The author charging her Kindle with SunJuice™ – Photo By Patrick Wilkes
My husband Patrick and I were pleasantly surprised with our field tests of the SunJuice™ portable solar charger. It’s so light to carry when we hike that our backs and necks thank us for it. We also enjoy not having to leave our campsite or a hiking trail to charge our devices.
Chris Frye, President of Solar Consumer Products, the company that created SunJuice™, tested it against more than 70 other portable solar chargers. It has the highest output per ounce of any of the chargers he tested. It weighs only 3.9 ounces.
Don’t let its light weight fool you. It’s still really powerful. At 7.5 watts, it has the highest power output per ounce of any of the units tested.
It’s also only as thick as 6 sheets of paper stacked on top of each other. That means we can easily fit it into our packs even when taking all sorts of other stuff along. And we have been known to carry crazy extra stuff on a hike—everything from several cans of corned beef to large chunks of firewood found along the way to our stuffed animal mascot, blue-footed booby.
SunJuice™—already a featherweight—actually lightens the load even more because we can leave at home the spare batteries we used to lug around.
But you don’t have to carry it in your pack. Every SunJuice™ Solar Charger comes with a grommet, which means you can attach it to your pack and let your devices juice up in the sun while you’re hiking.
What’s more, it’s easy to fit into our overly stuffed Toyota Matrix when we go car camping. And when there aren’t enough USB ports to charge while driving, SunJuice™ fits nicely on the front or rear dash, too.
How Portable Solar Chargers Make Your Life Easier
Photo by Patrick Wilkes
There are many canyons in the Eastern Sierra and anywhere in the mountains where it’s inconvenient to charge your phone, Kindle, or other devices.
Take Onion Valley, for example. You can’t just drive around the canyon to charge up your phone in your car. You run out of road eventually. You’d have to drive down the long, curvy road to Independence and then keep driving further to charge your phone. Or go to a restaurant and plug in and fight all those other campers and backpackers for the few outlets in the restaurant.
I camped at Onion Valley when I was on deadline for a project. I drove all the way up that road, set up camp to make certain I nabbed a good spot, and then drove all the way down again to juice up my devices. SunJuice™ would have come in handy back then.
Sure, in places like Bishop Creek Canyon or Rock Creek Canyon you can grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants while your phone is charging. But what happens if every outlet in the place is taken? During weekends, this is likely.
And sometimes you don’t want to leave that serene spot in nature just so you can fight the crowds back in civilization. It’s nice to relax in camp without worrying about having to drive somewhere to juice up your devices.
A Great Choice For Backpackers, Hikers, Mountaineers, Anglers, And More
Photo by Patrick Wilkes
A portable solar charger this lightweight is a blessing for backpackers, hikers, and mountaineers. Because SunJuice™ weighs so little, it can help you meet your daily hiking and climbing goals.
Again, it comes with a grommet, so just attach it to your pack and let it give your ereader, GPS unit, satellite phone, SteriPEN, or USB-compatible camera or phone a boost while you hike or climb.
And SunJuice™ won’t weigh down anglers carrying lots of fishing gear, either.
It’s also a good option for kayakers, people with canoes or rafts, or any non-motorized boat where you have no other way to charge your devices.
Impressed With How Well It Works
We were very impressed with how fast SunJuice™ Solar Charger juiced up our Kindle. Before we plugged the Kindle into SunJuice™, it was completely out of power. In 3 hours, it was fully charged.
It is also very effective at charging our USB-compatible cell phone. It fully charges the phone in about 4 hours, much faster than some other portable solar chargers. From now on, we will take it with us camping or when we spend a lot of time in nature. It’s our security blanket.
As a bonus, it’s made in the U.S.A.
What Devices Does It Charge?
SunJuice™ works on USB-chargeable devices, including phones, Kindles, Nooks, GPS units, satellite phones, a USB-chargeable camera, SteriPEN for sterilizing water while out on the trail, and night goggles. SunJuice™ is not yet certified for use with Apple and Lightning devices.
Like any solar charger, it won’t work well on cloudy days or under thick forest cover. However, SunJuice™ has shade recovery technology, so it quickly starts charging again once it’s moved from the shade to the sun.
You can also buy the optional battery so that you can continue charging your devices at night.
Here’s Why You Can Trust The Creators of SunJuice™
The concept for SunJuice™ portable solar charger began with Chris Frye and his teams. Over the last two decades, they have worked on enough solar projects to power over one million homes. Chris and his teams have installed solar power at CBS Television, Trader Joes, large factories, small businesses, and homes.
The Best Choice
The bottom line? SunJuice™ is the best choice for backpackers, hikers, campers, anglers, and anyone who doesn’t want to lug around a heavy portable solar charger. It’s incredibly lightweight and ultra-thin. It’s easy on your back and neck.
We were given a sample SunJuice™ so that we can write a review. But we will only write reviews for products we really like. And we really like this one. We think you will, too.
Click here to buy your SunJuice™ portable solar charger.
