You might hear this a lot from me in the future, “holy #2!”. If you knew/know me, you would understand that the word picky is is a 2 of 10 and I’m an 11. The word for 11 hasn’t been thought of yet.
The Buildup
I have recently acquired a new tool for camp and for a 45 minute test drive Wednesday night. The results blew my stocking cap off, my head started shaking like a bubble head and gave a really loud holy #2.
One thing I have really been wanting to get is a way to get free power at camp. I was looking at getting a really big power bank(500k-900k mAh), to a power bank with a solar cell. I looked at the water lily and a few other devices but everything is so damn expensive. I decided that I was going to go solar.
The Discovery
I refined my search on Amazon to “solar power bank”. I must have looked at fifty of them that were under $40. I then read reviews of my top 5 choices. Most of the bad reviews for all five devices were, “the solar on the power bank in for emergency power to make a call” and “power banks drain quickly when not charging”. This is not a solution for my camp.
I was just about to close the tab when something caught my eye. It was in the section “people who looked at this also looked at”. It was just a solar panel with two USB charging ports(5v x 1.95A). It is configured to calibrate its output to match the input for any Phone or power bank. Okay, so maybe it is not just a solar panel. It is a 10w solar beast.
The Test Drive
Remember I was saying something about taking it for a test drive? I took one of my 0% power banks and my samsung cell phone out to a viewpoint with a clear view of the sun. I had my phone and power bank connected and charging by 17:15. The sun was gone behind the mountain at 18:01.
I disconnected the two devices to check the results. *Please note that this part of the day doesn’t have the quality sunlight like you get midday. My 5000 mAh power bank was over 50% and my phone had gained 28% in just 45 minutes. HOLY #2! That means with two of these, I could charge the same amount of stuff I charge at the park in just a few hours of good sun at camp.
The Results
Just a few hours, powers me for 4 days, saves me two 11 mile hikes(6.75 hours each), and the 1-3 days of recoup time. That is 2-5 days a week I’m not getting things done around camp. I would never catch up at that rate. I am now able to fully charge my devices without leaving camp, even when it is cloudy. HOLY #2!
There is no if, there is only how soon can I get another of these bad boys. I suppose you are all wondering how much this holy #2 device is? They are practically giving them away for a mere $34.97 on Amazon.
Spending $35 is saving me $100’sp. Won’t be going through shoes so fast, saving 20+ miles a week. Wont be wearing out so many socks. Saving 3000 calories a week puts a little more $ in the wallet. Can get caught up with stuff at camp, reduces stress. The time I save hiking, where no charging or camp work gets done, priceless.
The Charger
Here it is, the Foxelli 10w dual USB Solar Charger:
Why this Charger?
- Over 550 ratings, averaging 4.5 stars
- Strong positive feedback
- Amazon Prime
- 1.3 pounds
- Weather (rain and dust) Proof
- Open the box and plug in your device easy.
If you do anything with an electronic device that gets power from a USB port, you should look into a free source to power when away from home. Heck, you could even put one in an emergency home kit. A solar panel wont lose its charge like a battery will over time, allowing you to charge a device when the power is out after a storm. I could easily see going through a 24 pack of AAA batteries for flashlights ($18.99) .
Bottom line, if you haven’t read about portable solar tech, check it out. I would start with the Foxelli Solar Charger. Just because something has more watts, panels, and add-ons doesn’t mean it works better!
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