Powertraveller Solarmonkey Adventurer SMA-U-003 with 3500 mAh Lithium Polymer Rechargeable Battery

This cost more but is worth it. Has same battery as ereader, will charge in low light/rain. Auto shut off if not enough light. I can charge in daytime and charge my ereader at night, that keeps ereader out of sun too!! Roll up solar panels seem great, but I like this clam shell design. Will also fit in cargo pocket.Seems like a solar panel with battery is the way to go. More options.Update: March 2016. It works very well per the stated specs. It takes a full 12 hours of DIRECT sun to charge fully. Check the power output of the Solarmonkey to see if it can charge your device!! Solarmonkey might not have enough amps to charge a ipad etc. I still give this product 5 stars. It is a very light weight solar panel and has a rubber coated outer surface.

I live in LA so there's no shortage of quality sunlight but this product seems to take forever to charge my cell phone or ipad mini. I'm pretty much given up on it except as a fallback.

I like the LED that lights when the unit is charging so I know if I've positioned well to charge the internal battery. After the solar panel charged the internal battery, I was able to use that charge to fully charge 2 Android phones. It's small, portable, fairly rugged construction, and comes in a nice carry case that could be attached to a backpack to charge while you hike if the sun's at your back.

It was easy to deploy, light and well thought out, however while it seemed like a good product, it did to charge items as advertised.

This is a great product - my only comment would be it needs a screen that tells you how much it is charged. You have either Red for Charging or Green for fully charged but need some way of knowing how well it is doing.It did seem to charge even in cloudy weather as long as it was bright out - but I could not tell how well it was charging. It comes with everything you need to charge all kinds of phones etc - very good unit and robust. I was up in the Swiss mountains for a week with no access to electricity and we managed to keep 3 phones going. It did seem to drain quickly with my camera but again without a gauge it was not easy to tell if the camera drained it or it was just not fully charged.All in all very robust - small enough to pack easily and easy to use - very nice unit.

This is the first (and only) solar charger that I've owned. It's not bad, but it doesn't always fully charge its internal battery even being left facing the direct sun for several hours.My wife and I went camping last week in northern NH, where we anticipated limited cell phone service. With cell phone service going in and out all day, we knew the battery would drain faster, so we needed a charging solution that didn't require starting the car. I bought the SolarMonkey Adventurer specifically so we could keep one cell phone charged in case of an emergency and also to keep my electronic cigarette batteries charged.We started out with a fully charged battery in the SolarMonkey Adventurer. After charging an electronic cigarette battery overnight, I positioned the SolarMonkey in the campsite facing the sun the next day. With complete cloud cover, the SolarMonkey was fully charged within a couple hours. That night I charged a cell phone. The next day I placed the SolarMonkey in the campsite. It didn't fully charge, but it was also pretty cloudy that day and I had drained a lot of the battery overnight charging the cell phone. That night I charged an electronic cigarette battery and the other cell phone. The next day was sunny and warm - hardly ever a cloud in the sky. I strapped the SolarMonkey to my pack and we went out for a hike. When we returned, I placed it in the campsite for the remainder of the day. It seemed to have lost its will to charge. I left an electronic cigarette battery connected to it for part of the day, then removed that when I realized the SolarMonkey was no longer charging it. I couldn't even fully charge an electronic cigarette battery with it that night and had to resort to starting the car to bring a cell phone back to life.Overall, it did okay, but didn't perform to my expectations. I expected it to fully charge each day (8-12 hours of sunlight according to the manufacturer), especially on the day there weren't any clouds in the sky. When it didn't, concerns were raised that it wasn't worth the price I paid. But, it is better than nothing and it kept the car shut off for most of the camping trip. I've given it 3 stars just for the simple facts that I like the lightweight, portable design and I can see how it could be very useful on an overnight or weekend excursion in the woods, but I'll always ensure to leave home with a fully charged battery.

This thing is great!!! I use it all the time for fishing an camping. Doesnt charge as fast as they say it does even in full beach sunlight but works great none less holds a charge well an charges all my small electronics like cell phone, blue tooth head phone, digital camer (had to get another plug for that) an even used it for items without batteries in place of the wall charger... only has a 5 vold output so some item wont run off it but if it has rechargable batteries in it it will charge them

Had been looking for a device like this for a while. This is nicely made, rugged and does what its supposed to! Easily charges an iPhone and puts about 40 - 50% on an ipad 4 (you can charge them in the sun too to get more of a charge).

Trust worthy product.Compared with other solar chargers, this one is charging even under clouds or shade.It fills it's internal battery so you can charge your phone or tablet later (in night time ex)It's small size makes it very easy to put on your backpack all day. A lot of connectors are included. It has a normal USB output so all your electronic devices can use there own USB power cable.A must have for backpacking.

Ho comprato Solarmonkey dopo aver consultato un po' di forum, soprattutto americani, che lo caldeggiavano. Aspettative soddisfatte: è leggero, impermeabile e funziona anche quando è coperto (ovviamente con resa minore). Il suo grande atout è che contiene una batteria, quindi mantiene la carica e la trasferisce alla bisogna. Con una carica completa si riesce a ricaricare un Iphone completamente scarico e ne rimane ancora un po'. Si lega comodamente allo zaino. Consiglio a chi ha problemi di peso (del bagaglio) di lasciare a casa la custodia.

