SOL COOK All Season Solar Cooker (17) Camper

Like many, I was astonished at how well this lightweight contraption cooks food. (in February, no less!)It cooks food in the morning, in the evening, in the winter, and at more reasonable times of sunlight too. I have adjusted the cooker as suggested to achieve a three-hour cooking window, placed a pan of chicken in it, and left at 1:00 p.m. to go back to work. I came home at 5:00 p.m. to well-cooked chicken, still warm.The design lends itself to so many adjustments that it is possible to capture maximum solar energy at any time of the day or year. Of course, adjusting it frequently will achieve the most cooking energy, but setting it ahead of the sun and leaving it for a 2-3 hour period has worked well enough for me.I most like the ingenuity of this cooker. It's pretty incredible that through intelligent design, plastic board and a shiny surface can be transformed to meet a universal human need--cooking food. It seems like that, with just a few uses, it can be considered a climate change gain. I would love to see this cooker distributed to areas of the world where women have no choice but to cook over open fires.This cooker is not an insulated oven, however, and I think some people have that expectation. There are ovens out there, and they are good, too, but they are not very portable. They are bigger than a suitcase and fairly heavy. I find that the turkey bag and the double bowl set-up does a fairly good job of retaining heat and creating an oven-like environment. It's a trade-off, but to be able to fold this down to an inch-thick and easily store it is worth it!As for the size, well, are you really sure that you want the large one? All the YouTube videos I watched were of the smaller one (on the right in the second photo). The larger one is the only one that is being sold now, and that's what I ordered, not realizing the distinction. (It is clearly stated that this a new, larger cooker, so it was my mistake.) I contacted the manufacturer because, aside from other issues, I couldn't get the large one through my 22-inch door, short of disassembling it each time. I suspect that RVers may have narrow doors, as well, and this might be an issue, in terms of just getting it out of the rain, or out of sight until the next day. I purchased the smaller one which, as you can see in the third photo, I can, with a little scrunching, get through my door. (I have a friend who wants the larger one, so its all good for me.)What I found, though, by having both of them for awhile, was that the smaller cooker is more maneuverable and more 'human-sized". The larger cooker is harder to adjust. Forget the wing nuts, use chip clips, but even then, it's not as easy. It's not because it is badly designed, it's because you can't make human arms longer. It's just harder to hover over the top of the larger one and reach everything. The larger one also doesn't have quite as much of a stable non-moving base. This increase in size does have some trade-offs, but, apparently, everyone wants the larger size and immediately started choosing it over the smaller size.For me, however, the smaller size, with a 12 x 12-inch cooking space works quite well. I would so rarely need to use the 12 x 17-inch cooking space that the slightly increased awkwardness of adjusting it and hauling it around isn't worth it. So, if you want the smaller size, you will need to contact the manufacturer. He said he has about 100 (well, 99, since I bought one) left.Overall, both of these cookers are really phenomenal. They are intriguing, fun to use, and reasonably priced.

I've been solar cooking for several years now with an All-American Sun Oven, which I absolutely love. But I've always been intrigued by the All Season cooker for a few reasons: You can actually fit a turkey roaster in it, it looks cool and, I like gadgets and wanted to try it. I'm glad I did.I agree that the assembly instructions could be better, but that's no big deal. If you actually READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and watch the inventor's YouTube videos before frantically trying to put it together, you'll be fine.Here are my two favorite things about it: You can cook larger meals in it than other solar cookers, including a turkey, and you can use it from the time the sun rises because of the way the panels adjust for low-and high-sun conditions. Because of this unique adjustability, you don't need a leveling tray like you do in the All-American oven.This quickly got to 250 degrees. While it won't get as hot as the Sun Oven, it easily cooks and bakes things. Like with ANY and EVERY product, it takes a little time to fully learn how to use it. Take that time!Because of the adjustable panels, I'll be able to use this in the winter when the sun is low in the sky.The affordable price is another great thing about this solar cooker, especially if you want to buy one for a friend, child or relative to introduce them to joys and thrills of solar cooking.This thing is also portable, meaning light-weight. I don't always enjoy lugging the 25-pound Sun Oven out of the garage.I'm looking forward to cooking more stuff in this, especially a turkey. I might update this review later on.If you want to try solar cooking, this is a great start. I'm so glad that this cooker is out there.This is a great product and I recommend it to anyone who wants to try solar cooking.

The instructions for assembly were challenging at first. After some confusion and frustration I had an "Oh, I get it," moment. After assembling it makes sense, as do the instructions. The oven is actually pretty creative the way it is assembled. I set it up in the sun with a small black pan, glass cover, and a brick inside for some mass. This was just an experiment, I wasn't baking bricks. From 8 am until 11am it heated up to 300 degrees. Very impressive. The next day I made green chili stew and it was a success.

Instructions for assembly are detailed. Follow them carefully and it will go together fast. Hint—use post it notes to label flaps A,B, etc. before you start.For cooking, you use your own pots/pans. The instructions say the ideal pot is black w a glass lid. We had more than one. You put the food in the pot, the pot in the big plastic bag, or, there’s an alternative to the bag, if you have a big glass top casserole that the pot fits in.This is day ONE. I’ve cooked eggplant for baba ganoush and at the same time an egg in a separate pan. The egg took about half an hour, the eggplant about 2 hours. It’s 95ºF here, btw. Then I took the pan from my rice cooker and made some solar quinoa in about an hour! All in one afternoon.I’m very pleased with it. If it’s windy, put something behind/beside it to brace it.This cooker is adjustable to get the correct angle of the sun. It’s foldable and will store flat. I think it’s very well designed. I am so impressed with this solar cooker!

This thing is bigger than I had imagined, which makes me happy. The first one I ordered got lost in shipping, but the reorder arrived quickly.I am fairly experienced with home made panel cookers, so I have no doubts that this will cook well. Unfortunately, it's cloudy today so I will have to update after cooking with it.The assembly instructions were clear enough, especially after watching the video on youtube. The instructions mention breaking it in to achieve the proper shape. I found a nice workaround using small office clips and some masonry twine. I clipped the clips to the corners and tied the twine with a prussic knot to draw the upper and lower panels together. Proper shape and more rigid, still adjusts easily.Can't wait to cook!Update: I just braised 2 cornish game hens in red wine. Ambient temperature was 32 degrees F, 2 1/2 hours and they're fall off the bone tender. Thin walled non-stick black pot with glass lid inside a large pyrex bowl with pyrex lid. Reached 225 F (inside the bowl on top of the pot- probably hotter inside the pot) and hovered there, simmering nicely. Started cooking at 10:30 am. Love this thing! Six stars!Another update: After cooking the hens, I still had time to bake potatoes to go with them. Those took about 2 hours, came out perfect. Also, today I found some half gallon canning jars that are amber (like beer bottles) which should make good cooking vessels. Also available on amazon in several sizes. Got them at Ace Hardware, Ball is the brand, new product, I believe. I might try solar canning some high acid fruits in these.Another update: Cooked a quiche sort of thing today. 1 lb sausage browned, 1 bell pepper diced, 1/2 onion diced, some frozen chopped spinach, dozen eggs, stirred all together, then into the cooker. 3 hours (partly cloudy), then into a Wonder Bag (look it up). an hour and a half later I had a hot meal on the table for my wife, after the sun had gone down. Still loving this thing.