Last year my family and I went to the lake for the holiday weekend. My wife and I were looking forward to some quality family time out in the "great outdoors". What we didn't know was that the kids had smuggled along their DVD players and iPods in spite of a family agreement that we would leave our electronic toys at home. By the end of the second day, they were fussing about their batteries being dead. My laptop also was quickly running out of juice and I had to explain to the kids that the laptop was not a "toy... that I brought it along to do some work". Uh huh... they didn't buy that at all. The rest of the trip was peppered with complaints from the kids about being "bored", so this year we were determined to have another shot at the whole outdoor family experience again, and I've given up on the idea of no electronics on the trip.
I don't think of myself as a "treehugger" really, but I do find something incredibly fascinating about having the ability to generate and store electricity. And so when I read
reviews of the Go Solar 42 W portable solar charger kit, I knew I had to have it. Thus far, my expectations have certainly been met. For me, one of the best things about the kit is that it's a kit. What I mean is that it's great for a novice, like me. It's great because I get to learn much of the basics without trying to cobble together something. The directions are easy to follow and within minutes after opening the package I was up and running. I was able to recharge my computer, phones, and even other battery packs with ease.
One thing I really have come to like about this kit is the included battery, power inverter (so i can plug in my laptop or non-usb device). The other kits I researched did not have this option as an included accessory. What a great folding solar kit.
42 watts is plenty for charging small devices, we hooked up an extension cord to the inverter and all of us were able to plug in the little Apple USB wall chargers and had 5 phones charging at once. I was able to charge my laptop and my nephews ipad at once, and the battery never seemed like it was struggling for power. I wish there were more grommets to hang the panel (there's currently 2) or some sort of rack to set it on a 45 degree angle to the sun, but I just layed it on the ground and it worked fine.
This year the trip was fun for everyone and all the gadgets were kept fully charged.
You don't have to take that option if you don't need it. 