Solar Charger for Phone?

Just curious, for those of you who carry thier phones on longer treks, have any of you used one of the little solar gadgets that claim to charge your phone, or can be plugged into your phone like a fresh battery?

Do these things really work? Have you used them in the field for...say...a 3 - 5 day trip...or longer? I'm a little skeptical, but thought someone here might know...

Thanks ahead,

J.

I've seen people try on the trail - the answer, when I ask if it works, is a general "meh, not really."

I picked up a Brunton Inspire (a battery pack you charge at home) on sale so I will be able to complete a review of a GPS app with my cruddy phone, Sir Dies A Lot, which has an average battery life of half a day or so, maybe 8 hours if i remember to hit the app killer app often enough during the day. It works - charges in an hour or two, gives up to four charges, so it might get me through the four days in Point Reyes this weekend. Probably about the same weight as the solar panel options.

I have a goal zero solar charger that I've used for 2 years now. First it works, the issue is when you should be charging is generally when I'm hiking. So you land at a camp site and set up, get the charger out, middle of summer you may get an hour before thee sunlight goes down. If your at camp all day you can charge up. I like it but feel it still lacking. I'm waiting for sul flexible panels with super small batteries. Charges while hiking, stores in the batteries, charge up phone/gps at night.

I actually had the sense to forsee that problem. May sound crazy, but I thought about possibly using velcro attached to my hat. Won't account for trees and overcast weather, but sometimes I'll hike to a spot, and if it's off-season, or little or hardly used, I might stay there a day and veg out, which will give it enough time to charge, I guess, depending on how quickly they charge.
Yeah, I know, sounds a bit "looney", but I do stumble on a good idea occasionally.

J.

Please, let us know. I'd like to go back to the good 'ol days of a simple flip phone that I only had to charge just to keep from getting bored
My new "does everything" "smart" phone needs constant attention. If the Brunton works out for you, it might be (depending on cost) a good idea for me to buy a couple and carry them with me.

J.

The goal zero has d loops on the corners so you can strap it to your pack. I just worry in haste I would crush it sitting the pack down.

many of these attach to packs, but the reports I have seen say that angle to the sun is extremely important. Anything even slightly off nominal and you get zero charging (and for a poorly designed system you would get battery discharging!).

Solar cells are getting better all the time... and people have high interest in them considering how often this issue get rehashed on here and bpl. There is a really spiffy DIY project on bpl designed to use a solar cell to directly charge your iphone in a quite lightweight package. It is a very interesting (to a tech geek like me) and very technical discussion on circuitry and the challenges of solar panels.

I think the above is a very valid caveat to what I'm about to say ...

I carried a solar charger for most of my 2008 PCT thru-hike, one of those Solio models that opens up like a "three petal flower". I had cord tied to the top of my pack and just tied the unit on when I started hiking each day. The Solio has a battery built in, so during the day it charges the battery, then at night I would connect it to my phone to bring up the charge on the phone. Starting out walking north (so with my backpack on average facing south) in Southern CA (very little shade), it did okay, but it definitely did not give enough juice on a daily basis to fully recharge the battery, so I was still charging some in towns whenever I had the opportunity.

I hiked with another fellow who modified his Chrome Dome umbrella to firmly attach his Solio to that.

On balance, I think that walking north in SoCal it was worth carrying. In northern CA and OR somewhat less so, in part because I was then a bit further north, but more importantly there was more often some sort of overhead cover. When I finished Oregon I stopped carrying it.

On the AT I wouldn't consider it anytime (and didn't) --- too much overhead cover, and so many places to plug into an electrical outlet. On the CDT I briefly considered it but then opted to keep life simple, and I was glad that I did. A lot of sun on that trail, particularly in NM of course, but still --- I carried one spare battery for my phone and that was always fine.

It might be that solar tech now is sufficiently better than what I used in 2008 that they're more worth carrying, but I think that the dynamics of what you can get while hiking is uninspiring still. If you live in a sunny southern state and hike in places with relatively few trees it's a different story, and ditto if you're the type to base camp or otherwise spend a significant part of the day in one place.

I agree with BrialnLe, it is too little power to be had from the chargers if you are a hiker and not a dweller. Simply too much weight and hassel for me.

