REVIEW – If you have picked up a portable power station and haven’t added a solar panel yet, I highly recommend researching some options. Power stations are great for short power outages or short camping trips, but if you’re away from the grid for longer than a day or two then even the most robust power stations will eventually run out. By adding a solar panel system, you can indefinitely run your electrical stuff (as long as you’re not using more electricity per 24-hour period than the solar panels can produce). I have reviewed several solar panels here at the Gadgeteer, but I’m always looking for a better option for our emergency power outage and longer-term camping setups, so I agreed to give the OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit a spin.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $699.99 ($429.99 sale at time of review)
Where to buy: OptiSolex
What is it?
The OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit is a kit that exists of two solar panels each capable of producing up to 200 watts of solar energy, for a total of up to 400 watts. Solar energy production is obviously highly dependent on the position and strength of the sun’s rays, so your actual mileage will vary. The OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit can fold up into a highly portable carrying bag complete with shoulder straps, and has mounting points and included carabiners to hang the panels when deployed (or they can simply be laid on the ground or draped over an object like a vehicle hood/trunk/roof).
What’s included?
- OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag
- Carabiner x4
- Shoulder Straps x2
- User Manual x1
Tech specs
Max Power at STC: 440 Watts
Open Circuit Voltage: 42V/21V
Optimum Operating Current: 11.1A
Optimum Operating Voltage: 36V/18V
USB-C: 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, PD45W max
USB-A1: 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A, 15W max
USB-A2: 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, PD18W max
Folded Size: 53.5*43.5*11.5cm (21.06*17.16*4.53in)
Expanded Size: 170*160*0.4cm (66.93*62.99*0.16in)
Weight: 7.8kg (17.2 lbs)
Design and features
The OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit unfolds to a large square solar panel shape when unfolded. The whole system feels well-built, but the panels themselves would be damaged if bent or walked on, so take care when handling and with placement.
The panels themselves are slightly flexible, and there are quite a few attachment loops around the panels to aid in mounting them up to things (with rope or the included carabiners).
The kit consists of two solar panels with a rugged zipper between the two, so you can actually separate them if needed to use independently or simply for better positioning.
There are two zippered panels on the back of each panel that each have MC4 connectors.
One of the two panels has a larger storage compartment, which is nice for storing the shoulder straps, carabiners, and extra cabling or adapters you might add on. Each compartment also sports USB-C Power Delivery ports and a pair of USB-A ports (the PD ports can supply up to 45 watts each, while the USB-A ports are 18 and 15 watt maximum outputs).
A nice touch is the printed solar panel specs that are inside each zippered pouch. These can be very useful when using the solar panels with a new device or system, as you always want to check voltages and current limits to ensure compatibility and avoid damage (or worse).
Assembly, Installation, Setup
I tested the OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit with the beefy OUKITEL BP2000 Home Battery Backup system (which keeps our garage refrigerator and freezer running in case of power outages). I didn’t have a handy solar panel that could feed this large battery system very well, so I hoped that the OptiSolex 440 W kit could do the trick. Setting it up is fairly simple: you need to connect one positive and negative end of each panel to each other, then run the two remaining connectors to your power station. If you don’t have an MC4 input on your power station, then you may need another adaptor (luckily the OUKITEL station came with an MC4 to Anderson adapter and supports up to 1000 Watts of solar input). I also purchased 50-foot MC4 cables so that I can temporarily deploy the solar panels on our roof and run the cable to the garage power station if needed.
Unfolding the OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag is as simple as … well, unfolding it. Placement might be more tricky since you want to angle the solar panels towards the sun as much as possible. I didn’t have a good way to get the right angle without building or buying a mounting solution, so for testing I just held it at different angles to get the maximum output. OptiSolex shows ideas like draping it across your vehicle or clipping it onto trees or RVs with the carabiners or rope:
Performance
Unfortunately, conditions weren’t ideal for solar generation during the test period. I’m over 40 degrees longitude North, and tested during September and October, so there was no chance of me getting the full 440 watts that the panels can theoretically produce. I tested on multiple days and conditions, and the best I was able to get was about 45 watts of solar production. The panels seemed a bit less efficient than other solar panels I’ve tested based on those numbers (some have produced 30-40% of their maximum rated wattage in the same months).
Final thoughts
The OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag is a highly portable system, and in good sunny conditions it should be able to supply quite a bit of power in relation to its size and weight. There is the option to combine multiple sets into a personal solar farm of sorts with their SolexBrick S1 charge controller product, which allows up to four panels (or 2 x OptiSolex 440W Portable Solarbags) to be meshed together with an S1 connected to each. You can even mix and match other solar panels including mismatched wattages and the S1 controllers will coordinate and optimize output.
What I like about the OptiSolex 440W Portable SolarBag Kit
- Very portable for the rated wattage
- Flexible mounting and placement with the split dual panel design
- Handy USB outputs and storage compartments
What needs to be improved?
- Actual solar production was a bit behind other panels I’ve tested in similar conditions
- Without a build-in stand of any kind, it can be hard to place the panels at ideal angles
Price: $699.99 ($429.99 sale at time of review)
Where to buy: OptiSolex
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by OptiSolex. OptiSolex did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other solar-related reviews!
- DJI Power 2000 power station review – My first power station is a keeper!
- Sunmoove 6.5W Solar Charger review – Free energy!
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