This is the Boulder 100 Briefcase from Goal Zero, it’s a self-contained dual-panel solar power system designed to be highly portable, and ready to provide up to 100 watts of power when you’re out in the wilderness, a long way from the nearest power point.
📌 The Core Development
The Boulder 100 folds down into a briefcase sized rectangle and it has an integrated carry handle for easy transport. When it’s opened up, you can use the kickstand on the rear to angle the panels into the sun for ideal power generation.
The Boulder 100 folds down into a briefcase sized rectangle and it has an integrated carry handle for easy transport. When it’s opened up, you can use the kickstand on the rear to angle the panels into the sun for ideal power generation.
🔍 Background & Sector Context
The early foundations of Goal Zero were established back in 2007, when Robert Workman, who had owned Utah’s Provo Craft & Novelty for 30 years, founded a nonprofit called TIFIE Humanitarian to help Congolese villagers run their own small businesses. When out in the field, his team had nowhere to charge their equipment, and a simple 90 watt solar panel he priced in the nearby city of Kinshasa cost $2,000 USD.
As a result of this, Workman went out and had his own system built. The first version was called the GoBe, it paired a battery with a solar panel and an LED light, and it was being tested in Congolese villages by 2008. It was a simple arrangement and a full day of charging in the sun would give hours of light at night, plus power for other small devices.
📊 Industry & Real-World Impact
Goal Zero launched as a Utah-based company in mid-2009 with the Escape 150, a 13 lb power pack, and sales took off from there. In 2013 it ranked 9th on the Inc. 500 list of the country’s fastest-growing private companies, with an incredible three-year growth rate of 16,981%.
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🔮 Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
The company’s portable Nomad solar panels debuted in 2011, and then in 2012 came the 103 lb Yeti 1250 power station, which the company says sold out within a day and a half. NRG Energy bought the company in 2014, and lithium-battery Yetis arrived in 2017. BioLite acquired Goal Zero from NRG in April 2025. The company still operates from Draper, Utah, and it now has dozens of products on offer, and they ship around the world.
The Boulder 100 Solar Briefcase from Goal Zero it’s a folding two-panel solar system that provides up to 100 watts, or 50 watts per panel. It was developed to give campers the toughness of a rigid glass solar panel in a size that packs flat and fits neatly in a car trunk.
