Posts Tagged solar gear
USB-charged Night Bike Flea Lights
Want to stay safe on your bike at night without churning through batteries? These Flea Lights from Blackburn Design can recharge by USB.
One of the key advantages of living in a warm place is that you can ride your bike pretty much all year. A few months back I moved to Tampa, FL and recently I joined up with City Bike Tampa for a night ride they do from restaurant to restaurant in and around downtown. It’s not too strenuous, so you can grab a beer where you stop, but you’ve gotta have lights on your bike. It’s the law in this state, but it’s also the smart thing to do.
So before the trip I looked at a lot of bike lights and in the end decided to spend more than I planned on the smallest ones—around $50 for this set of front and back lights. They’re pretty damned cool though, so I think it was a good choice. They’re little but very bright lights with 4 LED bulbs and several choices of brightness and flash patterns. It’s a one-button operation too: you turn it on and cycle through the various options one by one. The last one turns it off.
These bike lights attach with Velcro straps, which is a huge advantage in my eyes over the ones that are meant to screw onto handlebars or a seat stem. With these I can switch them over to my daughter’s bike if she’s riding over to a neighborhood friend’s house or I can take a light inside in my pocket if there’s some shady character milling around the bike rack where I’ve stopped. If I wanted, I could also hook the front headlight to a helmet instead of my handlebars. Versatile.
The real game-changer with these though is they don’t use external batteries. They have a rechargeable battery that’s pumped back up via USB. That can turn out to be a very eco-friendly move if you’re using a solar charger of some kind or a product I’m sorry hasn’t caught on more: the wind-powered HYMini. (You would think a wind-powered generator on your bike is kind of a no-brainer—it’s always going to be spinning if you’re moving.) Blackburn even sells one package that comes with its own solar power charger.
The USB connector actually separates from the lights and with the combo set, one connector is used for both lights. That makes these a lot thinner than they would be otherwise, but I do worry that I’m going to lose such a small little accessory that’s vital to the functioning. No worries about that with AA batteries.
These are rated to run for 3 hours steadily on, or 5 hours for the front and 12 hours for the back if on the flash mode. That’s not enough? What are you doing riding around more than three hours non-stop at night you weirdo?
These lights come in a variety of colors and are so small and lightweight that you could easily pack them for bike rentals on vacation. Most good bike shops have Blackburn Flea USB lights, or you can pick them up online. Try Altrec.com for a wide selection of colors or Amazon, where you can pay far less than I did in a retail store.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on October 12th, 2011
New Gadgets for Travelers at the Consumer Electronics Show
Our resident tech gadget reviewer John Gordon wasn’t able to attend this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but Dave Sniadak is popping in as a guest reviewer to give us the lowdown on what’s new and interesting this year. Take it away Dave!
The Consumer Electronics Show is a massive meshing of man and technology: some gadgets already implemented onto the market, others merely concepts hoping to catch the eye of a box store buyer or visionary venture capitalist in search of the”next big thing”. While the overwhelming message from this year’s CES was predominantly 3DTV and tablet technology, I was able to find a few gadgets that play nice with those of us who prefer to hit the road in search of real 3D images, instead of those seen only through the eye of technology.
As our tech gear demands increase, so will the need to power the gadgets that get us from Point A to Point B. While we want to stay connected, it’s important we remember the impact our energy demands have on the world around us. That’s why I was so blown away by the nPower PEG (or Personal Energy Generator), created by the amazing folks at Tremont Electric (Cleveland, OH).
Using the science of kinetic energy generated by our own forward motion, the nPower PEG claims to be the “next generation of hybrid chargers”. The nPower PEG is 9″ long, 1.5″ wide in diameter, weights 11 ounces, retails under $160 and stores user-generated energy in its’ 1,000mAh lithium polymer battery. By using the natural up and down motion of movement – whether walking, running, biking, horseback riding or hiking – you’re able to plug in your USB 2.0 cable to power up your cell phone, camera, mp3 player, GPS or other travel gadget. Plus, it fits nicely in the side pocket of your backpack, so no worries about finding a place to store it on your waistline. Tremont Electric says their kinetic energy device taps into the “renewable energy of motion”; I call it “the next major movement in keeping us connected”. Find more info at www.npowerpeg.com.
Along the lines of energy consciousness, California-based TravelersChoice has introduced a new line of EcoTraveler Solar Powered bags. The one that resonated with me, as a father of two young kids and a family that loves to take nice long road trips, was the EcoTraveler Cooler Bag. Yeah, I’m all about keeping the string cheese and juice boxes chilled and at the ready for when the kids start in with the “Are we there yet?” pestering. It’s a bit spendy – around $180 – but worth it if it means you can say goodbye to an extra charger or two.
What makes this bag great is the flexible, durable solar panel at the top of the bag. The included battery allows you to soak up the power of the sun via the photovoltaic (PV) technology embedded in the solar panels, made by Konarka Power Plastics. While the EcoTraveler doesn’t provide enough juice to power a laptop, it can easily give you extra hours of fun with your smart phones, mp3 players, and portable gaming devices. The waterproof cooler is designed to keep your perishable goods cool while on the road – meaning the juice will be ready, for both the kids AND their toys. At the moment it only seems to be available at SkyMall and on eBay.
