XTPower SP13 13-Watt Solar Panel

The XTPower 13-watt solar panel is the first solar panel that actually worked on my trips. The panels I used before were, on the one hand, too small, and on the other hand, the whole system of solar panel, power bank, smartphone and settings wasn’t coordinated.

The XTPower SP13 solar panel comes from the manufacturer measuring 32x36cm and weighing 450 grams. This weight can easily be reduced. With a sharp knife or seam ripper, the superfluous pouch protection on the back can be removed. After removal, the panel weighs only 330 grams.

Among others, the panel accompanied me on the following trips:

On the Ith-Hils-Weg the panel worked acceptably. It was carried with a Miller ML102 charger and a Panasonic 18650 3400mAh battery that was empty at the start of the trip. The following problems occurred: the 18650 charger did not accept the power from the solar charger, so a lot of energy was lost. Instead of the possible 2.4A charging power, the battery was charged by the charger with only 0.8A at 5V. The difference was thus not used for charging. Directly charging the OnePlus One smartphone with the panel aimed at the sun, on the other hand, worked great. In changeable sunlight it did not work, because the display kept switching on. Here, it would probably have sufficed to apply the settings described here to the smartphone.

In Norway and Sweden a system consisting of the panel, a no-name power bank and a Sony Z1 Compact smartphone was used. In the Swedish fjäll in good weather, the panel delivered enough power for four people. During the breaks, we were able to charge all our electronics via the panel.

On Madeira a system consisting of the panel and an LG G4 smartphone without a buffer battery was used. Under the catastrophic light conditions, the system performed miserably. Only on Pico Ruivo could the panel be used thanks to sunlight. There, however, it charged the smartphones of my girlfriend and me within a very short time.

After the Madeira trip, I freed the solar panel of more unnecessary weight by removing all the heavy fabric. The panel got a new SilPoly cover and now weighs only 230 grams. It has thus lost almost half of its original weight.

These examples make it clear that a high-quality panel alone is not enough to be completely independent of the power grid. Whether a panel is a success on the trail depends largely on the combination of consumers, panel and buffer battery.

In the test in November, this panel achieved the following measured values. In the future, I will add the panel’s values for summer.

A₁ - output in amperes with the solar panel aimed at the sun

A₂ - output in amperes with the solar panel not aimed at the sun

A₃ - output in amperes in diffuse sunlight

Product

Output

A₁

A₂

A₃

Weight

Red.

Grams/watt