PowerFilm AA Foldable Solar Charger

It really takes direct sunlight to get full functioning out of this charger. We didn't have sun the day it arrived, and it didn't look safe enough to expose to drizzle, so I set it up where it got indirect light. No signs of charging after a full day.The next day we had sun, but it took a full day to charge the batteries that came with the unit. Likewise, it took a full day of mostly sunny conditions to recharge the Eneloop batteries I use in my camera.As for water resistance, don't plan on it. The battery compartment has no cover, so the batteries and the contacts are exposed. While a light drizzle might not be a problem (the batteries are on the back side of the solar panels), any heavy rain would get back there.

Been into Solar Chargers for the past 6 months. Interest in solar charges grew from wanting to be prepared for emergencies. The electronic devices that I have are powered through AA, AAA, and USB sources. Therefore, my focus was on finding a solar charger that can power one or any combination of the three. This is the review of the PowerFilm AA Battery Solar Panel Charger.I was hopeful for this solar charger would be able to charge AA batteries. On the positive side, this charger did appear to have some ability to charge certain AA batteries with a significant charge. The panels and nylon material appear well made. Overall, this is a very lightweight and compact set up. In addition, there are two red LED lights that indicate a full-charge with a constant on, charging with a single blink, and indicates an empty charger or low battery with a quick two-blink sequence.Unfortunately, the charger did not work with a lot of my Sanyo Eneloop LSD, Energizer NiMH, and Duracell NiMH. I tried troubleshooting by using both newer and older batteries, charging two batteries at a time versus four at a time, using the three different brands mentioned, using the solar charger during peak hours in direct sun and also indirect sunlight, charging for two-days in a row to ensure enough charge time, and switching between any of the four AA slots on the charger. Most of the batteries would result in a quick two-blink (empty charger or low battery) no matter the arrangement or length of time in the charger.Of the batteries that were accepted by the charger (couple of Eneloops and four of my Energizer NiMH AA batteries), those batteries never fully charged. I tried leaving the batteries in for two days of sunlight, but it made no difference. I compared the charge on the batteries to ones that were charged by my Sanyo Eneloop USB AA/AAA charger and Energizer Charger. The Sanyo Eneloop and Energizer chargers resulted in batteries with a full charge, while this PowerFilm charger left the batteries approximately 70 percent charged at best.Overall, I rate this PowerFilm AA Battery Solar Panel Charger a 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. It got two stars for what appears to be good build quality built into a compact and lightweight design. It did charge some of the AA batteries, but I could not make any distinctions on what characteristics made it possible to charge the AA batteries that it did. Still, the batteries that could be charged, were not able to charge completely. The lack of overall and dependable function is the reason why I docked 3 stars. I wanted to like this charger, but it was a disappointment. Perhaps I got a defective unit. I will continue to seek a dependable, compact, lightweight, and durable source of solar power.

This charger does exactly what they say it does. It charges batteries using sunlight, even indirect sunlight. They must have changed their design slightly since the earlier reviews because mine came with a charge indicator to tell you when the charge is complete. It also has overcharge protection built in so you can leave batteries in the holder as long as you want.The whole thing folds up into a package slightly larger than the 4 cell battery compartment. It weighs about as much as the batteries. With 4 x AA batteries installed it weighs about 8 ounces. It has arrangements for hanging it from a pack by lanyards, so you can charge on the go while you hike. This, combined with the light weight and small size make it an ideal source of electricity for back country backpacking.Be aware that it only charges AA batteries. You can't plug in your laptop or your blackberry...or even AAA batteries, so plan accordingly. Mine charges AA batteries very quickly. They say that 4 hours of fairly bright sunlight will fully charge 2 AA batteries and 8 hours is supposed to charge 4 AA fully. Since I don't ever run my batteries down that low, I can't vouch for these times, but it will top off a partially drained battery in about an hour. Even on a cloudy day, it can top off 2 batteries in less than 2 hours. That is comparable to any AC charger I have ever used.It uses a thin film photovoltaic array, so it's flexible. This is both good and bad. The thin film is much cheaper, less prone to crush damage and folds up smaller, but it's probably only good for about 5 years use, roughly 1/4 of the life span of more expensive cells. This time limit only applies to the time actually spent in the sun. The clock stops whenever it is stored in darkness, so if used only for camping or other outdoor or emergency use, it should last pretty much forever.This is not supposed to be an outdoor solar panel to mount on your roof. It's a very tiny charger for emergency power (or camping). If you take it for what it is, this is a great product.

