[pct-l] Cell Phones etc.

[Alden Dale]

Hey,

I also looked into solar chargers before starting my section hike.  
The brunton panels have had mixed reviews, and there are a few others  
that people will always mention (the solio is also fairly common).  
However, I purchased a little known panel the Silva tech4o panel. I  
think its made in Europe, so we don't here too much about it here for  
some reason.

Its perfect for a thru-hiker/ section hiker. If you're going to be  
just out for less than a week or two, just carry the batteries, but  
if you're going out for longer than that, this panel is perfect. The  
panel weighs just 3.8 oz, and is foldable, and flexible. Very small,  
and very light. I was using a cell phone, an iPod and a camera this  
summer. I would take about 100 pictures a day on the camera (Canon  
a710- great battery life), listen to the iPod for about 4-5 hours per  
day, and on average probably talked on the cell phone 10 minutes a  
day (more like 30 mins every three days, and none the other two).

The solar panel was able to keep these three devices powered (but  
barely.) The solar panel only charged AA's (but I suspect with a  
little electronics skills you could probably figure a way to hook  
your devices up directly) so you will need some way to turn AA power  
into charging the cell phone you have. I have a little AA battery  
charger that has an end that fits into the iPod and another  
attachment that fits into my cell phone. The camera takes AA's directly.

The key to getting the panel to charge this many devices was  
placement on my pack. I had it strapped the outside, and whenever I  
would break for lunch or dinner, I would take the panel and angle it  
directly into the sun. That helped a lot. If you were able to come up  
with a way to re-position the panel on the pack as the sun got higher  
in the sky, it will charge even better. While it can charge a little  
off of ambient light, it charges a lot faster in direct light.

Overall I would heartily recommend this solar panel.

Check it out at: http://www.silvacompass.com/pc-40-5-sc44-solar-4- 
battery-charger.aspx

God Bless,

Alden Dale