Ideal para salir de excursión varios días y disponer de energía. Lleva una batería incorporada de 2500 mh que a tope carga un iPhone 4 100% y buena parte de un Samsung Galaxy. Puede captar la luz solar y cargar cualquier dispositivo de 5v mediante USB. Yo me lo cuelgo a la mochila y cargo mis dispositivos por la noche. Carga incluso en condiciones nubosas (siempre mejor al sol directamente). Y un detalle: ¡¡funciona de verdad como cargador solar!! No como otros que te dicen "sólo usar el panel en casos de emergencia". ¿Caro respecto a otros? Puede. ¿Quieres de verdad cargar tus dispositivos con energía solar? Éste y su hermanos mayores de Power Traveller són los mejores sin nadie que les haga sombra (chiste malo...) 😎

tut was es soll,bei der grösse kann nicht die super leistung erwartet werden, ist eh klar.im test war's anfang januar in 2 tagen bei blauem himmel voll, am fensterbrett nach osten audgerichtet.passt find ich, wenn der niedrige sonnenstand mit berücksichtigt wird.hab's mir für's langstrecken wandern von wien nach spanien gekauft um das handy + kamera zu laden.bekomm damit das iphone 4 1,5 mal voll und das ist ok.

Just received this product in the post and I am very happy with it - I definitely made the right choice.First of all it's important to mention that the first one I received had a slight problem - the USB input cover wouldn't snap into place and stay in place.I sent it back to Amazon and the next morning I had a brand new one in the post - that's what I call service.The new one does not have this problem, the cover works perfectly, so it must have been a faulty one off device.OK so about the product...I am impressed with the build quality- it feels very well made and rugged, all the connecting cables are well made and snap together securely.The clam-shell design fabric case is made from very tough backpack nylon type material, on the top and bottom ends there are large loops to allow you to hang this to catch the sun, for instance on your backpack as you walk.the pouch also has three 'slots on the sides of the push so you can fasten it to your belt etc.The pouch is opened and closed with a big chunky zip, much better than smaller fiddly ones which catch the material or break.the device itself also feels really well made, covered in ribbed non-slip black rubberised plastic.The design, like all good design, is really simple - there are no buttons, no screens, just a single light - green=charged, red=charging, when you are charging a device the light is off, that's it.It was sunny today so as soon as I got it out the box I opened it up and put it in the sun, straight away the light turns red, when the clouds come, the light goes out.I spent ages researching all the best products out there - i started off agonising over which of the PowerMonkey products I should get - the PowerMonkey Extreme, the SolarMonkey Adventurer or the PowerMonkey Explorer, but after a day of research I pulled together this list including ALL the best products available on the market right now...Power Monkey Extreme Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme 9000 mAH Battery for MP3 Players iPods Digicams Mobile Phones Charge with the Sun's Power USB Connector Water-Resistant Grey Cost: '96.99Battery capacity: 9000mAhWeight: 460gSolar panel output: 3WHow long to charge itself from sun: 15hrsCan it charge an iPad: YesIs it rugged: YesSize: Small-ishSolar Monkey AdventurerCost: '68.00Battery capacity: 2500mAhWeight: 265gSolar panel output: 3WHow long to charge itself from sun: 12hrsCan it charge an iPad: YesIs it rugged: YesSize: smallPower traveller Explorer PowerTraveller Explorer Solar Power Charger Device -Grey Cost: £50Battery capacity: 2,200mAhWeight: 165gHow long to charge itself from sun: 18hrsCan it charge an iPad: NoIs it rugged: YesSize: very smallSolar Joos[...]Cost: '99.00Battery capacity: 5400mAhWeight: 680gSolar panel output: 2.5W (or 5.2W with additional sun-reflectors)How long to charge itself from sun: 12hrsCan it charge an iPad: YesIs it rugged: YesSize: mediumGoal Zero Sherpa 50 (not released till late summer 2012)[...]Cost: '288.00Battery Capacity: 50,000mAhWeight: under 453gHow long to charge itself from sun: unkownCan it charge an iPad: YesIs it rugged: kind of but battery is not something you can drop in water, like some heresize: largeVoltaic Amp: Voltaic Amp Solar Charger Cost: '119.00Battery Capacity: 3000mAhWeight 480gHow long to charge itself from sun: 7hrsCan it charge an iPad: YesIs it rugged: NoSize: mediumIn the end there is no such thing as a perfect device - One is small but holds no charge, but is cheap, one is large, but amazingly powerful, and light, but extremely expensive - just accept that whichever one you buy it can't do everything and you may have to buy two.I needed something that was light enough, small enough and rugged enough to take light camping, cycle touring, hiking or stick in my cargo short pocket at festivals, as well as back up charge in my bag in London if I get stuck without charge.If I was travelling by vehicle, or wanted something for small base camp then the Goal Zero Sherpa 50 is by far the best choice, if you need anything with more power then a generator is far more convenient.If I wanted something bomb proof for sailing, or kayaking then the indestructible Solar Joos is perfect.The proof is in the real word, not just numbers so I will be testing this out camping, cycling, commuting etc and will share these experiences here too.I hope this review helps you have an easier time deciding what to buy than I did. Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme 9000 mAH Battery for MP3 Players iPods Digicams Mobile Phones Charge with the Sun's Power USB Connector Water-Resistant GreyPowerTraveller Explorer Solar Power Charger Device -GreyVoltaic Amp Solar Charger