Dave Sniadak writes at HDHubby.com and is a self-prescribed airport addict. When he’s not busy dreaming up his next trip that involves as many connections as possible, he’s producing video content for clients at Minneapolis-based agency, Axiom Marketing Communications. A proud father of two young children, Dave is enjoying daily diaper duty (again), as well as the ups and downs of being a new homeowner. Connect with him on Twitter – @davesniadak
Posted by Tim L. in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on January 12th, 2011
Power for Your Gear, Anywhere: KIWI U-Powered Portable Charger
The KIWI U-Powered Solar & USB Portable Charger kind of reminds me of the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. With this in your bag, you’ll be prepared to recharge just about any kind of portable gear, from smartphones to GPS units.
KIWI U-Powered is a portable, universal charger just released by KIWI Choice, Inc. of Canada. It starts with a battery pack that can be charged four ways—by the sun, plugged in to an AC outlet, in a car, or from a computer’s USB port.
Then, the unit can be used to recharge your travel gear during long flights across the ocean, on camping or hiking trips or any other times when there might not be a power plug nearby.
The KIWI U-Powered is really well-designed. It fits perfectly in my hand and weighs less than four-and-a-half ounces.
It can be charged from a 110- or 220-volt AC outlet, making it perfect for international travel.
The KIWI U-Powered storage battery can also be charged by the sun. It unfolds into the shape of a fan blade. The design cleverly allows the use of three photo voltaic solar panels when charging with green power.
The compatibility list is long for this portable charger. Included with the kit are a cable and 11 tips that will charge iPhones and iPods; phones from Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Palm, Motorola and Sony; Bluetooth headsets; GPS units; digital cameras; e-readers; and portable game consoles.
The lithium polymer storage battery stores 2,000 mAh, which should recharge several small devices. Charging the battery from a USB port, AC current or a car outlet takes three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half hours.
Solar charging takes much longer, of course. In my tests, the battery picked up more than 25 percent of a full charge sitting five hours in the hot Texas sun. That’s consistent with the company’s claim that a full solar charge should take about 17 hours.
The unit is designed to last for 1,000 power cycles, which means it should be keeping your gear running for years.
My colleague, Tim, reviewed another solar charger earlier, but it lacked the variety of tips included with the KIWI.
A couple of other features on the U-Powered charger are also noteworthy. There are magnets on the back of the storage battery, allowing it to be attached to a car or other metal object while charging the solar panels. I wouldn’t recommend putting it on a moving car, though, unless you want to pick up the pieces from the road. There’s also a handy LED flashlight on the end of the storage battery.
I was pleasantly surprised by the price—$49.99. My guess would have been more than twice that much. It’s available now on the company’s website and will also be rolled out at retailers and other online stores.
If there’s another device on the market that does all this for the same price, I haven’t found it. The KIWI U-Powered Solar & USB Portable Charger brings power wherever you need it, even miles away from the nearest plug.
Posted by JohnG in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on June 8th, 2010
Brunton Restore Portable Solar Power Supply
If we’re not all charging up our music players and cell phones with solar power, it’s not for lack of trying on the part of device manufacturers. Some of these solar devices actually work quite well too, like this portable power supply from Brunton.
The first idea here is you can charge it up at home or in a car ahead of time, like the iGo Power Extender and CallPod Fueltank Charger we reviewed before. Then you take it with you on a trip, using it to charge up your devices when you can’t get near an outlet, like on a plane or bus.
This goes a big step further though. The second idea is to use it as a solar charger when you are on a long camping or mountaineering trip off the grid. With the Brunton Restore and ample sunlight, you can restore your devices to full power. If it’s fully charged, it’ll reload your iPod or regular cell phone two or three times. It’ll fully charge a smart phone or gaming device one or two times. It has enough juice to recharge four AA batteries and can recharge your Bluetooth headset seven to eight times. For an iPod, one hour of sun equals six or seven hours of music—that is far superior to what most other competitors promise.
I left the unit in the sun for seven hours and it was all charged up—I could tell from the handy 4-light LED system. I was then able to fully charge my iPod twice and a half-empty phone and still have juice left in it.
This Brunton version is a bit heavier than some others I’ve tried, at 7.2 ounces, but it’s rubberized and really solid. It feels like it could be dropped off a roof and survive. It’s water resistant too. It flips open too and exposes two rather large panels, making it easier to operate (especially with one hand) than the three-panel Solio charger I’ve tried before.
There’s a handy design to this whereby you can plug in a USB cord to charge up anything attached to that, or you can pull out the male USB plug and insert it into the device. Or pull out the other end of the cable instead and it goes into a mini-USB slot like you see on Google phones and the SlotPlayer for example. There’s an adapter for micro USB as well, which other devices use. So basically you’re okay charging up any music player, communication device or camera, provided it uses some version of USB.
“But Tim, my damned Nokia phone and my damned Samsung phone need different adapters than these!” Well, there’s the biggest drawback with this. Eventually we’ll get to a happy place where every device shares the same standard charger setup, but until that time you have to keep fooling with tips and adapters. Brunton doesn’t offer any help in that department, so if your device doesn’t come with some kind of USB charger, you’re SOL unless you can find some adapter on eBay that will do the trick. For Apple devices, you’ll have to bring along the USB cord to connect the device to a USB port on the charger.
The Restore retails for around $90, but the packaging says it’ll give you the output equivalent of 1,372 AA batteries. You can use this charger 500 times before the internal battery will wear out, which is probably plenty for a lifetime unless you’re a hermit moving to Death Valley. If you’ll be in the wilderness or you’re just a backpacker who will be in a place where sunshine is far more prevalent than reliable electricity, this is a solid solar charger that really works.
Get the Brunton Restore Portable Power Device at REI.com
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear on March 4th, 2010
