GoalZero portable solar power

[ST52v]

The new tren battery is prety slick. I baught my wife one for Christmas. I need to do some testing with it to see how long it will last. I think you could charge an I phone atleast 6 x with it.

 

[bowuntr]

I have the Goal Zero panel and battery pack. I use it to charge my smart phone , sat phone and batteries. Love it.... Ed F

 

[Jager]

Thanks for the detailed advice JLF, very interesting. I have been reading through their catalogue this morning, the Switch 8 maybe the way to go. One item I really liked was the Luna LED light, would be a very handy accessory.

I am not a 'read the instructions' type of person/male either, thanks for the heads up there.

Thanks everyone else for their input as well.

 

[trk3263]

I use the Nomad 7 with the guide 10. Works great to keep my GPS and headlamp running strong. I also can charge my iPhone.
In the past I change out my Rhine 650 batteries at night (battery pack option) and in the morning I put my charger out before leaving camp in the am. By lunch the the batteries are charged and ready if needed.
If I need to charge my phone I can do that either via the solar panel directly or at night off my guide 10.
I barely need to change out my headlamp battery and now that I bought a Zebra light I will be only carrying AA batteries. In the pasty headlamp was AAA.
My hunting partner uses the smaller solar panels (I think 3.5) and he runs his the same way without issues.

I too can be a manual reader when it comes to gear. (Lots of research on my gear in the off season my wife loves this... Not)
You can get a better and quicker charge by charging a device directly from the solar panel rather than charging via the guide 10 or similar.

I use the Eneloop XXX batteries that are 2550 mAh for the AA size.

 

[Rocky]

I have it and have not been impressed with it. It usually stays at home.

 

[SHTF]

ok So I picked this up today. Found it Brand new at a Pawn Shop for 80 bucks. I got the Goal Zero nomad 7 plus guide 10 adventure Kit.

You guys cracked me up about not taking the film off the panels. Anyway I plugged in my Samsung Epic 2 to the Guide 10 I was at 47% Life within the hour I was at 91%. I about shit myself how fast this charged up my phone. And If you know anything about Samsung Smart Phones they are a battery hog. I have the extended battery in this also.

If your not happy with your unit, its probably because your not using it correctly. The guide 10 is your primary charging device. Pluggin in the panel to your phone you need to have exactly right in the sun with no shade and positioned correctly for it to charge. Now if those variables become inconsistent then your Phone charge mode will flip off because A. Your getting to much power B. Not enough so it triggers the stop charging that most smart phones have.

The guide 10 is the part of the Goal Zero that you use to charge your phone with. As indicated above fresh out of the box. 1 hour charge got me from 47% to 91% battery Life. That is as good if not better then my wall charger.

Also you need to have the power switch set correctly on the Guide 10. There is a charging mode output power, a LED Light Mode, and an off mode which also is how you charge the Guide back up when you have it plugged into your computer or into the solar panels.

And for you folks that dont read the directions. There is a plastic Tab on one of the Battery in the Guide 10 that you have to remove or you wont be using or charging anything up. Open the clear cover on the guide 10 and where it says Pull tab off. PULL IT!!!! =-)

It was about 430pm sun was 2 hours from going down. I sat the Goal Zero out with a semi cloudy day pointed at the sun. I was able to charge the Guide back up to full within that 2 hours and then through my wifes same model phone on the guide 10 and again charged most of the way up. I bet I can get 2 to 3 full phone charges off 1 charge of the 4 double A Batteries in the Guide 10. I will test this and report back.

I am super happy with this thing. I just ordered 4 more Double A batteries and 2 4 packs of tripple A's. That should give me plenty of battery in the field to keep all my devices powered up and charging at the same time. these are cheap on ebay btw. 10.41 for tripple A 11.00 for the double A's I now have the means to keep all my devices going indefinitely in the field.

Even though the Nomad Solar Panel has its own folding cover I found some of these Flat padded Makeup Bags from Avon the Wife has had for years. I found the big padded Bag fits the goal zero perfectly. So now I got a nifty waterproof padded Case for it.

This is going to be a must have for me on the hunts.I wont leave home without this thing.

On a side note. The news story about the 2 teenagers lost in the wilderness http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/0...rnia-canyon-female-companion/?test=latestnews

The rescuers where tracking them from Cell Signals till their phones ran out of batteries. Its worth the 1.5 lbs to keep GPS Phones Lights charged up... You never know.

James

 

[trk3263]

You guys cracked me up about not taking the film off the panels.

X2

Pluggin in the panel to your phone you need to have exactly right in the sun with no shade and positioned correctly for it to charge.

I forgot to mention this and glad you did. I always prop it up with a rock and shift it as needed if I return to camp.

I would take a look at the mAh capacity on the GZ batteries although they are decent there are better batteries out there that will allow a better charge capacity and not weigh any more.
The batteries are the biggest complaint on most reviews of GZ

 

[Rocky]

Sweet I looked at mine and the plastic was still on it. I took it off hopefully it will work better now !

 

[Jager]

lol sorry mate, sounds like something I would do.

 

[Biggs300]

I bought the Guide 10 for a backpack elk hunt last year and I have no complaints. It worked as advertised.