BioLite  SolarPanel 10+ 2.0 With Onboard Battery

Worked great for a week and then stopped charging internal battery and could not charge external devices. This panel has a built in power bank with its own BMS as well as charge controller. Because the panel, controller, battery, and BMS, external charge, internal charge, and wall charge are all integrated, this system has many points of failure and no ability to do a hard reboot. There is no option to direct charge external device with panel; it must first charge internal battery. Just get a simple panel with external controller and use that to charge a separate battery bank and you will save yourself from a seemingly simple but actually over engineered failure minefield.

So I've been curious about making electricity without kites and keys to mainly provide lighting when off grid, as well as any device needing a charge so I just purchased the BioLite SolarPanel 10+ and Charge 80 PD. Both pamphlet and online info was inadequate and sparse at best in my humble opinion so I got to the next best thing, hunker down, putter and tinker. I knew the solar panel has an onboard battery to power a circuit board which regulates the wattage I assume (not an expert in electricity, other than licking a 9v battery of old) so I made sure that battery was charged first and foremost. Took 4 hours of lighting attached directly (BioLite FlexLight 100) to accomplish that. I was impressed overall out of the box, both the battery and panel still held over 50% charge. So I charged the solar battery from my main battery pack (Charge 80 PD). Worked perfect. Now both batteries are fully drained, the Charge 80 PD took all night to drain, even after charging my phone and a battery powered camp light. This morning the solar panel is charging my main battery, both lights on both parts are blinking so I will assume that's a good sign. Specs state that the Charge 40 PD takes an average of 6 hours direct sunlight to charge so I'm aiming for a full day charge right until sundown and I'll see how charged I can get. Charge your batteries while still at home/base camp whenever you can and definitely for the first time. Not sure I needed to fully drain my batteries out of the box but shouldn't hurt. Using the provided cord plug into the USB on the battery and plug the micro-usb into the solar panel. Onboard electricity management circuit board battery will start charging. Unplug cord I assume with a safe compromise of at least 50% charge which I did, hopefully the battery doesn't need to be at 100% all the time to run efficiently. Solar panel ready to go! Using the cord that came with the solar panel plug into the USB port and plug the micro-usb into the Charge 20/40/80 PD and from what's happening here everything is working exactly as expected and tonight I should be able to light up my entire home. Winter is always a good time to product test in my humble opinion.

I just got this to replace my older SolarPanel 5+ (v1.0). Side by side, the 5+ was charging, showing 1 dot better charge performance than this one. After 20 minutes, the 10+ stopped showing activity. I brought both units inside, the 10+ did the '5 flash' other reviews have mentioned. It had overheated and stopped functioning for ~30 minutes. I have done this test twice now. The 10+ overheats in full sunlight- a major fail for a solar panel. While this might be a useful bit of tech for a winter trip, overheating on 75F sunny day means it cannot be counted on for use in the field. It will be going back to the store. When BioLite gets this fixed, please update the product description to include "Overheating issues now fixed" and I will try it again.

I have a Biolite panel, the oldest single panel version without an integrated battery. I have used it backpacking for two years now and love it. It's rugged, the analog solar direction indicator is brilliant in it's simplicity, and it will charge anything attached to it. No problems cramming it into backpack. So I purchased this double panel and immediately discovered the integrated battery quickly overheats, and when it does, it shuts off until it cools, which it won't do until you bring it in out of the sun. In other words, 10am in May in Portland, it will work for less than an hour and stop. The old panel, without an integrated battery, you can have a separate battery pack plugged in but tucked under the panel itself and stay shaded, and it will charge all day.

The solar panels seem to work, and the battery capacity seems as-advertised (when I fully charge it with a micro-usb). However, these are completely undone by how easily the battery overheats and stops charging (and is unable to charge other devices!) when under the sun. Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose? Just placing it under direct sunlight in 80° F weather (with a lot of breeze) causes the device to overheat within 15min. The four lights will blink rapidly 5 times, indicating that the battery is overheated. While it does this, it cannot collect additional solar energy or charge a device that's plugged into it. And it takes at least 30min to cool down in my car with AC blasting. I have no idea how someone who is taking this backpacking in 80° weather would be able to cool it back down outside; yet this is the type of person who would need the solar charged battery the most. BioLite needs to figure this glaring flaw out. Everything else about the device is fine.

The 5+ has so far inspired my whole family. In our garden there are 4 such boards and mostly look towards the sun. In the last camping holidays I had them on my trailer and it looked like a small solar plant, I even had too few consumers to use the energy gained. The board is enormously resilient and I could imagine that I could cut my onions into small pieces to cook on it...

The SolarPanel 5+ was very easy to charge. I instructed my 12 year old Grandson how to line up the Sundial to charge the SolarPanel. He took it outside and was able to set it up easily. Once charged I was able to charge my phone, Bluetooth earphones and portable speaker. My son took it on a Boy Scout Campout and strapped it on his Backpack and it was fully charged when they arrived to the campsite. Also I hung it from my pot rack that is in front of a window and even though it was not lined up by the sundial it did charge in 3 hours. I'm very impressed with all BioLite products and this is no exception. Looking forward to all your new products.

I bought this to replace a 5 W panel that I gave to a friend in Kenya. For several days after purchase, I was considering returning it because it has a major flaw – it doesn’t work in hot weather.  once the battery gets too warm, which can be before it’s filled, it stopped functioning. Google “four flashing lights“ for this model and you’ll see a lot of problems. The battery capacity is too small to put up with this kind of problem. Next time I’ll get a 10 W panel without a battery, preferably with a USB C port, and I’ll charge small batteries that I can put in the shade of the panel.

I was testing this in my yard this weekend. The BioLite SolarPanel 10+ would charge my phone/powerbank for a little while, maybe 20-30 minutes, then it would stop charging. When I pressed the battery indicator button, it would flash all LEDs in intervals of 5 flashes but would not resume charging my device. After bringing the panel into the shade for a little while, it would begin to work again. There is nothing in the manual nor online to troubleshoot this issue. The online FAQ mentions that this panel will not work if it is in a hot car so my guess is that the panel was overheating. This seems weird for a device that is designed for use in direct sunlight. Maybe I got a dud? Anyway, I didn't want to get into the backcountry just to find out that it doesn't work so I returned it. Bought a smaller panel just for fun and an extra powerbank.

Bought 5 years ago. Used it a handful of times, e.g., bicycle camping, car camping, and experimenting with it around the house. Worked OK, but took a long time to charge. It's mostly been sitting in a dark closet in storage. Took it out today to try it out again, and it was completely dead. I'm assuming the battery just died. I managed to take it apart (I don't recommend this), and discovered there are no user serviceable parts; the battery is permanently installed and cannot be replaced. If you're considering buying one, be aware of my situation. It's surprising the battery would not last for 5 years with such minimal usage. Beware!