Another piece of kit
that has caught my eye is the Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme 5V and 12V
Solar Portable Charger. I have the
smaller version which charges my phone with no problem at all. A tremendous bit
of kit which goes everywhere with me on my travels whether it be a weekend
break here or as far afield as Costa Rica. However, it isn’t beefy enough to
recharge an Ipad for example; and it struggles to recharge my GoPro camera. Hence
the interest in its bigger brother!
The powermonkey extreme
comes as follows:
·
Standard
USB & DC Port Outputs
·
Fully
waterproof (30 minutes at 1m depth) and rugged built solar powered charger (means
shock resistant!!) which charges the battery unit in around 20 hours in optimal light
conditions; it can charge 5V appliances directly too! It can be attached to many
things via a rugged Velcro strap
·
Charge an
iPhone or smartphone up to 6 times (using sync/charge cable supplied by Apple);
and an Ipad x 2
·
Standard
USB and 12V DC port output built in
·
Simultaneously
charge 5V and 12V devices
·
Lightweight
and compact for portability – 456 gms; folded down measuring 180 x 100 x 55mm
in the travel case
·
With a
9000mAh lithium polymer battery and an a/c charger unit with universal fittings
In the box it comes with:
·
· 1 x 9000mAh lithium polymer
battery unit
·
· 1 x high performance solar panel
·
· 1 x USB charging cable
·
· 1 x DC connection cable
·
· 1 x DC connector tip “L53D”
·
· 8 x mobile device tips
·
· 1 x female car charger socket
·
· 1 x Velcro strap
·
· 1 x International AC mains
charger for UK, USA, Europe
·
· 1 x zipped travel case
·
· 1 x tip storage pouch
·
· 1 x user guide
Reviews on the powermonkey extreme are very
positive. Many discuss its amazing power capacity; its ability to charge so
many different bits of kit; its lightweightness and rugged construction. Many talk
about how the battery will recharge an iphone over 5 times; others recommend
using the solar panel to recharge the battery once its dropped to 70%. It can
be ‘daisy chained’ as well. In other words you can attach it to the solar panel
and still charge two appliances at the same time; and the battery will continue
to recharge at the same time – sounds great!
On the negative size – recharging the battery using
only the solar panels does take forever it would seem….up to two days of good
sunshine availability! Not an issue if you can leave it out for much of the day
on your boat thwart though.
My small powermonkey charger has been going strong
for three years; dropped, sat on, dunked, frozen in Finland at minus 40C…it is
my favourite all time bit of kit. It would seem that the powermonkey extreme is
as equally versatile and tough…….if only I could afford one!
Steve
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