Your preferred regulator for a single 100w solar panel

[Stereo]

(My apologies up front if this has been asked ad naseum but I could not come up search words that could hone in on it quickly.)

I'm planning on purchasing a Renogy Eclipse 100w solar panel and using it as a portable collector so we can park in the shade but have the panel in the sun. I'm looking for a reliable, low-cost regulator. I will typically only be using this set-up during summers on weekends plus one week long trip Until now, for extended trips, we've tapped into power every 3 or 4 days to top off our battery with a portable battery charger.

It looks like an 8amp would do, though I'd have more choices if I went with a 10 amp. As with all things electrical, ratings range from abysmal to 5 star for the same unit. What brand and model have you found to be reliable at relatively low cost for a single panel setup?

On a side note, how do you keep your portable panels from being stolen? We hike during the day but want the panel to be collecting rays while we're gone. A chain would do but it would have to be long to get out from under the shade of any tree I could wrap it around, and thus heavy. I am extremely weight-conscious as our Tacoma is already overloaded.

 

[Motafinga]

I have a windynation P30 I bought for 30 bucks. It worked very well for about a year running a renogy 100w briefcase panel then when I installed two permanent 100w panels on my roof, it went haywire and I saw it get up to 16v before disconnecting it. I will say windynation was great to deal with on the phone and walked me through a few trouble shooting steps with my volt meter before determining the charge controller to be at fault. They immediately shipped me a new one and I didn't even need to send the old one or deal with a tedious warranty return process so I give them credit. So far the replacement P30 is working great and its fully automatic so you just hook it up and forget it. Just be sure to keep an eye on your voltage now and then! Also in winter months I'll carry the briefcase to supplement my roof array for a total of 300 watts. Our rig has more power requirements than yours especially in the winter running a furnace at night.
You could maybe run one of those light weight cables that are about 25ft that people use to leash their dogs with to lock it up.

 

[java]

I went with a Victron MPPT one, not the cheapest, but MPPT was worth it to me to get the most out of my panel.

 

[dwh]

Can't go wrong with Morningstar, Victron, Midnite.


For only a 100w panel, I might look at the charge controller from Battery MINDer, which can only handle up to 200w, but has temp compensation as well as desulphation (and Battery MINDer knows all about muti-stage battery charging):

http://www.batteryminders.com/12-volt-solar-battery-charger-SCC-180

 

[Stereo]

Thank you for the suggestions.