Re: Solar Chargers

I've not used the Nomad 3.5 but have the Nomad 7 which I used a couple of weeks ago in the Grand Canyon on a 5-day trip.  These notes should apply similarly to the 3.5.

-the solar panel will charge a battery pack like the Switch 8 or Guide 10 faster than charging a device through the USB port; the Nomad 7 charges 4AA batteries in the Guide 10 in 2-4 hours of sun.
-the Nomad 7 and Guide 10 weighed about 14 oz together.  The Nomad 3.5 and Switch 8 look like they may be a little less.
-for trips longer than 4 days, it would be lighter to buy a high capacity battery like the Eton BootBloc 6600 which can charge a smartphone 3-4 times (once per day depending on how much you use your phone).  The Eton BoostBloc weighs about 8 oz but would be useless dead weight on a trip once it was completely discharged.
-the advantage of GoalZero solar panels is that you can charge AA and AAA batteries as well as the Switch 8 charger.  You can just swap the batteries into your other devices if you have them.
-dropping a 5-oz cellphone from your gear list can save over 16 oz in charging equipment on a long trip
-using a smartphone for gps, camera, video, topo maps, movies, music and books can replace a lot of other dedicated items.

I carried my iPhone in my front pocket on my last trip and used it for everything listed above.




On Apr 24, 2013, at 8:57 AM, hank.ward <hankward1958-/[email protected]> wrote:

> Has anyone had any experience with the Goal Zero Nomad 3.5 solar charger to keep there iPhone charged? Any other solutions that have worked better?
> 
>