電源のない旅先などや停電時にせめて電池だけでも確保したいとの考えで購入しました。コンパクトですが、起電力はきちんとしています。２本直列充電ですが、電流計を挿入すると春先の太陽・角度でも450mA位流れています。eneloopが1900mA なので最短４時間半で充電されるという公称値は電流値的には満足しそうです。充電は、２本充電では、電流計で読める範囲で連続充電、４本充電では、間欠充電（たぶん、交互に充電しているのだと思います）です。充電が進行してくると、２本でも間欠充電に移行し、間欠サイクルが最初は１：１だったものがだんだん、電流offの時間が長くなります。充電管理は、上記のように単純な物のようです。そのため、起電力をそのまますべて充電には生かせていない・・でしょうか？充電状態を示すLEDがついていますが、これが使えません。空っぽの電池で充電開始しても１時間たたずに点灯（満充電？）してしまいます。充電動作は、継続しています（２本で間欠充電になる前です）。つまり、LED表示は当てになりません。販売店さん（ジオフォニー）に連絡したところ、すぐに代替品を送ってくれましたが、同じでした。一応開発元に連絡をして、何かあれば連絡をくれるとのことでした。メールでの対応もびっくりするくらい早く、消費者思いのとても親切な対応です。なお、製品には、アメリカで製造されたものと、アメリカ製部品を使って中国で組み立てられた物があるようです。電池ＢＯＸは、むき出しです。基板は、発泡スチロールのような物で覆われていますが、防水とはいえません。隙間がありますので。充電中、直射日光に当たるため、電池がかなり熱くなります。（充電のためではないと思います）米国で販売されているパッケージそのものなので、同梱されているｅｎｅｌｏｏｐは、米国販売品です（表記が英文）。付属していた物は、Ａ型（第２世代）で現行のＢ型の一つ前のものです。日本語の説明書はありますが、無くても別に困らないでしょう。何も操作するところはないですから。英文も難しいことは書いていません。追記（2012年12月28日）販売店さんより、追加で代替品が送られてきました。開発元で対策品の目処が立っていないので、症状が確認されていないというカモフラージュ色を送ってくださいました。送付品がどのような状態か、確認していませんが本当に丁寧な販売店さんです。あまりに感動したので、お知らせまで。

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商品は薄くてペラペラで、いつ断線するのか分からないくらいやわっぽいのですが、多分、軽くするためにそうなっているのでしょう。購入してから7年以上になりますが、今のところ壊れていません。使用方法はベランダの手すりに巻き付けて使っています。防水ではないので、雨が降ったら引っ込めるようにしています。風が吹いている日はソーラーパネルがパッタンパッタン手すりにぶつかるので、針金で固定しています。エネループ ポータブルソーラー ツイン SSL-SBWL3AS も持っていますが、こちらの商品は倍のスピード（３時間程度）でエネループが充電できます。高速充電になるので、おそらくエネループの寿命は縮みます。電池は2本一組でないと充電できませんので、そこだけ注意です。2019年11月追記まだ壊れず、使っています。

ほかの方のレビューにもありましたが、自分も非常にコンパクトで軽量であることが驚きました。届いたばかりで、まだ実際には発電はさせておりませんが、使うときが非常に楽しみです。一つ気になったのは、電池格納部分がむき出しで、たとえば、登山やハイキング中にリュックにぶら下げて発電しならがら歩く場合、歩く振動なんかで、電池が外れてしまわないかが気になります。

充電機能は優れているが、ＵＳＢで直接充電できる機種だともっと良かった。一応、単三電池をセットしてＵＳＢで充電する器具は持っているが。