Silicon Solar has a wider selection of Portable Solar Power Systems than we’d recalled, including some, like the flexible (in fact, rollable) panels pictured below, which are presumably fairly robust. We’re not sure which models/systems can be daisy-chained – one of the principal virtues of the Solar Stik system. We hope to be able to manage, in the near future, a comparison either of the respective specifications – or perhaps even a field test.

Global P3 Flexible Solar Panel - 30 Watt output - weight: 1 lb. from Silicon Solar

The Global P3  – at right – at full capture/output generates 30 watts of energy, sells for a bit over $500 – and weighs, according to Silicon Solar – one pound. For those of you on the Standard Metric system – that slightly less than one kilogram.

We hope that government purchases and other economies of scale push prices down further. However, without having data at hand, we think it safe to say that the weight to yield ratios of solar PV systems has been improving.