Solar charger or dynamo

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
simonhill
Posts: 5227
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Solar charger or dynamo

Post by simonhill »

I noticed that Aldi are doing a battery pack for under a tenner. No idea if it is any good, but anyone interested may wish to take a look. On sale from tomorrow, 27/8.
willem jongman
Posts: 2750
Joined: 7 Jan 2008, 4:16pm

Re: Solar charger or dynamo

Post by willem jongman »

I like simplicity. So I keep my phone switched off during most of the day, and only turn it on for a few minutes at the end of the ride to text my wife t5hat I have arrived safely at the next campsite. That way I only have to charge it, say, once a week. For that I have a litle charger. I also have a small and light battery pack that is good for one charge of the phone. That way, I recharge the phone, and can recharge the battery pack when and where it is convenient and safe without risk of the telephone getting stolen. As a gps I have a Garmin Etrex 30. It is the cheapest range, and also the lightest. The final and perhaps most important advantage is that is also lasts longest on a set of batteries. If you buy really good rechargeables like the Ansmann Eneloop type, one set is good for five days of cycling if you switch it off when you have a break, and only follow tracks. So on a 2-3 week tour I don't need a charger, but only a few sets of spare rechargeable batteries. For the record, I have a Schmidt hub generator on my bike for the lights, but I really do not want to have to deal with stuff like an Ewerk and all those cables. For a trip in outer Mongolia the choices will be diferent, of course.
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