Solar Battery Charger?
Apr 5, 2017 13:33:26 #
StanRP
Loc: Ontario Canada
lightyear wrote:
I used a solar charger which worked well. It was on the car dashboard when driving, on a window sill when not active. It 'topped up' often enough to keep the spare battery charged. All rechargeable lithium batteries lose charge even when not in use. I bought the charger a few years ago from REI ( sporting/hiking/backpacking supply store), and no longer have it. It had a 110 V AC outlet that I plugged the charger into.
When driving, charging from the lighter socket is the easiest. I have a 120V ac adaptor that plugs in and provides power for any of my chargers. For me, at my age, backpacking is history - so for any walking I do, a spare battery is all I need.
I DO have a 40 watt solar panel - if there is a long term power outage, that will be put into service.
Apr 5, 2017 15:29:50 #
rfmaude41
Loc: Lancaster, Texas (DFW area)
wesm wrote:
Does such a beast exist?
What do people do if on a multi-day outing, with no AC available?
I looked on Amazon, the Canon website, B&H. I found one item on B&H, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297985-REG/nitecore_ucn1_usb_travel_charger_for.html
Has anyone used one of these, or the Nikon equivalent?
Inquiring minds want to know.
What do people do if on a multi-day outing, with no AC available?
I looked on Amazon, the Canon website, B&H. I found one item on B&H, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297985-REG/nitecore_ucn1_usb_travel_charger_for.html
Has anyone used one of these, or the Nikon equivalent?
Inquiring minds want to know.
That one DOES NOT come with any source for power (no USB, no Solar panel or what they call a "portable bank"), just the charger itself.
Apr 5, 2017 15:34:11 #
rfmaude41 wrote:
That one DOES NOT come with any source for power (no USB, no Solar panel or what they call a "portable bank"), just the charger itself.
Funny, the 2nd image shows a retractable USB A cable. The USB connector allows for connection to one of various user-supplied adapters, portable power banks, and solar panels. Thus it never stipulated that it came with a power source but that the user has to supply one.
Apr 9, 2017 00:08:15 #
wesm wrote:
Does such a beast exist?
What do people do if on a multi-day outing, with no AC available?
I looked on Amazon, the Canon website, B&H. I found one item on B&H, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297985-REG/nitecore_ucn1_usb_travel_charger_for.html
Has anyone used one of these, or the Nikon equivalent?
Inquiring minds want to know.
What do people do if on a multi-day outing, with no AC available?
I looked on Amazon, the Canon website, B&H. I found one item on B&H, https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297985-REG/nitecore_ucn1_usb_travel_charger_for.html
Has anyone used one of these, or the Nikon equivalent?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Not for backpacking, but if you can handle 29 pounds (like car camping), get a Honda 1,000 watt generator for $750. They also make a 2,000 watt generator that only weighs 46 pounds for $1k. Then you could charge your batteries and blend margaritas at the same time. They are really quiet and fuel efficient too.
Apr 16, 2017 11:20:20 #
Look into 21v. Anker Power Port panel combined with a Neweer usb charger. Testing one right now. Seems to charge fairly fast.
Apr 16, 2017 12:16:27 #
4dogsken wrote:
Look into 21v. Anker Power Port panel combined with a Neweer usb charger. Testing one right now. Seems to charge fairly fast.
Correction: That's 21 watts, not volts. Sorry.
Apr 16, 2017 22:42:28 #
Solar panels are a great idea however if you are backpacking weight is always the issue (it is for me at least at 66 yrs old) and bringing an added Goal Zero solar panel and USB charger simply adds additional weight. You need to figure out how much juice you may need and/or bring extra batteries. Extra batteries are light compared to a solar panel. One issue with the solar panel, is that you need to set it up at your campsite during the sunlight hours to collect the maximum light to do all your charging. If you are clever, you can set up the Goal Zero panels on you backpack and charge while you are trekking, however this is not always optimal. I am a minimalist backpacker and taking camera gear has always been a definite dilemma. Later this summer I plan to return to the Kalalau Trail with a full frame body, 2 primes and a tripod...something I now regretted not doing the first time. When I went 3 years ago I took only a Lumix LX7. Got some great shots but this time it's FF and my total camera gear is well under 6.5 lbs and that will be 1/3 of my total packed weight without water or food. Good shooting!
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