I'm gearing up and training for a PCT trip. I have been looking into the new Hymini portable wind power device as well as the Solio portable solar panel device. Both are under $100 and are very lightweight. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with either of these devices or anything similar. How rugged are they? How water resistant? How well do they charge and hold charge? Any info is helpful. Thanks

I own and use a Solio. Rather than repeating everything here I suggest you do a search on "solar chargers". There are several threads. Don't forget to set the search engine's default time frame of one week back to a couple of years.

In a nutshell, the Solio works fairly well under very limited conditions. But if your PCT trip is anything but a slow, leisurely jaunt with lots of time spent in camp I do not recommend it.

Since you run trails and keep a pace faster than most hikers. It might benifit you to have one of those wind beenie hats. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I heartily concur with Trailrunner w.r.t. searching existing threads, but thought I'd give another perspective since I carried a Solio with me for most of my PCT thru-hike this year. I don't agree that it's only useful in a "slow, leisurely jaunt" type of hike. I tied mine on top of my pack and it helped a lot to augment the opportunities to recharge my smartphone from wall current in towns --- particularly in sunny California. From northern Oregon through Washington, it will be less useful, as the sun is less directly overhead and there's a lot more tree cover. In fact, there's lots of tree cover in places in NorCal and southern Oregon too, but I still found it worth the weight and hassle there. I think I finally ditched it at the OR/WA border. I saw a few other hikers carrying on of these on the trail and I met one thru-hiker in Washington state last year who still had his Solio with him and was using it, so YMMV there too.

One '08 thru-hiker of my acquantaince (Flippy) used a GoLite umbrella and replaced the tip of the umbrella with a little rod that his Solio slipped firmly on to --- so he could recharge when the umbrella was open, or when it was closed and strapped vertically onto his pack. I didn't find an Umbrella to be worth carrying, so I tied mine on, but since a thru-hiker spends most of his or her time on the move, it is indeed IMO important to attach it to the top of the pack somehow if you're going to bother to carry one.

This doesn’t look promising; from http://www.hymini.com/html/FAQ.html#hymini_1 “… Note: Wind generator is designed as a supplemental source, hence can not fully charge HYmini.”

-Barry

I personally wouldn't waste time or money on a product that has so many maybes and not enough yes's. You would be better off knowing for sure that you have the power to use your devices. Carry xtra batteries and concerve their use.

LOL chaz, that wind generator needs 9MPH just to start. That's waaaaaay faster than I go <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

DWeaver, this thread has shown you two almost opposite opinions of the same device. Both have their merits. It did not work in my specific situation(s), but it did work in someone else's. The trick is to determine if it will work in your situation.

On paper the only way you'll know if the Solio will work for you is to (A)calculate your daily power needs and (B)calculate how much power you'll be able to "harvest" from the sun with the Solio. Unfortunately neither number is easy to predict with any degree of accuracy. Keep in mind that the rated output of the Solio is under ideal conditions and will not always be that high.

Simple trial and error may be your best friend.

That Solio has so little surface area compared to the big, foldable solar panals.
http://www.powerfilmsolar.com/products/portable%20and%20remote/index.html