[pct-l] Recharging I-Phone on trail

[Brian Lewis]

Andrew said:
"The problem with the Solio is that it really does need to be left in full
view of the sun at an optimal angle in order to charge and it takes quite
some time to fully charge the battery. I've seen pictures of people just
attaching the Solio to their backpack or something to charge and that won't
work. The angle to the sun will just change so much so often that you'll
never get it charged while you're on the go."


While I agree with the general idea that directly facing the sun maximizes
the utility of a solar charger --- and that it can take a long time to
charge up the Solio battery --- I can't completely agree with the above.  A
number of thru-hikers (myself included) have found the Solio to be worth
carrying, and it seems clear to me that a good deal of the charge received
was from having it exposed on the ~top of the backpack during the day.   The
fact that most thru's walk north helps some I think, plus that SoCal in
particular is at a more favorable latitude than some of us live at and is
generally cloudless.

Indeed at extended breaks I (and I suspect others) tended to deploy the
charger to optimally face the sun (lunch or whatever).  But most of the day
for a thru-hiker is spent walking, and I got enough charge in California to
substantially augment the chances to charge my smartphone in towns --- I
don't believe that this was all (or even mostly) just from the limited times
I was stationary.


Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle