solar blanket

John m85
Haven't used one, just looked at their site, but,
The "Hard Korr" solar blanket in 160w is $549 without controller of some sort. That is an horrendous price for the power output you will get. Maybe if you require stow away feature it is ok.
For $549 it should at least include a decent sized Deep cycle battery too. You can triple the output with fixed panels of same value if you are able to fit one or more to the roof/roof rack/bars. Plug in with an Anderson lead when required with controller near batteries. If controller can accept the voltage input of two panels in series, you can wire roof top panels in series and gain earlier start to charging and later finish because of the higher, more efficient use of the energy. Even better if the controller is an MPPT unit to take even more advantage of the higher energy level.

I like the croc skin they say is part of the system. Not sure what that really means.
A mate of mine had some fixed panels which had a textured surface, if similar, it degrades and collects dust and dirt and significantly lowered each panels' output. He got rid of them.

Ive got 2 x projecta 120w compact panels and cant fault them. They pack up really small and are sooo light. 240 w solar with less weight and room of the more solid ones. Ive had one of them for about 4 years. Used daily on 6 mth trip and are very easy to maneuver.

I am not an Auto Elec, but from what I have read on this forum and elsewhere written by Auto Elecs, the Solar Blanket will give you more “bang for your buck” with regard to power output. They are more efficient than fixed or folding panels. This efficiency comes at a premium price.

There are several Auto Elecs on this forum, who would be better placed to answer your questions.

Macca.

Before you buy one, consider exactly how you will use it....i used to own a Projecta folding blanket, I sold it to a friend because I never liked leaving it out at camp whilst away for the day due to it's value, was just worth to much money. The item itself was fantastic, especially it's size for transport in the vehicle, but now I have a heap of room in the back of my vehicles canopy (previously owned a wagon), I ended up buying a much cheaper solid panel I am happy to leave out at camp all day.

Sun Yee has them a lot cheaper. Ive bought all my 3 solid panels of them and they work well

I moved from folding panels to a solar blanket because it is much lighter and smaller. Because is it much easier to set up and put away I use it much more often. I bought a solar blanket from Super Cheap Auto when they had a sale, bought an MPPT controller from ebay and didn't use the PWM controller that came with the blanket.

The MPPT works much better for me. It is permanently connected to the auxiliary battery and, in my experience, produces more power to recharge the battery than the PWM did.

Yeah i was looking at getting a solar blanket but for the price you pay i just can justify it, currently have a 160w folding, but looking at changing over and getting a couple of flexible panels a go. Seen you can get 200 - 250w ones for around the 150 mark, not sure if they are true 200w panels, however, they are are very thin and lightweight, only 3-4mm thick and weight about 2kg, so if can be stored flat thinking they would be perfect.

Thoughts???

You can find a hard core solar blanket from Nest Bedding coupons. I have been using their blanket but not hard core for years and literally, it is worth buying.