whilst daydreaming about 'kit I'd like to own'......

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