Solar phone chargers

[rogerthomson]

Hello fellow Pilgrims.
I'm setting off on 5th May and need to charge my phone. As I'm camping it will not always be possible to use the standard charger so I wondered how viable a solar charger might be. Does anyone have experience of using an effective one?
I have a Samsung Galaxy and it generally needs to be charged daily.
Thanks in advance and Buen Camino to all out there.
Roger

 

[Yallah]

In my experience, solar charging is kind of a pain. It can take a whole day of full sun to charge a basic cell phone. I would recommend charging your phone in a cafe or restaurant while you have a coffee or eat dinner.

 

[weradln]

Check out the Goal Zero Switch8 solar recharging kit:
http://www.goalzero.com/switch/

 

[rogerthomson]

Thanks guys.
I really don't expect much from a solar charger, but it might give enough for some phone usage.
Actually, it would probably be good to not have a phone at all - more in keeping with the original spirit of the Camino.
But then, perhaps you could say that about lightweight sleeping mats and bags and modern clothing!!

 

[Albertinho]

I bought one last year, fairly big solar surface. Can be attached at the upperside of the backpack.
Weighs about the same as an ereader.
Works exelent . Lots of power for a cellphone. However within a year technics are changing.
I bought an ipad mini and the battery is too big to get charged by this device. So we are expecting the unkown too.
Bom caminho

 

[dougfitz]

I started out using the Power Monkey Explorer in 2010. There is a small solar panel to charge a battery pack, which in turn can be used to charge a phone or MP3, etc. The battery pack can also be charged from a USB port or it has a mains charger. It was able to keep up with charging my smartphone, but it got too complicated to use it to re-charge the AA batteries for my camera, and I eventually just bought alkaline cells along the way.

 

[JansCamino]

I love my Pico Freeloader Solar Charger. One gives me about 3/4 charge on my iphone, so I bought two since I plan a lot of data usage and want to ensure one of the two always has a remaining charge. They take all day in the sun to charge, but are lightweight. I bought mine and had them shipped to the US from the manufacturer in the UK, and with shipping costs ended up being about the price Amazon offers. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YNU5GU/?tag=casaivar02-20
Be sure to buy the gel case that goes with them so you can strap them onto your backpack straps for charging. See them on ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...w=pico+freeloader+gel+case&_sacat=0&_from=R40. Remember to check where they are being shipped from so you allow enough time to get it before your camino. My case also came from the UK.
Buen Camino

 

[november_moon]

I have a Samsung Galaxy as well and if I put it in airplane mode, the battery can last several days. I don't usually turn it off completely because it is also my camera.

 

[rogerthomson]

Thanks for all the info.
My son has bought me a Powerbee charger, which arrived yesterday. I checked its charge and plugged my phone in and it started to charge, so it looks like I'll be OK. It's only for essentials and emergencies so it will probably only be switched on for a short time each day and I guess the charger will cope with that.

 

[Corwen]

Having your phone on all the time will be a distraction. Why not just switch it on at pre-arranged times, maybe twice a day for 30 minutes, and then switch it off. You should find that it lasts a week or even two between chargings, so all you need take is the usual wall charger.

 

[rogerthomson]

Tried out the solar charger on trip down through France.
Result???
Rubbish - it does not charge up even in bright sunlight. Waste of weight.
Take a charger with European adaptor. I found plenty of times when I could charge the phone for half an hour and, switching it on only now and then, it kept its charge.