Does Solar Work in the PNW Winter? Optisolex Solarbag 400 Test

Hey folks, this is Mike Tangle Whiskey finally coming at you with the completion of the review of the Optex solar bag 400 solar panels for this Oops

Mega 2. Okay, now I'm going to roll in some testing footage that I did on the

Mega 2. Okay, now I'm going to roll in some testing footage that I did on the on these panels here in a second and then I'll I'll conclude the video with a

comparison of this with the panels that Oops themselves sent to me. Okay. Uh,

and then I'll kind of do a little bit of a comparison between the two and my thoughts and opinions on solar, especially in winter, since this is really my first experience with anything solar. So, I'll roll that footage in and then I'll come back and I'll I'll kind of conclude.

Welcome back, big fella. Oh, look at this blue skies, sunshine.

It's been like a month. Anyway, we finally got some sun and now I have a chance to test the Optiflex 400 solar bag, which is a smaller, lighter, more

flexible solar unit with the Oops uh Mega 2. So, what I've done is over the past few days, I have well, yesterday I hooked up my heater and wore

that down to 50%. So now I've got it hooked up with the cable. Going to give it a good 2, three hours and see where that gets us.

So I will report back. Okay, so here we are about 3 hours low afternoon sun. I've had these out. Now, I kind of tipped up

that last set of panels there just to give it more direct, you know, angle for the sunlight because this is a pretty low angle for the sun really, and I wasn't sure how successful they'd be. I mean, that's just what you have with low

sun in the winter. So, let's see what we got.

If you can see that or not. 56.

So, 3 hours and 56%. So, that's about 2% every hour and we'll uh kind of wrap this up inside. So, here we go. So, I was finally able to test

the Optix Solar Bag 400. 3 hours of angled winter afternoon sunlight gave me about 2% per hour. So, that concludes that test. Okay. So,

the performance of this was better. I want to say with the Oops. I did another video a while back with the panels that they sent me. It was I I think three hours very similar sunlight, very, you know, clear sunny day in the middle of

winter, like low angled sun. 3 hours of direct sunlight. I want to say I got 5% with the oops panels. With these, I got 6%.

In the same amount of time, a little bit better. I maybe right. Uh, and and I wanted to kind of do a comparison because I think these two sets of solar panels are both good for different reasons and I think for me anyway, I

would use them for different applications. Okay, so let's start off with the Optolex since that's what this video is about. This setup here is about

16 in by 21 in. It's it's a suitcase style. Now, these are these are flexible is what they say. And they are. They unfold and it goes um four panels and

then it's three it's a 4 by3 grid of panels and it's it's pretty sizable. It's probably I don't know 10 by 12 ft when it's all the

way done. This weighs 18 1/2 lb. So not too bad. What what I like about

way done. This weighs 18 1/2 lb. So not too bad. What what I like about these panels is that it's it's relatively compact and it is more

portable than the other ones, which I'll show you here in a second. So, I do like the bag that it comes with and the fact that all of this stuff is kind of zippered into this pouch here, too. I do like that feature because the the one

that the ones that Oops sent me are not the same. Uh, and there's another little pouch on the backside here for some of the other cables. has a nice little shoulder strap, you know. So, this is this is meant to be more portable and

easier to lug around than the other panels. And I I think it is. I think it does that. Now, one thing about these is they're they're meant to be flexible,

does that. Now, one thing about these is they're they're meant to be flexible, and I that's obviously on purpose, but when you unfold them, they're

floppy. Okay? So, there are some some attachment points where you could hang

floppy. Okay? So, there are some some attachment points where you could hang this up, but you would have to hang it up. Uh you saw in the video there the way they lay flat, you know, in in winter sun especially. Maybe that's not

a deal in the summer and a deal breaker in the summertime, but in the in the winter with low sun, I I think I had better better results when I was able to angle the panels with a more direct uh sunlight, which makes sense, right? So

it's not at some low angle. [clears throat] So these are nice, but they're floppy. Okay? So, you you could hang them up.

