Solar Panel on XTL

My camera absolutely sucks the life out of batteries, so keeping them topped up is a big priority. To that end I got this Silva SC44 solar charger. I utilized this panel for the first time on a 7 day canoe trip. I tied some 550 cord to the grommets on the corner and lashed it to the top of my pack in the hold of the canoe. Worked okay, but having to tie and untie those lengths of cord got old real fast.

I knew I had to devise a better way of attaching the solar panel. I thought of bungee cords with hooks, and a few other ideas floated around in my head. In the end I sewed two ladder-locks onto one side of the panel, and two lengths of webbing on the other side, that I could easily weave through PALS webbing on the XTL and then weave through the ladder-locks to connect it. As I hike along I just let the sun do its thing. And alternately when on a canoe trip. I can just weave the straps through the PALS on whatever pack I’m using, the sun recharges my batteries and I don’t have to worry that a gust of wind will blow it away. And when I get to where I’m going I'll lay this down on the ground to continue charging, and I can use this arrangement to attach it to something immovable, again to avoid having it blow away.