Customer Reviews
Looks better than it works 
2008-05-19
The product information should include these crucial tidbids, which you only find out AFTER buying (by reading the detailed owner's manual): 1) you cannot use it while you are charging it, and 2)if you want to charge it using the sun, it takes 45 HOURS (YES -- that's HOURS). I used it at an outdoor festival to power a laptop, and -- even thought the manual estimated it would last for up to 4 hours, it pooped out after 1.5 hours. After that, I unplugged and charged it in the sun for a while. It got a lot of interest from people at the festival, who thought it was cool. I think it's cool too. I just wish it worked better.
Patience is the key... 
2008-04-23
The Xantrex Powerpack holds a pretty good amount of electricity once charged, but the only problem is that it takes a very long time to get it to that point. If you are using the solar panel to recharge the battery, expect to have it out in full sunlight for DAYS to get a decent charge. Good idea, but should be able to recharge much quicker.
Useful, But Does Not Perform Up To Specifications 
2007-10-02
If the Xantrex Xpower Powerpack Solar lived up to its specifications, I would rate it 5 stars and consider it well worth the money. That's why I bought it in the first place. Unfortunately, its performance falls short of the manufacturer's claims.
The overall design of the product is very nice. I had considered building something similar based on a how-to article in Popular Science, but the Powerpack is so nicely packaged for only a couple dollars more, I chose to buy it.
The Powerpack disappoints in the amount of energy stored in its battery that is available to power other electronic devices. The battery is specified as 12 volts and 10 amp-hours. As such, I was expecting to get as much as 120 watt-hours from it, but I barely get half that.
As a test, I fully charged the battery using the included AC adapter. By "fully", I mean the unit claimed to be charged. I then ran the built-in LED lights. The manual claims they should run for 48 hours. They ran 27.5 hours for me.
I assumed this performance reflected a bad unit and exchanged it. The new unit performs similarly. Either the battery in the unit performs poorly, or the electronics to monitor and control the battery state-of-charge are weak.
As another example of the poor performance, I charged the unit completely (again based on its built-in indicator that charging is done). It indicated 100 percent charge when I turned on the AC or DC output, but as soon as I plugged in any load, it almost immediately dropped to 70 or even 60 percent. Soon after the unit's indicator dropped to 40 percent, the unit shut itself down.
So, on the one hand, this is a nice unit to carry around, and it does slowly-but-surely charge the internal battery using the included 5 watt solar panel. It does a fine job charging cell phones and iPods, and a barely acceptable job charging a notebook computer. Compared to its specifications, and for that matter my previous experience with the Xantrex Powerpack Mobile Mini, however, the product is a disappointment.
To tiny solar = not enough charge to be usable 2007-09-20
The price of this product, if invested in electricity, will run your battery charger for years of use. This is one worthless product. It can not compete with plug-in wall chargers for charging ability. Save your money and walk away here.
Great Powerpack ! 
2007-08-23
Works great ! Just rather small; doesn't hold enough power to run a toaster or hot plate. Will keep your phone charged up, and the lantern from this unit will light up a big tent for hours. Very convenient and portable and lightweight enough for traveling and camping. I'm looking forward to the day when such units can pack a larger solar panel and a bigger battery.
Dose that i got it to do 2008-07-08
OK guys come on think before you buy. I go camping a lot and I use it to charge my IPhone, portable speakers, and power LCD light rope it works grate yeah it will charge laptop as well but not if your not going to use it for multiple things. Buy 2 like I did
You'd have to pay me to keep it! 2008-06-25
This product looked really new and innovative, so I decided to purchase it. However, this product does not charge laptops well or other pratical items. I returned this pieace of junk and received a full refund.
Save your money and the hassle at the post office!
power regulator(110V-240V) 2008-06-13
Xantrex Xpower Powerpack Solar #852-2071
In my review on this product if possible you can make power regulator that takes 110V/AC-240V/AC for international use.
Junk Xantrex 2008-05-30
This product is a piece of junk. It holds a charge for approx 30 minutes no matter hw long I plug it in. A very poor, cheap design makes be very sorry I bought this product.
save your money 2008-05-27
Look if you want to learn to use solar energy don't buy this product. Get a book and use that for starts. This products solar panel is only a 5 wat panel so you get nothing from the sun practically and you will always have to charge from the wall. This product sucks trust me and don't buy it.
