Charging your phone or tablet on camping tour…

[rualexander]

no expert on these things (will doubtless get one in the end - I tend to get techie gear when I really need it/have a use - no point buying ahead and watching stuff get cheaper/better)

but this on offer today/at the moment.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/eton-boost-bl ... gn=15P3-14

If anyone has any views on it, feel free to post - I might learn something.

my son got me something similar from ebay for a tenner and charges my iPhone five four times so not really that good a deal

It says it charges with a micro usb connection using a phone charger but the one in the photo shows a mini usb port which would require an adapter.

[Sweep]

This?


http://www.7dayshop.com/universal-porta ... LN,96M7D,1

[alicej]

A possible alternative - I have about 5 spare batteries for my phone, which are cheap from china on ebay. Every few days of a tour I sit in a pub for long enough to charge any I've used up, they're light to carry and tiny and this definitely works well for me.

[bigjim]

I do the same but I'm not sure if some phone batteries are easy to change. I'm a Luddite and use a Blackberry but it does work fine for me as a notetaker, mp3 player, camera and slooowww web access.

[MrsHJ]

After reading this thread and various reviews I went for the power monkey extreme as we are only going for ten days and won't exactly be remote. One day if I ever get some decent time ie lose my job or the kids leave home and I get to do some serious tours of several weeks or even months again I would get one of the hub chargers.

Got the extreme yesterday and the iPad Air needed the whole charge to get to about 75% (I would need to check the exact numbers as it had some use in between), I have much better hopes though for the iPhones as these are the main concern. The 8 year old can sit in the kitchen or shower area of a camp site and play games on the iPad whilst the damn thing charges so he can play more games. I will report back when we return for any other failed parents out there.

I Like the idea of the solar charger but don't have many hopes for it, then again if it adds 10% battery power in a days cycling and then we do the rest in the campsite I guess it will be contributing! I am interested though to know how much sun charge we can get.

[c53204]

Anyone considering solar panels should check what type they are actually buying. The cheap ones are, well cheap for a reason. I bought a £50 (on sale at £30) one from Maplin which was the size of a broadsheet newspaper. Gave 4w @12volts and only in bright sunlight.

I then did some research into the different types and got a folding one that gives out 13watts at 12volts and is about the size of an iPad when folded. This one, with a battery pack from the same company costs £130. A good value buy and easily charges my Samsung Note 3 (via the battery pack and panel).

[LondonBikeCommuter]

On my tour, London to Paris and back I had no problem getting anything charged and that included 5 items. Can't vouch for inner Mongolia but definitely in Europe these panels seems to be aimed at people with more money than they need!

[bikefish]

Original poster asked about use of Decathlon branded solar
panel for charging tablet/phone during camping tour.
Ive used solar over last 2 summers in Pyrenees.
2014 - 14W (4 A5 sized panels 700g) to charge netbook (from 20 to 100% battery in 3-4 hours full sun - outputs 18v or 5v USB).
2013 - 2X3W (5v USB 1200mA) for charging android tablet (3H)/bar phone (1H)+2/4 NiMh AA enerloop 2000mA batteries (2-4H).
1 need full sun
2 no intermediate battery pack
3 gadgets have to be off and out of sun.

Thoughts on the Decathlon panel:
1 overpriced (made in China monocrystalline sealed is USD
1.5-3 per Watt)
2 way too heavy if 900g
3 prob not water resistant
BTW China solar QC v poor - suggest
1 you test pre purchase
2 avoid sale/clearance
3 buy only monocrystalline (amorphous, flex thin film - dont last long)

[al_yrpal]

Original poster asked about use of Decathlon branded solar
panel for charging tablet/phone during camping tour.
Ive used solar over last 2 summers in Pyrenees.
2014 - 14W (4 A5 sized panels 700g) to charge netbook (from 20 to 100% battery in 3-4 hours full sun - outputs 18v or 5v USB).
2013 - 2X3W (5v USB 1200mA) for charging android tablet (3H)/bar phone (1H)+2/4 NiMh AA enerloop 2000mA batteries (2-4H).
1 need full sun
2 no intermediate battery pack
3 gadgets have to be off and out of sun.

Thoughts on the Decathlon panel:
1 overpriced (made in China monocrystalline sealed is USD
1.5-3 per Watt)
2 way too heavy if 900g
3 prob not water resistant
BTW China solar QC v poor - suggest
1 you test pre purchase
2 avoid sale/clearance
3 buy only monocrystalline (amorphous, flex thin film - dont last long)

Could you point us in the direction of where you got yours?

Thanks

Al

[bikefish]

A quick look on ebay turned up something similar http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6V-3-5W-Solar ... 4183ef9d54. I strung 2 together with a y lead from a dvd player. The only thing not charging was my crap ebook reader which kept turning off and on - I believe apple products do the same. My 2 panels were 550 yen each in tokyo - japan seems to be a good place to buy this kind of stuff as the chinese exporters test before shipping - def not true of hong kong singapore or uk IME

[robing]

I have the Power Monkey Extreme and it performs well. However, I didn't use the solar power much even in Spain. All campsites had power, always free and there were usually points outside. In the UK and Ireland most campsites had power but tend to be inside only in the TV lounge, kitchen etc.

[bikefish]

recent article on problems with solar and powerbanks http://bkhome.org/light/solar/index.html

[sabrutat]

I used two 7W solar panels to charge my various batteries on the preliminary UK leg of my World tour. I did buy two bottle dynamo USB chargers, one for each wheel, specifically to use in Britain, but our summer was so sunny I never had the need.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C3A6KKO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Damned fine buy at less than 20 quid each.

I used these in conjunction with 2 EasyAcc 12,000mAh batteries

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0098EO61S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and a smaller generic 5,000er, the combination of which charged my phone and tablet throughout this section of the tour without ever having to rely on a mains socket. Perfect for me, because if I get to a mountaintop with an amazing view, and want to stay for a few days, I can.

[RickH]

Or you can get a 20,000 mAh battery from MyMemory for £16.99. I've not personally used one of these (I will probably get one though - if I do I'll report back), but the stuff I have bought off them over the years has been decent enough.

Rick.