iPad mini Charging in the wild

[Cft]

Hi everybody. I'm looking for a charger to keep my iPad mini charged in the wild. I will be one month in the kyrgyz mountains where electricity is rare and I want to be sure my Ipad will stay charged even when using gps. I was thinking about solar charger (there is plenty of sun) but I'm not sure if it can provide enough energy. The second option is a 4xAA battery charger. Can you please give me some advice which device will wok better? Links to acctual product are appreciated. Thanks

 

[lot of apples]

I'm not sure that a 4AA battery pack will have enough energy to fully charge an iPad, but you can try the Burro mobile charger. It's cheap and has a pretty good review.

aa battery usb chargers at Amazon Its the first one on the page, and there are alternatives.

You may need a solar charger, but they are more expensive, and will probably take a full day of sunshine to charge enough.

ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL 4000mAh External Battery Pack w/Universal USB Charging Port & High-Efficiency Solar Panel for iPhone 5

This one looks like it puts out a full 2.1 amps, which should be enough.

If you get one, let us know if it worked.

 

[Giuly]

As the iPad Minis battery is 4490mAh, you want the ReVIVE XL+ with 6000mAh.

And if you don't want to put it into direct sunlight for 11 hours a day, you also want the two (or even four) add-on panels to decrease that to 5.5 (or 2.75) hours. It isn't even that bulky:

 

[blueroom]

you could always try an external battery pack alongside a solar battery pack for night-time charging (basically alternate between the two during your trip)

This is what i'm talking about: http://www.newtrent.com/store/iphon...le-iphone-battery-pack-newtrent-icarrier.html

It works with all smarpthones, tablets, etc. so you can use it for more than just your trip & ipad mini. it's 12,000 mAh.

I've got one of those, excellent.

Solar even at 5.5hrs is under ideal conditions and pointing at the Sun.

 

[bluebayou]

Yeah, one of my friends has a solar charger and its reliability is always spotty/excruciatingly slow at best. Good thing is they'll work forever in the event of a zombie apocalypse when power lines go out

 

[vmaniqui]

I would definitely get the sCharger-12 sold on Suntactics. It's the best ipad solar charger online, I also use it for my hiking trips, worked like a charm. I was around 50% and got all the way to 100% in about 50 minutes. Really nifty to have especially when in the middle of nowhere, plus you can use the ipad while it's charging, may take longer if you do this but it will keep a steady percentage all the way. It also has a double port USB so you can charge an ipad and your cell phone at the same time, hands down it's the best charger I ever had.

for $240, i would be able to get 3-4 of New Trent's rechargeable battery and have a ton of back-up charges. what if you're out in the woods and there's no sun to charge your solar charger? but with trent i can just charge them at home and carry them to the woods.

 

[sbddude]

+1 for new trent. Cost effective and reliable. I have 9900mah model and never drained it. Charges iPad, iPhone, and android.

 

[opinio]

Hi everybody. I'm looking for a charger to keep my iPad mini charged in the wild. I will be one month in the kyrgyz mountains where electricity is rare and I want to be sure my Ipad will stay charged even when using gps. I was thinking about solar charger (there is plenty of sun) but I'm not sure if it can provide enough energy. The second option is a 4xAA battery charger. Can you please give me some advice which device will wok better? Links to acctual product are appreciated. Thanks

plenty of solar chargers out there on ebay, most of them technically charge but are useless in terms of charging at a rate to recharge your ipad or iPhone. i find you just end up charging them over power and using them as remote storage. Make sure you get one with quality solar voltaic sells with a high mah on the battery that is being used to store.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I'm sure i saw a backpack with built in solar panels somewhere? that would be a good solution for you to charge on the go. Ideally (space permitting) that and a battery (or do they sell wind up chargers?) as a second option. Enjoy your trek.

 

[Cptnodegard]

Probably pointless adding any information to this thread after a month, especially since the OP didnt even bother checking back here after his original post, but for future reference:

http://www.biolitestove.com/

 

[Chargerdan]

I use the Solar Joos. It works great, isn't too big, can charge the iPad and its waterproof.

They even sell metal extensions to collect sunlight quicker.

It's a little pricey at $150 but its really nice to go to places with limited charging options and knowing that your devices won't run out of power.

 

[coolsolarstuff]

I just build a solar charger myself (see attachment) from an old torch light. On the back I glued a 5.5v 150mA solar panel. It can charge 4AA batteries which you can use for the torch light.

But with the USB DC DC converter I build in you can charge iPhones, iPods and even an mini iPad, though it charges the iPad only 25% in one charge, then you have to charge the AA batteries again...

Of course in the woods won't be much sun, so you might consider taking also a thermal electric charger with you. Unfortunately I cannot find those.

Anyway I don't know your budget and demand but here is a cheap ipad charger for 20 bucks which is similar to my creation or if you need more juice and need it fast, maybe this bigger charger with more power is an option.

Let me know what you decided to use, I am curious!

ps. If you're really going for an adventure and don't want to get lost, maybe this charger with build in SOS beacon is something for you ;-)

 

[3rdiguy]

Anker E4 13,000 mAh external battery. Search on Amazon for a VERY reasonable price.

 

[xArtx]

In my experience, to get any decent results with solar, the panel has to be extremely powerful,
especially when you have to convert their output to 5 Volts for mobile devices.

It took me an 80 Watt panel to actually run a Sony PSP without any battery.
An 80 Watt panel is only slightly smaller than you see on roofs these days.
Granted, I was using an inefficient 5 Volt regulator (7805) it dissipates a lot of energy with heat.