You could pin them against something like between some trees, maybe. I'm

thinking in the woods or, you know, on the side of your house or maybe lay them out on your roof if you needed to. But the floppiness, it it makes them lighter. It makes them more compact and more portable, and that's cool, but

lighter. It makes them more compact and more portable, and that's cool, but they're floppy. Okay? And I'll tell you why that's important here in a second.

they're floppy. Okay? And I'll tell you why that's important here in a second.

Like I said, in the summertime, it may not matter, but in the winter time, I think it does matter. Uh, but these are this is pretty portable. This is a nice little package. Uh it's easy to cart around. I could see this going with some

little package. Uh it's easy to cart around. I could see this going with some sort of kit where um you you could carry this. You could transport this. Somebody

could transport this uh if they needed to, even though it's a little bit heavy and a little bit bulky. But let me compare it to the other one. So these

are the panels that Oops sent to me. Takes up a lot of the screen there. So,

these are the 240 watt panels that Oops sent to me uh shortly after they sent me that mega the mega 2. And this is this is obviously

much bigger, right? This is 24 by 26 give or take. And the weight on this behemoth here is let's see

uh 20 lb. Just over 20 lb. So, not a whole lot more. I got to be honest, though. These these feel heavier, right? These are stiff panels.

honest, though. These these feel heavier, right? These are stiff panels.

These are When these unfold, it's only one row of panels and they're larger.

So, this makes it harder to carry around, harder to transport. This

would be a heck of a lot harder to kind of lug around than that smaller one would be, just because of its size, but I I there's an advantage to this stiffness. First of all, there's some pretty cool little panels that fold out

stiffness. First of all, there's some pretty cool little panels that fold out to to stand them up. And when I laid these out the very first time I tested them, it was the same problem. was laying flat in the driveway and the sun

was at a low angle. So, what I did was I was able to just take them and stand them up against one of the cars and now I had direct sunlight and they because they're so stiff, they were able to get more surface area, you know, with direct

sunlight. Now, I think that's a good thing. They

sunlight. Now, I think that's a good thing. They

they seem to be better at setting up, but part of me thinks I mean with my limited experience, this would be more of a permanent setup like at a camp maybe where uh you were set up in the woods or you were set up

at some sort of primitive, you know, site or some sort of disaster area. I

would want to set these up and leave them there.

set these up and just leave them there uh to absorb sun all day every day, right? I I wouldn't want to tear these down and then set them up and then tear

right? I I wouldn't want to tear these down and then set them up and then tear them down and then set them up. And also some of the like I I didn't really like the uh the way that the that these cables are attached. They have these little snap points which holds and it does okay, but this always gets in the

way when I'm trying to store it and slide it because my instinct is to like slide it in a in a thin area and these kind of get in the way. So again, this this concept of making it kind of all in one package and more like a suitcase is

more convenient, but they're floppy. So these are floppy, these are stiff. In my

mind, after my little bit of experience, I would set these up and leave them.

Like I would want that to be a permanent thing wherever I was and however I had them set up. This is a more transportable type of unit. Something

[clears throat] a little bit more mobile, a little bit lighter, a little bit easier to maneuver and kind of carry around. Now, having said that, this one, the Optlex produced slightly better results. So, I had one more percent over

the course of 3 hours, you know. So, what is that? That's I don't know, 20% more. I I I told myself I was going to stop doing math on camera, but I keep

more. I I I told myself I was going to stop doing math on camera, but I keep doing it. So, someone out there can correct me on the math on that. So, 5%

doing it. So, someone out there can correct me on the math on that. So, 5%

over 3 hours, 6% over 3 hours. You know, a little bit better, right?

Um, so which one which one is good, which one is bet? It I to me it depends on the application. Um, [snorts] I like having the idea. I like having two units. And another company just sent me a a a smaller charger, like an 18800

units. And another company just sent me a a a smaller charger, like an 18800 watt uh power bank. So, this may very well be the solar panels that I use for the smaller bank versus these that'll stick with the oops, the larger 2500

watt bank, you know, and that I I think that's cool.

