solar tent

[outwest]

I have heard of these before but I have never seen one up close or used one. Anyone have luck with them, is there any danger to worry about (like old electric blankets)?

 

[Refrigerator]

US Army testing solar powered tents for troops, gadget addicted campers -- Engadget

 

[CatsEye]

COOL!! That's AWESOME!! I would love to have one of those! I don't know what I'd do with it, but it would be awesome to have one to mmm.....let's see, power my rocket launcher when I take over the world?:tinysmile_twink_t2:

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


What an interesting gadget. NOW I know what I want for Christmas...!!

 

[ejdixon]

Haven't tried, but would sure love to...especially if it will be given to me for Christmas.

 

[carmen]

I would love to see the geeky notes after they test it, as in what it can actually power for the "normal person" out there. Heck if I could get it to power a chair that massages me after a long hike that would be great.

 

[alex k]

use to carry a 5w solar panel wired to charge the cell phone . worked well , but hated the interuptions from phone calls .
guess if it worked to charge batteries for lights and a small fan i would be intrested .

 

[DaisyBell]

thats sounds like such a sweet idea! You could recharge batteries for kids toys, such a nice thought

 

[ejdixon]

Heck if I could get it to power a chair that massages me after a long hike that would be great.

Hahahaha!!! I'm with you on that, Carmen.

 

[Newanderthal]

sounds like a motel to me. If you start bringing solar panels, batteries, heaters, entertainment devices, fans, etc. then you're getting away from camping and moving toward motel stays. The walls are just thinner. We already have people who park a trailer on a concrete pad with running water, electricity, plumbing, climate control and a full kitchen and call that "camping".

The whole point of camping is to get away from the strains of complicated life and get back to the basics. If you bring the tech and complications with you, doesn't that defeat the purpose? It's like when my friend spent a week in Japan and only ate at American restaurants and hung out in the mall. He could have done that without the plane ticket.

 

[Hikenhunter]

A solar panel in camp could have some practicle uses but I don't think I would want it to be part of my tent.

 

[ejdixon]

One thing I'm really curious about it is how durable are those solar panels especially when it comes to really rough weather conditions.

 

[sailorman]

I generally say, to each his own. There are some pretty neat gadgets out there. I don't really have anything against them; however, when I start taking things like that they seem to multiply to the point where everything gets to complicated. When camping I like to pack light.

 

[DThewanderer]

I think it would be nice to have a solar tent on a lengthy camping trip. If you have small kids it could make it much easier. Some people can not camp because of their little ones. My sister's son needs to do his nebulizer often, so she needs electricity. A tent like that would help keep camping a possibility for people like that.

 

[limbs]

My worry would be that tents are very flammable. If something like that were to short circuit then it could potentially cause a fire that could injure someone.

 

[ejdixon]

Not to mention that they are not as sturdy as a cabin or trailer so the panels can get damaged more easily, especially if it happens to be a really windy day.

 

[ChadTower]

My worry would be that tents are very flammable. If something like that were to short circuit then it could potentially cause a fire that could injure someone.

Depends on the voltages involved. I haven't looked at the link but let's call it 12v since that would allow you to use standard car adapters for cell phones, lights, etc. There is very little danger of a 12v short circuit being hot enough to start a fire unless that spot was wrapped in something that would easily catch a spark. Even then, it would be small, and you'd have to have the right wind, and larger flammable material, and your tent is only nylon.

Basically, think about how you would start a fire with a car or large lamp battery. All the trouble you have to go to for that hot wire to heat up tinder and then treat it like a baby to get it to flame up. Now subtract almost all of the heat from that equation because there is very little current generated by those panels to heat the wire up in the first place.

 

[UAE_Camp]

sounds like a motel to me. If you start bringing solar panels, batteries, heaters, entertainment devices, fans, etc. then you're getting away from camping and moving toward motel stays. The walls are just thinner. We already have people who park a trailer on a concrete pad with running water, electricity, plumbing, climate control and a full kitchen and call that "camping".

The whole point of camping is to get away from the strains of complicated life and get back to the basics. If you bring the tech and complications with you, doesn't that defeat the purpose? It's like when my friend spent a week in Japan and only ate at American restaurants and hung out in the mall. He could have done that without the plane ticket.

well said... but I love to have some advanced and comfortable tools when camping with children... :tinysmile_twink_t2: