Posted: 8/4/2013 4:28:30 PM EDT
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I will primarily be using it for extended backpacking/hiking trips.
I'm looking for quality unit. I'm more concerned with how fast it will charge a device than how light and small it is. Items to be charged: Smart phone Tablet iPOD AA/AAA Batteries Who knows what else... Any and all advice is welcome - TIA. |
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http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/149/Sherpa-50-Solar-Recharging-Kit/1:4/
Just got this beginning of the camping season had nothing but good luck using it to recharge my wife's and I smart phones, her IPAD, and using it to run a light a life for a few minutes to an hour at night before the kids go to sleep http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/18/Light-a-Life/10:1/ < this is the light a life throws off a good bit of light and when I upgrade the power pack to a 150 unit I can chain multiple light a life's together. ETA: My future plan is to go to a escape 150 and add 2 more nomad panel kits with the adapter GZ offers to combine the outputs from up to 4 panel kits into 1. Then the 50 will get relegated to my lights out kit at home with a full size panel to recharge it. |
| @ MrHunter, you bring up a my next round of thought which is when I move the 50 to @ home use I want to get 2 of those Nomad 10 kits to recharge my LED lanterns that run on AA's. Does the Eneloops last that much longer than the ones GZ offers or is more of a the GZ don't offer as many power cycles vs. the Eneloops |
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Quoted:
@ MrHunter, you bring up a my next round of thought which is when I move the 50 to @ home use I want to get 2 of those Nomad 10 kits to recharge my LED lanterns that run on AA's. Does the Eneloops last that much longer than the ones GZ offers or is more of a the GZ don't offer as many power cycles vs. the Eneloops I believe that GZ used to package Gen 2 (1900mAh min./1500 cycle) Eneloops with their solar charging kit, but I'm not sure that they do now. The Eneloop Pro/XX 2450 (min.) batteries referenced in the above post are very good and offer roughly 25% more capacity over the Gen 2/Gen 3 (1800 cycles) standard fare, BUT, they only have a cycle life of 500. If you can live with 1000 and 1300 fewer cycles for about twice the price ($10/4, or $20/4,) you're golden with the XX/Pros (black ones). Chris |
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I mostly use my 5-watt Powerfilm folding panel these days. It outputs 12V+ so you can charge just about anything with a few small gadgets.
For anything USB I just plug a small 12v to USB adapter into the female 12V cable I made up. Using a 1-2amp USB adapter will charge a smartphone pretty dang fast in full sun. I have a small 2-AA USB powered charger that works pretty well to charge AA stuff for flashlights, small radios, etc. My handy-takie can be charged with a 12V plug directly into the radio. I use a Yeasu vx-7rb The 5-watt panel is about the largest version that will fit on the back of my hiking pack. I usually don't use it that way, but it is nice to have the option. I built a small 12V sealed battery pack with a charge controller but found that kinda bulky. Maybe for a more base camp setup with a slightly larger panel. |
| I have Powerfilm 5W and 10W folding panels and a daisy chain connector. Mono-crystalline rigid panels produce better in direct sunlight, but thin film amorphous silicon used by Powerfilm produces better in less than ideal sunlight conditions that are common in my AO. I use them to recharge Sanyo eneloop AA batteries. Also, Powerfilm is headquartered in Ames, IA and the products are made in the USA. I bought them when they were cheap on Amazon. |