Portable Solar Oven Deluxe with Complete Cookware, Dehydrating Racks and Thermometer

am using it, really, for only the second time. and the first time didn't go so well, BUT I learned a lot!FIRST, this is a great item. HAS A LEARNING CURVE. it takes a little bit of intuitiveness to get down how to get the zipper going, setting it up, and a little clumsy going in and out of it. As I have it sitting low, have flipped it upside down, zipper at the top, so I can open it easier for cleaning condensation, venting, etc. If it were sitting higher, I'd leave it as shown in the photo. SECOND condensation on the inside of the plastic makes it so you're cooking on a cloudy day. I tried to reheat a chicken in an open tray and the condensation just made that not happen. Was also trying to cook rice and the temps were so low, it didn't happen either. THIRD. Took out that chicken, and just did the rice in one of the silicone bowls and it was PERFECTO. unlike their directions, needed 2 water to 1 brown rice. FOURTH best heat is when the sun is coming in at such an angle that it is striking directly onto the back seam of the cooker. A little lower or a little higher, temps are not optimized. If you have liquid in the oven, tilting it to the exact angle may not work, so resign yourself to slightly lower temps / longer cooking times. FIVE you will have to re-orient this to the sun as the day goes on. SIX if you are like us and eat your main meal mid day, this will not work for winter cooking UNLESS you make your meal the day before and just re-heat when you are ready. Right now, I've got a London Broil in a tray of marinade in there. been there an hour and in another hour, will get the grill going and finish it off with the smoker for about 1/2 hour. It should be tender and tasty(it was). THEN a lasagna is going in to cook through this afternoon for tomorrows dinner (best lasagna I've ever done!). Tomorrow, I'll probably put in some pork for pulled pork through the week and maybe a chicken. SEVEN it is light weight and if windy, it will act like a sail and end up in the next county. Find some old hand weights, or a box you can weight down to hold it in place if the day has a breeze. There are some loops on the outside, or you could probably put a hand weight right inside the oven. That box will also add as insulation and help hold the heat in the oven. EIGHT this is NOT a sunoven. it does not get as hot, it is not as rigid, its not as heavy AND its not as expensive. For the price its a nice set up with a good assortment of tools. ADD some cooking bags or other covered cookware so you can cook things like lasagna with less condensation escaping all over the inside of the plastic (my London broil is in a cooking bag and there is still a little condensation forming. Keep any cookware you purchase for this dark colored. The silicone ones are nice as they continue with the idea of light weight and portability. NINE once you see how this works, you will be, OH, I could build one of these myself and if it begins to show wear or rips open, you may choose to do exactly that instead of replacing it. DON"T BOTHER, it will take twice as long and not be as nice. This is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to solar cooking, get experience, learn what tools work and what don't, and if it fits your lifestyle. TEN cook with this more as you would a slow cooker and you'll be fine. If you are fortunate enough to have good sunny days, but have to work, set it up and let it go through its day as you go through yours. AND YES it will work in the winter. Remember how warm it is to be sitting in your car in the sun with snow piled around you? or standing looking out a window on a sunny day? Well that's your sun oven. and on a summer day, its not adding heat to your house. ENJOY!

I have made pasta, hard boiled eggs, best ever! Bacon....screen clouds up and you have to keep wiping it which causes temperature to drop so probably won't make bacon again. Easy to use, only drawbacks, zipper cheap, struggle to get zipper together and started. Putting it back in the carry bag is difficult, bigger carry bag and better zipper would make this a 5 star product

This is an extremely well designed portable solar oven. It folds up to a very easy to store size. We have used it traveling in a small camper for the past month and have cooked the majority of dinners with it. It is July and we are currently in Alaska, using it as far north as Fairbanks. Right now we are in Homer, AK on Cook Inlet with full sun and strong winds. With air temperature of 56 degrees, the oven stayed at 175 degrees - pretty impressive. At home in Oregon (45th parallel) it consistently stays at 200 degrees as long as there's sun). A lot of our food is prepared and dehydrated at home so heating and rehydrating are the most common tasks for it. For spaghetti tonight, I put in two pots, one with sauce and one to preheat the water. It only took a few minutes on the stove to bring the preheated water to boiling for the pasta. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a simple easy way to cook while camping. I purchased the deluxe version and would replace it asap if anything happened to it.

I've tried cheapie homemade solar ovens with very disappointing results, so I was thrilled to find this item, very professional, useful accessories, completely storable. I just can't get the temp inside up to a cooking temperature. Sunny days, facing the sun, tilted, turning regularly to follow the sun, completely zipped closed... I can't get it to 200° to save my life. Very nice of it to include a thermometer so I can tell. One example: I tried baking frozen cookie dough, and the cookies thawed and melted, but didn't cook, after HOURS of diligently turning the oven. I love the idea and don't know if I am just that inept, but I can't get this to cook.

So far I've cooked 3 items, 2 squashes and one pork tenderloin. The results are remarkable. I cooked the first squash (covered) for 4 hours, very done. The second squash (again covered) for 2 hours and the pork tenderloin (uncovered and on the black tray) for 2 hours, both cooked to perfection.I'm going to experiment with covering or uncovering different types of food to cook. The squashes (both covered) produced lots of water and the pork (uncovered) produced some meat juices but was tender and tasty.It is easy to clean and portable enough to pick up and move to a different spot without removing any item being cooked.I'm sold. Christmas presents for all my camping kids.