Now, this was my first foray into solar. I I don't know what I thought. I guess I thought that because I'm a ginger and I get sunburned through the clouds. I

remember being taught that as I was growing up. They're like, "It doesn't matter if it's cloudy, you'll still get sunburn." So, part of me just thought that solar panels would always collect the same amount and the same speed of

charging even though it was in the clouds. Like the the UV rays would get through it and that would do be enough to do the thing. [snorts]

But I was kind of disappointed with both of and it wasn't the performance of these units. That's not what I'm talking about. I just thought solar would work

these units. That's not what I'm talking about. I just thought solar would work in the Pacific Northwest in the winter. Now I I I don't think that's a thing. In

the past 3 months, this company has been like, "Hey, when are you going to do the video? When are you going to do the video?" And I've been I told them, I

video? When are you going to do the video?" And I've been I told them, I said, "Hey man, the next sunny day is yours." And I literally waited like two months for a sunny day where it was clear, not partly cloudy. Because I

tried partly cloudy with this one and it didn't work well. I waited until I had absolute no clouds, pure sun, three hours straight in the driveway so I can test them, you know, side by side, same comparison. And you get 5% or 6%. I did

this one from zero and got 5%. I did this one from 50% and got 56%. So 6%.

[snorts] What does that mean? So, in the winter time or in the fall, in the winter where I'm at, I have one sunny day every month maybe and I get 5%. That 5% is going to be gone. I've tested these with charging

my refrigerators and my heaters and all that stuff.

So, I don't think solar is a viable option where I'm at in the winter time.

Now, I will do more videos on these in the summertime cuz I am curious in the heat of the day, 100°ree heat, direct sunlight overhead, what is going to be the difference when I try and charge this Mega 2 from from zero or from 50.

You know, I'm going to retest these and see how it goes.

But I thought that solar would work for me. I was like, "Sweet, I'll have solar power all winter." I don't know how people do it. I don't know how homesteaders do it. I'm sure there's some people that watch this channel that are homesteaders and they'll be able to throw some comments down below, but it doesn't seem to me like it works. Like maybe if if they're out all the time

every day, it trickles enough to to keep batteries on, you know, on a semi-charged or low low wattage appliances. I don't know. Um there's a lot of people on YouTube doing much smarter and more extensive

experimentation with these type of things than I did. Uh this is just, you know, a couple sunny days in my driveway.

But yeah, I I'm not that excited about solar in the winter time where I'm at. I

hope that that changes in the summertime. I think that it might, you know, with better, stronger sunlight, whatever the heck that means. I don't

know, you know, are we how many inches are we closer to the sun in the summertime? I don't know. But apparently that makes a dramatic difference, right?

summertime? I don't know. But apparently that makes a dramatic difference, right?

Maybe it's the angle, maybe it's the heat, the intensity. Uh, I'll figure I'll hopefully I'll figure all that out later. But overall, these are good units. You know, it's just for me in my situation, it's not a viable solution

units. You know, it's just for me in my situation, it's not a viable solution for power in the wintertime. That may change. But yeah, so that's my review of these two units. Um, like I said, I have another uh power station that somebody

sent me that I'm going to be uh a little bit smaller than the Mega 2. I'm going

to be testing that out and I will probably use not the oops cuz the oops goes with the Mega 2, but I'll be testing this unit out, excuse [clears throat] me, testing out this solar panel with that smaller unit to

see what kind of a charge I can get. Maybe in the winter time, too. So, you

might see that coming out for me soon. So, if you're thinking or you're in the market, I hope this was helpful. Um, I'll see if they sent me a link. I don't

know if they sent me a link. If if I do have a link, I'll throw it down below uh so you guys can check this one out. and uh give it a shot if you want to. So,

this is Mike Tango Whiskey and I'm all clear.