Showing all 4 results

The Crocskin® Revolution In Portable Solar Blankets & Panels

The development of Crocskin® solar cell armour is a revolution in the technology of portable solar panels for camping, bringing in a new era for adventure enthusiasts. Coming with a 3 year warranty, these lightweight 12V folding solar panels have flexible cells which are highly efficient and more durable than ever before. The whole panel will not fail in partial shade as with older style camping solar blankets. Our Crocskin® flexible folding solar mats are the best and most efficient that Australia has ever seen. They are by far the most reliable 4wd solar panels to power your solar camping setup for both 4x4 off-roading and for camper trailers when out in the searing heat and tough terrain of the Australian bush.

The evolution of Portable Camping Solar Panels

When most people in Australia think about portable solar panels, they think about the older-style camping solar blankets or their non-folding predecessors. Camping solar panels were first introduced to the market in about 2010. Since then there have been some major advances in technology with the development of flexible folding solar panels. Our Crocskin flexible folding solar mats represent the pinnacle of 12V solar panels, making all earlier models of foldable solar panels obsolete.

The First Portable Solar Blankets & Panels For Camping

The first models of camping solar panels for sale in Australia were ground-breaking in their time, but, they were heavy, cumbersome, fragile and inefficient. These first-generation portable solar panels for camping were glass fronted, which made them delicate, inflexible and heavy. The earliest solar panels were neither efficient nor practical for camping. They weighed upwards of 25kg, which meant they took up a lot of room in the cargo area of your 4x4 or camper trailer and were difficult to load or unload. What’s more, any minor impact when loading could result in a broken cell. When one cell was broken the entire panel became virtually useless and little or no solar power for camping was generated.

The Camping Solar Blanket With Folding Solar Panels

The second generation of 12V portable solar panels was known as the solar blanket. This was the first solar camping product with foldable solar panels and was a significant leap forward from their heavy, rigid predecessors. At one-third of the weight of the first portable solar panels, these folding blankets more portable and impact resistant. Due to its smaller size it was also much more convenient solution in terms of solar power for camping. However, while it was superior in every way to earlier models, it was by no means perfect. The epoxy-covered solar cells were still inflexible, and if bent were liable to crack. In addition, covering up one part of the panel would result in the whole blanket’s power output dropping to near zero.

Flexible Folding Solar Mats Replace The Camping Solar Blanket

Flexible folding solar mats are the third generation of portable solar panels for camping. First introduced to the market and available for sale in Australia in 2017, they rendered the camping solar blanket obsolete. With new-style flexible folding solar panels, the solar mat is a massive advance in technology and has solved many of the lingering problems with blankets and earlier 12V solar panels for camping. Improvements to engineering and manufacturing meant that the solar mat’s cells could be made significantly thinner and lighter, resulting in a further 50% reduction in the weight of the mats when compared to that of the folding solar blanket and a fraction of the weight of the original camping solar panels. For the first time ever, 12V folding solar panels became practical as the solar cells of the folding solar mat were genuinely flexible. This meant that a stray boot or accidental drop was unlikely to cause significant damage to the mat. A reduction in the number of folds meant increased durability under frequent heavy usage, and a shadow or damage to a single cell no longer caused total panel failure, which was an issue with solar blanket camping. However, exposure to extreme temperatures (for example placement directly on top of a metal surface) sometimes caused buckling. This meant that early solar mat owners had to be careful about where they placed their mats when setting up their 12V solar camping gear.

The Latest in Portable Solar Panels For Camping

Now in 2018, Hard Korr has written the next chapter in the history of 12V solar camping with our Crocskin® solar panels. We now stand alone as the first company to bring the next generation of flexible folding solar panels for camping to the Australian market. Just like we did with LED camp lighting and 4x4 light bars, our latest range of Crocskin® flexible folding solar mats incorporate new innovations that make them more reliable, durable, useful and cost-effective than all other camping solar panels on the market today. Our exclusive Crocskin® solar cell armour takes impact, scratch and UV protection to the next level, and our proprietary backing material is both lightweight and extremely strong. Together, they allow our Crocskin® solar mats to withstand even the most extreme temperatures when solar camping. This means they will survive even the toughest Outback travel longer than all other portable solar panels and continue generating solar power for camping longer than other 12 volt solar panels.

Got more questions? Send us an email (click here), chat with us online, or give us a call on (07) 3801 8332.