Solarpad Pro | 5 Watt 4.3 Ounce Lightweight USB Phone Solar Charger Designed for Ultra Light Backpacking, Thru Hiking, and Touring

Solarcycle was an Oregon startup several years ago. I bought one of their panels then and loved it, as did several other reviewers on this site. When I sought to buy another Solarcycle Solarpad Pro, I ordered it through Amazon. What I got was a solar panel, with absolutely no markings on it of any type. As well, it does not look like the panel shown on Amazon. When I querried the seller, they wrote back that "our descriptions are consistent with the products." What they did not say was that this is a Solarcycle Solarpad Pro. They went on to write: "The solar panels in each store are different." Hmmm. The Amazon website advertises it as a Solarcycle Solarpad Pro. It does not say that you'll get a generic solar panel with who-knows-what components.When I tried to return the pad, Amazon told me that, as per the instructions from the seller, I would have to return it to China, at my expense (approximate cost $67, plus time and filling out a declaration document). The solar panel was shipped to me from a business with a California address. Again, Hmmmm. If I buy a part for a foreign car from a local business, and it breaks, I don't have to send it back to the country of origin. I just go back to the local business. Amazon told me that I am not allowed to call this fraud, so I'll just say: "buyer beware."

Update: The solar panel still works fine and I use it as my main source of power for my phone and headlamp. I have a small 2600 mAh power cell hooked into the solar panel that can top off easily from 0% to 100% even without direct sunlight during the day. I then hook up my phone or headlamp and charge off the battery. I now have a solar powered iphone.Original Review below:It's early in the morning right now, with my window facing away from the sun towards the west. It is also very cloudy here. I have my solarpad laying flat in the window sill, not even propped up against the glass, and yet it is charging my USB power supply as I type this. The power supply is blinking and charging up. Awesome!I will be taking this thing everywhere with me and keeping it stored in my truck for emergency use as well.Although, my primary reason for buying this solar panel was for when I am out on the road or deep in the backcountry doing nature photography. A week+ without a power outlet can require carrying a huge brick of expensive camera batteries that weighs a lot. I can sometimes charge from my truck if it is already running, but it's wasteful to the environment for me to run the engine just to get a small amount of charge going for my batteries. With the solarpad, I can charge VIA USB directly into my camera or into my NC F1 universal power bank unit. It also holds steady enough of a charge in direct light to power my phone directly from the panel.The panel itself is durable and slightly flexible. I might do some torture testing on mine to see what sort of damage it takes to make it stop working. They're cheap panels, so it would be worth knowing how water or bending proof they really are. It would not be any fun having your pack fall over and break the panel. Seems like it should be about as durable as a thin cutting board, although I would not recommend cutting slices of ham on it. hahaI also like how there is still room to improve the weight of the device. The grommets are steel and don't really seem to serve a purpose, as they are way overkill. I don't expect to be tying this thing to four trees as a shelter. I could pop those out and also shave down some of the edges. Even one of the product images on this product page shows the device cut down on the sides to reduce weight, but that might also cause it to become less resistant to breaking.

The panel on the left is what is represented and what I ordered. The panel I received will not fit my purpose

I should test this extensively and then review it, but I am unlikely to get around to reviewing later. Design seems excellent, robust but minimal, and in a simple test it charged my iPhone from 65% to 100% in a few hours of cloudy with occasional sunlight ( California, summer). Phone did not drop connection when it was cloudy ( most of the time ). Did not seem to charge very fast when cloudy, but when the sun came out it made a big difference. I will update this review if something goes wrong in the future.

I purchased the Solarpad Pro for a week-long sailing trip and tested it in direct sunlight on my back deck before the trip. I also purchased an ANKER PowerCore 10000 to use with this device as per recommendations from the seller on Amazon. Unfortunately it couldn't even charge my battery to 50% after 2 full days of direct sunlight. I liked the build quality (hence 2 stars) but the 5w power was just not enough for my task. I replaced it with a 10w charger from another vendor which worked just fine for my needs.

I bought this little gadget in June of 2018. So far works like a charm. The only thing I noticed on my last trek was that the phone did not indicate it was charging, nor did the percentage go up much after a couple of hours of direct sun.... But later on I noticed the phone was fully charged. So it was in fact working even though there was a glitch somewhere. I can get a full charge on my iphone 8 in about 2 hours of direct sunlight. It's super light weight. I just attach it to the top of my pack while I'm hiking. I don't even notice it's there. I'm quite happy with this purchase.