WHICH SOLAR BLANKET?? 200W iTechWorld vs Hard Korr vs Companion vs 160W Redarc - Part 1

In this four-part solar blanket review series, we're spending four months and a 25,000km road trip to pit four popular mid-range solar blankets head to head - the 200W iTechWorld, 200W Hard Korr, 200W Companion and 160W Redarc !
In Part 1 we're doing an unboxing and detailed overview of the four contenders.
PART 2: • Part 2 - 200W Hard Kor...
FABRIC STRENGTH CHALLENGE: www.orientbag.net/post/2016/0...
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:49 - Pricing
2:11 - Hard Korr Unboxing and Overview
6:30 - Companion Unboxing and Overview
10:33 - iTechWorld Unboxing and Overview
13:27 - Redarc Unboxing and Overview
16:22 - Scoring - Box and Appearance
16:42 - Introduction to Part 2
READY TO PURCHASE? USE THESE LINKS!
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I don't care which product you buy, choose the one that suits you best. But when you buy, please use the links below, and in some cases I'll get a small commission.
ITECHWORLD 200W OR 300W SOLAR BLANKET WITH 5% DISCOUNT:
* From iTechWorld: itechworld.com.au/musing - TMG subscribers get 5% off with promo code: MUSING
COMPANION 200W SOLAR BLANKET:
* From Outback Equipment: bit.ly/CompanionSolarBlanket-OE
HARD KORR 200W SOLAR BLANKET WITH CROCSKIN:
* From eBay: ebay.us/grB3OT
* From Outback Equipment: bit.ly/HardKorrSolarBlanket-OE
REDARC 160W SOLAR BLANKET:
* From Redarc: www.redarc.com.au/160w-solar-... (no Affiliate link but it's still a great blanket. If you like it better than the others, buy it even though I don't get anything out of it!)

[@xXCreepyNeighborXx]

Oh damn I've been looking forward to this video for a while

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yeah me too, sorry it's taken so long mate! I've been working on it literally all day every week day for the last month, you wouldn't believe how long it takes to get every little bit just right! But everything should be up this week!

[@itechworld1]

Thanks for including us Greg. Great video as always :)

[@TheMusingGreg]

My pleasure, yours was definitely the most requested product so it was a sure starter!

[@travellingwithtwomoodles]

Very informative video thank you for taking the time to explain everything in full. It is helped us make a decision on blanket to buy

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad it was helpful! Which one did you choose in the end? (we travelled with one Cavoodle! :D)

[@davedownunder8057]

Great effort in creating a comparison of solar blankets, sadly I have already purchased a kings 200w but it works fine for my 3-4day trips

[@TheMusingGreg]

No worries mate, yeah my advice on Kings when I reviewed it last (ua-cam.com/video/AActNzBZ9FA/v-deo.html) was that they're OK for that sort of use, especially if you clean the surfaces after each use to stop the surface scratching. Some people put thin layers of material between the panels when they're folded to protect them from scuffing. It's also good if you've got another way of charging your batteries e.g. with a DC-DC charger from your vehicle, so if the panels do fail you're not completely out of charging options. If you're only doing short, occasional trips and have low power needs, then a more expensive blanket may not make much sense.

[@bushyfromoz8834]

Ended uo buying the hardkorr panel based off this series. They day it arrived it was overcast outside so i hooked it straight up I was getting 2-4 amps when cloudy and 10-12 when the sun was out, and this was without paying too luch attention to facing the panel correctly. Pretty happy with the result

[@TheMusingGreg]

Great result bushy! Glad it helped you make a decision you're happy with! Where'd you get it from in the end and did you get a good price? I'd really appreciate it if you can share the series on your socials to help others benefit from it too! 👍

[@user-dw1rj7kx5l]

any videos or thoughts on XTM 300W blanket.

[@TheMusingGreg]

I've never used one sorry, it looks similar to the iTechWorld but with a MPPT regulator and a better price. However XTM isn't generally brilliant, so I wouldn't expect anything better than the iTechWorld and not sure on the quality of the surface treatment. I'd be interested to hear how you find it if you get one though!

[@DiHandley]

I notice that most of them use a PWM solar charge controller, not the better MPPT controller.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep they all do which I find odd. I would have preferred MPPT too, but equally I was pleasantly surprised at how well some of these worked. Stay tuned! 😉

[@gianfrancoingegneri3291]

interesting you didn't add the kickass blanket.

[@TheMusingGreg]

I'd love to test some others, but these are expensive products! If you'd like to see more like this please send a Thanks or share this series on your socials, as more views means more revenue to fund more testing. Cheers.
Apart from that, with the amount of testing I do, this has been a very long series with only 4 blankets, and I think five would have been just too long. But I can certainly look at other products in future videos if this one gets enough support.

[@gianfrancoingegneri3291]

@@TheMusingGreg ah, ok. thanks for your time doing these videos.

[@TheMusingGreg]

No worries, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your support!

[@christant6253]

Stay away from itechworlds solar blanket. They do not reach anywhere near the 200 W and the raptor skin cracks and peels off.the connections split, and the covering soon frays very quickly.

[@TheMusingGreg]

That's interesting mate. I agree re the power output, but I didn't have those other issues with the 200W unit I returned, nor on the 300W unit I replaced it with. However as mentioned in the video the handle started to come away on the 200W watt unit and it's just started doing that on the 300W unit as well. How long did it take for the problem to start? Did you report it to iTechWorld and if so what was their response?