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| The Brunton Freedom portable power device is small and light and can keep your electronic essentials juiced and ready to go in the outdoors. Photo: Dustin Eppers/EnzymePDX |
Waking to the morning call of alpine songbirds in the mountains of Oregon, refreshed by dewy air and the glow of the morning sun, one can almost forget weekday mornings begun in stuffy bedrooms, roused by obnoxious alarm tones from iPods, smartphones or other trappings of our modern lives.
While some may shirk these gizmos for pure and simple excursions into the wild, sometimes having access to essential functions of electronic devices (GPS for emergencies, for example) is worth the extra baggage, emotional or otherwise.
Harnessing the power of the sun in portable packages, a number of solar chargers exist to keep those digital doodads going.
Specs:
This charger, which ostensibly can be used with more than 3,200 devices, folds out to three blade-like solar cells to get energy when you need it and in style. I have a friend who has been taking pan-Japan bike trips and has used the charger to keep his iPhone charged so he can post pictures on his Facebook account.
Specs:
A perfect companion to a camping trip, the Rocsta can be clipped to a backpack for intermittent charging or hung in a tree to soak up rays all day.
ETON SCORPION MULTIPURPOSE RADIO
Specs:
This multipurpose radio is a great fit for those venturing out in water and on land alike. The NOAA weather band is super helpful for keeping in touch with Mother Nature’s mood swings. A bottle opener doesn’t hurt either.
BRUNTON FREEDOM PORTABLE POWER DEVICE
Specs:
The Freedom is lightweight at a mere 5.7 ounces and compact at 5.7 inches by 3 inches. It can be charged by the sun with a solar panel, by computer through a mini-USB adapter or off a car with a DC adapter.
POWERFILM FOLDABLE 60-WATT SOLAR CHARGER F15-3600
Specs:
Built by the same company that builds solar chargers for the U.S. military, this sucker is not for the light- hearted. Unlike the other chargers, which can handle only handheld devices, this one can handle laptops for rugged, in-the-field … word processing?
Whatever your need or desire, there’s an outdoor gizmo for your indoor gizmo out there.
