Hydrogen Power Chargers

[OR Archer]

Just stumbled across these items. Anyone use or have any experience with these type of chargers? Seems like a much lighter and quicker option than solar chargers.

http://www.rei.com/product/867985/brunton-hydrogen-reactor-charger

www.rei.com/product/834734/myfc-powertrekk-fuel-cell-charger

 

[Jon Pynch]

wow, is that for real? seems almost like a science fiction product. would like to hear if anyone has tried them also.

 

[Hunt'nFish]

And that Brunton is only 1.6oz??? Seriously!?! WOW.
Hunt'nFish

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Those are really interesting. I wonder how they work. $149 isn't bad either. Isn't that the price of the goal zero charger?

 

[jm1607]

So.. Are the fuel cells rechargeable? I can't tell by the wording

 

[gobbler1662]

Holy cow, nice spot Or archer. I been using the Goal Zero for the last couple of years but these seem way lighter and charge faster. Gonna have to really look into these.

 

[colonel00]

Cool idea but pricey. At least for the Brunton one. You only get 6 charges for $150 and then it costs another $50 for essentially 12 more charges. I don't know, I guess it would be interesting to hear from anyone who as actually used one.

 

[Hunt'nFish]

While I agree, it is pricey, that isn't the most important point. What is; is the fact that this technology has been developed. The price will certainly come down over time. But the notion that we can simply plug our phones in to a <2oz device for a couple hours and once again remain in contact w/ our families is priceless. After my 14day solo elk hunt this past fall, I realized how much we rely on our phones. Particularly the camera, which sucks up a lot of power. I had to really manage my usage to ensure I had charge all throughout the hunt to make those check-in calls & texts. Would've liked to have not been so restricted on battery charge. Perhaps I should/should've taken an extra charged battery as back-up. Probably a cheaper alternative.
Hunt'nFish

 

[OR Archer]

Replacement cells are pretty inexpensive for the Brunton. Just $20 bucks and they claim to charge a phone 6 time before they need to be recharged.

 

[colonel00]

Hmm, I was in class earlier and only looked around briefly but I didn't see a lot of info out there. Can you recharge the Brunton cores? Admittedly, my math was off a bit. You get two cores with the initial purchase which would be 12 charges. Then a refill pack of 4 cores is $50 so that is 24 more charges. Not bad for limited "emergency" usage I guess.

Reading again, I see where it says you can use the Brunton Hydrolyzer to recharge the cores but yikes, $250 for that thing.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00F083BV2

I do agree that it is a very cool concept and hopefully more companies embrace it which will cause market competition and lower prices.

Also, I can't find any specs right away but I would suspect that carrying extra cores would be of minimal weight penalty if they were just filled with hydrogen.

 

[colonel00]

Maybe if there were enough Roksliders that had them, people could pitch in and someone could get the Hydrolyzer and recharge for many people.

Granted, this brings up a safety concern with shipping these things. Plus, can you take them on airlines or air taxis?

 

[OR Archer]

They say they are airline approved yet the shipping is ground only. Doesn't make much sense.

 

[colonel00]

Bringing this one up again. Seems there is still very little end user feedback on these.