[pct-l] solar battery chargers

[saradyehouse at yahoo.com (Sara Dyehouse)]

I consider myself pretty techno-savvy, but I just discovered that there are solar battery chargers.  With the digital revolution, I have been pondering how to keep my digital camera powered w/o buckling my knees in extra battery weight.  While I love my camera, it's something of a power hog.  So I was tickled to learn about the solar chargers.  And they're cheap, too.  They start at $15 and can charge Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd.  Some can charge the proprietary disc batteries that some cameras are using.  The smallest one I've seen, which can charge 4 AA batteries weighs 10 ounces.  A smaller version weighs 6 ozs.
 
Here's a link for a sample.  There are others.  http://www.siliconsolar.com/solar_battery_chargers.htm
 
Has anyone had any experience with these?  Do they actually work?  Obviously they would be less useful in the forested parts of the trail, but how about the more exposed portions of the trail?

		
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