Battery charger for hiking

[matthewgoodyear]

Im going on a 10 days walk in 7 weeks.
I got one of these solar chargers from ebay in china.
It charges the iphone 4 and portable dvd player.
Only problem is i can make the blooming thing charge via the sun which it is supposed to do. im probably doing it wrong...
anypone know of a portable charger i could use that would be good enough to take on a long walk?
I dont care if the charger takes batteries or solar or both. I know they all can be charged up by mains power..but that can be pretty useless if you cant get near a power point for days on end! Thanks

[Strider]

This was covered in detail quite recently. Try a search!

[Azza]

I reckon the solar part is probably a bit of a gimmick...

I doubt a tiny phone sized solar panel could supply enough power to charge an iPhone is any reasonable amount of time.
Hence why these device have batteries. The solar probably just extends the batteries a little bit longer...

[Aushiker]

I would suggest taking a serious look at the Powermonkey range, maybe the Powermonkey Extreme. Of course you will have a lot more to pay than what you would have paid for a Chinese knock-off.



Andrew

Last edited by Aushiker on Tue 15 May, 2012 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

[matthewgoodyear]

this was the chinese one i got
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190617607122 ... 147wt_1103
will look at the power monkey
thanks

[John Sheridan]

Maybe the Solar part is fake, it is from ebay after all.

read the manual, they aint that hard to work out.

Cheers.

[Miyata610]

The solar panel is only 2w, so in reality it might give you 0.2w to 0.5w, it probably works but might never get up to voltage for the iPhone to start charging.

Last edited by Miyata610 on Wed 16 May, 2012 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[matthewgoodyear]

I charged my iphone today with it. took four hours and only used a qurter of the chargers power. I also charged my dvd player once. Still had 3 out of 4 power bars.
still havent made the thing charge via the sun, but as a back up battery it worked really well

[hikingoz]

When I go on long hikes or recently on 8 day stints at work I take spair phone batteries I've bought off ebay for very little $. I use a ZTE tough phone and fortunately the new model takes the same batteries as the old one. I usually keep the batteries out of the phone when not in use to save juice.

I explored a few power options but decided spare batteries are an easier and lighter option for the phone. One of my cameras takes AA batteries too which I use for longer trips. I don't take a DVD player though so maybe this strategy is not for you

[matthewgoodyear]

When I go on long hikes or recently on 8 day stints at work I take spair phone batteries I've bought off ebay for very little $. I use a ZTE tough phone and fortunately the new model takes the same batteries as the old one. I usually keep the batteries out of the phone when not in use to save juice.

I explored a few power options but decided spare batteries are an easier and lighter option for the phone. One of my cameras takes AA batteries too which I use for longer trips. I don't take a DVD player though so maybe this strategy is not for you

I might just go with the spare iphone batteries. I had a crack at it yesterday and the whole process took two minutes to take a battery out and put back in.

I was only taking the portable dvd because i cant sleep for 11 hours at night..half that if im lucky.
If i was camping along rivers it would be no issue as i could fish..but im not going to come across too many fishing spots

[ULWalkingPhil]

Yesterday I purchased a GoalZero Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit from BCF for $169.00

It comprises of a Guide 10 Plus battery pack, The packs holds 4 AA Nimh Batterys. It can be charged from a Solar Panel and from a USB port on your computer as well from a Cigarette lighter plug.

A GoalZero Nomad 7: A 7 watt solar panel and the leads to charge your devices.

The Guide 10 Plus battery pack, can be used to charge your portable devices. It's got a USB port that outputs at 1 amp. I charged a Flat GoPro Camera battery yesterday in less than 2 hours. It can also be used to charge your iPad.
The Battery pack can also be charged out in the field using the supplied Solar panel in less than 3 hours with good sunlight.

The battery pack with 4 eneloops weighs in at 163 grams.
The solar panel comes in at 395 grams. Not the lightest option out there, but for what it is and the features. I think it's worth the extra weight.
The solar panel has two outputs, 12 volt and the USB 5 volt. A cigarette lighter plug adaptor is included in the kit. The USB 5 Volt output on the solar panel also out puts at 1 amp.

So far, using the solar panel, I've charged my iPad, Mobile Phone, Kindle, Battery Pack and two GoPro Batterys.

Worthwhile checking out if you get the chance.

[wildlight]

I just bought a solar panel from Quickertek which pumps out a hefty twenty seven watts, enough to charge my macbook air computer on our upcoming Larapinta trek in 9 weeks. I get most of my work online, and cannot ( at least not at this stage ) be without technology for the 3or 4 leisurely weeks we plan do spend doing this walk. I have tested this gadget, and it works beautifully. It weighs about the same as the computer ( 11 inch MacBook Air ) The other option was to take the power cord and plug in at Ormiston Campground, Ellery Ck Food Storage and Standley Chasm. All have power points, I've been to them before.

The thing which tipped the scales, was that I would need to remain with the computer, during charging, and the power points are not conveniently located for hikers- they are either in a visitor info area or in food rooms.

And yes, along most of the high ground there is internet, on the NextG network- or whatever Telstra goes by, these days.

Just Google Quickertek- I skyped them 2 weeks ago, the charger landed in Melbourne in 7 days. They had just released these gadgets which can be like adrenalin capsules for batteries ( that day )- and they sent me one. It charges in 2 hours, and runs an iPad for around 50hours, the guy told me... or was it an iPhone...

Either way, it gave you an extra 250% of time, on a single charge, the thing would occupy only half of your shirt pocket.

One of those might be useful..?

Safe Steps

WildLight

[ULWalkingPhil]

I just bought a solar panel from Quickertek which pumps out a hefty twenty seven watts, enough to charge my macbook air computer on our upcoming Larapinta trek in 9 weeks. I get most of my work online, and cannot ( at least not at this stage ) be without technology for the 3or 4 leisurely weeks we plan do spend doing this walk. I have tested this gadget, and it works beautifully. It weighs about the same as the computer ( 11 inch MacBook Air ) The other option was to take the power cord and plug in at Ormiston Campground, Ellery Ck Food Storage and Standley Chasm. All have power points, I've been to them before.

The thing which tipped the scales, was that I would need to remain with the computer, during charging, and the power points are not conveniently located for hikers- they are either in a visitor info area or in food rooms.

And yes, along most of the high ground there is internet, on the NextG network- or whatever Telstra goes by, these days.

Just Google Quickertek- I skyped them 2 weeks ago, the charger landed in Melbourne in 7 days. They had just released these gadgets which can be like adrenalin capsules for batteries ( that day )- and they sent me one. It charges in 2 hours, and runs an iPad for around 50hours, the guy told me... or was it an iPhone...

Either way, it gave you an extra 250% of time, on a single charge, the thing would occupy only half of your shirt pocket.

One of those might be useful..?

Safe Steps

WildLight

Wow, there not cheap, I just saw the price.