Review of Garmin TomTom and Magellan Solar GPS Chargers

If you value technology and you’re simply always away from home, you might want to consider a solar GPS charger. These little devices are especially great for the camper, the traveler, hikers, outdoorsy and wilderness types, road warriors and frequent flyer’s, and international and business travelers.

Another option would be to buy a GPS device which has a built-in solar panel to ensure that it charges without the necessity of one more charger. The Proporta GPS receiver is a great demonstration of this type of device.

The Garmin Nuvifone G60 Solar Charger may also be charged in indirect sunlight, or pre charged via USB from any computer or USB charger if you’re say visiting Alaska at nighttime season and aren’t able to find any sunlight. Guarantee power when it’s needed.

Now, just in case you’re focused on your device with all of this fancy charging, be assured: The circuit design protects your device from overcharging and short-circuiting. An LED indicator light tells you once the solar panel receives power from the sun, and another LED tells you when power is available for the device to charge from.

Solar Charger Power Pack Powerful enough to charge all your portable electronics

I purchased this because I needed something small to retain in my briefcase when ever I needed extra power for my Tomotom GPS receiver, as well as due to this item’s claimed solar recharge ability. The item comes with a lot of different tips.

1. The product did power my GPS for 2 hours. However this system took 3 1/2 hours to recharge in an AC outlet. A portable charger shouldn’t require a lot longer to recharge versus the charge it supplies. As well as for an extended plane or car ride, this unit would quickly “exhaust gas.”

2. When the product is charging within an Alternating current outlet, it is possible to simultaneously power a gadget. That’s fairly standard with any portable power supply. I was hoping, however, which i could possibly do the same using a solar charge when i had sunlight on this unit for an hour or two. No such luck. Instead this unit powered my GPS receiver for only a short time after being exposed to the sun for a few hours and never achieving a complete charge.

3. Any portable power source eventually loses power. However after a couple of days during my briefcase this unit lost more power than I was expecting.

Main point here: This unit works, but features a limited power capacity when compared with other portable chargers. The downside is that it’s smaller and much more compact than most portable chargers, therefore if size instead of charging capacity is much more important, this unit will do just fine. However because the solar charge takes so long, and because the unit won’t power a gadget after a solar charge (as opposed to an AC outlet charge), the solar charge feature has limited usefulness.

Brunton SolarRoll 14 Solar Charger

Brunton’s next-generation solar device could be the ultimate way of powering your equipment in the field. Despite the fact that the SolarRoll 14 weighs just 17 ounces, it’s able to produce 14 Watts of power–enough juice to perform a GPS. Simply stated, here is the item to carry along if you want sufficient, reliable energy without additional weight or bulk.

Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (Silver)

I reluctantly returned the product after a couple weeks. It simply doesn’t charge in sunlight just how I was expecting it to.

The manual say it requires 2 days of sun to completely charge the battery. I placed it in a West facing window for a week and it never fully charged. The manufacturer said the most common stuff. Window coating can diminish results, clouds, haze, etc. As well as the instructions say it needs to be pointed right in the sun to charge correctly. So if you’re driving West using the device on the front windshield it still won’t charge correctly.

Fatcatâ„¢ Solar Charger enables you to recharge anywhere, any moment. This versatile battery pack holds 2-three times the electricity required for any GPS. Which means you are able to recharge several devices between pit stops, or use your electronics for extended time periods.

It has a USB port to plug in all portable electronics, and can be completely recharged on just 5-10 hours of sunlight, or with the included dual-voltage AC adaptor. Whether you’re traveling, or in your own home after a power outage, this dependable power supply won’t ever leave you stranded, and also functions as an emergency LED flashlight. Includes adaptor tips for all electronics, and a cloth travel bag. (5½ x 3 x 1″; 7.8 oz)

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