BEAUDENS 100W Solar Panel, Foldable Kickstand, Monocrystalline, Support Type C/DC/QC3.0/USB Ports, Portable Solar Charger for Power Station Solar Outdoor Generator and Laptop iPhone iPad

Partial disclaimer: Before purchasing, I received a nice discount and promised to write a review, but I did not promise what I would say or how I would rate it. I rate this as a 5.0. I purchased it to use with the Beaudens 166 Wh power supply bought at the same time (see that review also titled "great for intended use" by Kenno). I plan to use these two units together mainly to power a CPAP during camping or when grid power goes down, though there are obviously many other potential applications.Solar panels don't have any moving parts so there's not much that can go wrong. In direct but late afternoon winter sun, the open circuit voltage was a respectable 21.3 to 21.7 volts; the panel took the 166 Wh Beaudens battery from about half-charged to full charge in around 4 hours, though (as stated in the other review) the battery charge indication is somewhat unreliable .The case seems to be well-made using durable fabric, stitching, webbing, and zippers. There are some built-in props on the back to support the panel at a fixed angle to face the sun. To get the ideal angle, however, which is perpendicular to the sun and which changes during the day in real life in the field, it many be necessary to find some other objects to use to prop it up. There are grommets on the 4 corners but I'm not sure how I would use them.The 4 different power take-off connections are in a zippered compartment on the back , which can also be used to hold the manual and the various cords and connectors. I particularly liked the fact that there is a set of 10 different DC jacks which should enable you to hook up virtually any DC-powered device; I used one of them to connect the 166Wh battery to my CPAP. I did not try powering a bunch of different DC devices directly from the panel but I have no doubt it would work fine. This panel is not designed to directly power AC devices. There is no inverter, no AC outlets, and no AC connectors. Out of curiosity, however, I rigged the 12 V panel output to feed into a small Black and Decker inverter (input rated at 12.8 V DC, 40 A; output rated at 115V AC, 60 Hz, 400 watt) . I had used this inverter previously to run CPAPs off a lead-acid truck battery. I plugged a lamp with a 14-watt CFL light bulb into the AC outlet of the inverter. When I turned the inverter on, its cooling fan ran for about a second and then turned off. I turned it off and back on; the fan again ran briefly and cut off. I left the inverter on for a little while longer but it overheated and smoke began rising from it--so I obviously tuned it off. Morale: if you want AC power and are not really knowledgeable about matching inverters to DC power sources, you should just use this panel to charge a battery-based portable power unit that has a built-in AC output.

My review is a little delayed since I wanted to use this Beaudens 100W panel several times to see how it performed. I purchased this on April 23rd and received it April 30th. I noticed on two reviews here that users experienced some kind of current 'surge' through the DC port of this Beaudens model which damaged / melted part or all of the junction box on the back of the panel. I also own a Jackery SolarSaga 100W portable solar panel and, as depicted by the picture, I had the same thing happen to me with the junction box on that unit (thank goodness for solid Amazon customer support). I bring this up not to mock Jackery or Beaudens products (both of these panels are high class products) but to point out that these malfunctions can happen to any unit like this. On that note, I just wanted to compare these two 'top tier' class products:Beaudens:-a little heavier than the SolarSaga but this can be good if you are setting up the panel in breezy / windy conditions.-from the previous point, the panel has a great constructed carrying / protective case vs the SolarSaga-IPX4 waterproof vs the SolarSaga-USB-C PD 60W capable vs SolarSaga-4 panels (i.e. more surface area) vs 2 panel SolarSaga-more really useful accessories (DC adapters, additional cables) that make this panel more compatible with more portable power power stations vs the SolarSaga-WAAAAY cheaper (I bought at ~$186) vs the SolarSaga (~$300) unless you purchase a used or 'like new' unit)!!!-Long manufacturer warrantyJackery:-Quicker to set up and take down since it essentially just folds in half to close and also quickly folds open. However, the Beaudens panel can be set up pretty quick.-A little lighter to carry (but again, with windy conditions, a heavier panel will stay put).-The support legs are wider and sturdier than on the Beaudens panel. However, I found that even though the legs on the Beaudens panel are thinner, the panel didn't experience any significant 'bow' or dip when fully opened.The two main points that push me to recommend this Beaudens 100W solar panel over the SolarSaga 100W are:1. the price2. the output in watts. I connected the SolarSaga 100W panel to a Jackery portable power station I own (same brand so they should 'speak the same language') for about 20 minutes. The input indicator on the power station registered ~25W coming from the SolarSaga 100. I then switched panels and connected this Beaudens solar panel to the same Jackery portable power station for about 20 minutes. The output from the Beaudens 100W solar panel was more than double that of the SolarSaga 100! Both panels were placed in the same spot on the same day (only 20 minutes apart). As a disclaimer, conditions were not perfect - there were high, whispy clouds present but not too bad (has been a more cloudy and foggy than perfect 'blue sky' summer where I am). When I connected the solar panels in parallel (same day right after the individual tests - about 20 minutes), the power station indicated it was consistently receiving over 115W but it was the Beaudens solar panel that was contributing most of the output wattage.I think these 2 100W panels are the top panels to choose from on Amazon. However, based on the comparisons above, I would recommend the Beaudens 100W solar panel.

Safety issue. DC port melted charging a Rockpals battery station (same shown as compatible in picture) after 3 hours of charging. Ambient air temp was 60F.USB charge ports worked fine.Otherwise great construction and quality. Really wanted to like this. +1 star for everything else.

I’ve only been testing this panel for a week, but it works great! I used it couple of times to charge my Beaudlens Power Station 165, both times about half-Charged. I live in Massachusetts and it was in the middle of December, so not very strong sunlight. And the temperature was below freezing!. The battery charged up to full in about 3 hours. I’m impressed.. I love the kickstands on the back of the unit — which makes it very quick and easy to set up. And I appreciate all the extra cords and adapter plug which I may end up using someday.

Beaudans seems absent when it comes to support questions. I have sent two questions to them. The questions neither get posted nor answered. So they seem lax in their customer service. But this particular product that I bought from them seems good quality and so far is working great. But Beaudans is not the manufacturer of the product that I bought, they are just the seller. So the real credit goes to the manufacturer.Update: Tonni at Beaudens has stepped up and is providing good customer service. The panel is well made and really does put out a good amount of watts.