To solve the problem of having power to all the electric things one "needs" on tour I have done this: standardized on the AA batteries. All my electric dings, gps, camera, radio, lamp and phone operate directly on AA batteries (the phone via a charging unit). I simply see that the batteries inside the units are fully charged before a tour, I use Eneloops and are fully satisfied with them. They even work well when it is cold! In addition I take one or two boxes with four batteries each, also fully charged. The boxes are marked red in one end. If a battery has the + pole to the red end of the box it is fresh, the used batteries are placed opposite direction. This way I know which batteries are good or bad.

Remember to turn the phone off when you are on tour. The seek function will drain the phone battery when reception is poor. My wife almost started a SAR operation while I was driving home in my car after a tour. I had not noticed that the phone battery was flat, and my wife were worried because I had been on a glacier and she could not contact me. The phone shold have had enough battery for normal use, but it had gone flat in half the time due to the seek for stations.
Otto

Thanks, all. Lot's to think about.

J.

I've used a Solio (PV cell+internal battery) for two seasons-not for charging a phone but my headlamp battery and ipod. Works fine--I can keep them both charged indefinitely.

It would at least partially charge a smartphone, how much would depend on the battery size. I may find out more next season, since I now have a reason to carry a phone.

Cheers,

Yeah, I wish I could do that, but I have a Motorola Droid Razor X, which to increase battery life from the Razor, which had a terrible battery life, they increased the thickness of the phone a bit, and utilized a battery that is not removable by the user. So, I'd have to charge through one of the ports.

Thanks,

J.

There is a Brunton Ember battery pack with an integrated solar panel due out this January. Looks like this could be the battery pack I end up with for my thru hike or the Inspire.

http://store.bruntonoutdoor.com/portable-power/portable-power-packs/ember/

Weighs .5 oz less than the Inspire and functions as a solar panel and battery pack. Not too shabby.

Walk in beauty.

The battery pack worked as expected. And it could have charged my camera had I needed it to, since the charger has a USB connecter that will attach to it.

I had also lost the little attachment to connect to my phone - an email to Brunton resulted in them mailing me two more. Good customer service.

Colonel Dryer here. What part of Ky?

Back country ham radio is one of my main reasons for going out and solar proved to be the least efficient means of charging. You need to be still, in sunlight, have gobs of surface area on the collector, with it pointing South. Even thought about making a parasol (i hike with one) coated with flexible PVC's but never built it....costs a fortune.

I haul small lithium and AGM batteries when I need power for gear or re-charging something like a phone. I've wrestled with this "charging while hiking" thing for a decade. There are many ways to charge a small battery while stationary, including static, solar, wind, Peltier devices, even a small steam turbine powered off your stove...but while hiking is a different animal.
Enter the "kinetic generator". You've seen them in those fancy shaker flashlights. They are actually quite easy to build if you are handy. Something like this:
http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/10/ohio-clean-energy-startup-makes-retail-debut-2.php

I aim to build my own from lighweight materials as the one referenced above is 14oz....heavy compared to a bank of lithium cells. But, using aluminum wire, and really efficient rare earth magnets, I think I can get the weight down to half that. I've built super tiny ones for powering an LED light and they work really well. Google "kinetic generator charger" and see if anything grabs your attention.

That's a surprise. I emailed about my stove they were distributing and never heard back. I had to email Sweden to get an answer, so no more Brunton products for me.

Agree that battery packs are the way to go.

Video on backpacking power at Backpacking Power Options

or you could use a biolite stove. Cook and recharge at the same time

I have never used one, so I can't vouch for it, but I came across it online the other day. It looks like it would be cool for someone who wants to bring technology with them.

Only if you want to "cook" for hours at a time. It doesn't put out enough juice. The original, larger models made for third-world villages to power radios are much more practical in use, but it's just a gimmick for backpackers. I know Andrew Skurka wrote a blog post on them as well.

It depends.

Maybe, maybe not. No absolute answer. Depends entirely on the conditions and your power needs. I have used solar power successfully on many trips. On others, I wished I had left the whole system at home.

As always, YMMV. The fun is in finding out what works for you. And no internet forum on this earth will tell you that.

We just got done with the JMT. 17 days with a Goal Zero. Worked flawlessly for our 2 phones and charged one other of the group we hung out with. Worked well even when the sky was smoky from the Fresno area fire. We used the Guide 10 Plus.