item, try to observe the panel voltage and charge current going in to your battery. That's useful info in a world of subpar folding panels that barely hit half their rated output.Oh yeah, wires. Let's talk wires. They're terribly thin on all the accessories. I'm using a 10 amp 2.1x5.5mm jack as my solar inlet to my charge controller so I was able to use the included 2.1x5.5 extension cable. The MC4 adapter and alligator clip adapter are both like 22 gauge. It's very possible the 2.1x5.5mm extension cable is also high gauge. I ordered a 16 gauge heavy duty 10ft 2.1x5.5 extension (but I'm realizing now I should have gotten a male to male - it hasn't arrived yet). In any event, using as large of wire as possible from the panel's output box to your charge controller is always recommended to curb voltage drop.If you really want to give the panel the best shot at producing, get a 2.1x5.5mm male jack with screw terminals (they come in packs of 10) from Amazon and shove as large a wire as possible as you can in to them (12 gauge in my experience) and keep the wire as short as you can to reach where it needs to go. This will allow more voltage to flow through the wire at greater lengths and in high temps.Ending review, this took me a while to type and its been at least another 30 minutes since I said it was producing 72w. It's giving me 70w right now - barring a handful of days here in Colorado this is as hot as it's going to get.UPDATE after first trip: Took this to the mountains and laid it in the grass to charge up my LiFePO4 camper battery. Had to use their included 2.1x5.5mm extension cable again as the heavy duty one I ordered hadn't arrived before I left town. This was going in to a Victron 75/15 MPPT charge controller. 72*F ambient temps and mostly clear skies. Didn't bother angling it, and the grass wasn't letting it lay perfectly flat either so it was a very slight bowl shape. Was watching the charge controller over bluetooth and about an hour in to charging I hit 80w for a while... covered in bugs (adding new pic). Would recommend.