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Need a solar charger for camping out at Coachella...

D

daemonite

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 18, 2010
91
0
Here's the thing I'm camping out in Indio, CA (middle of the desert, mid april with 113f-expected temperatures, full sun) for a music festival called coachella and I will not be able to charge my phone.

I'm thinking of using a SOLIO Bolt or something of the sort to charge my precious 4S. Anyone have experience with solar chargers and camping? I plan on leaving the charger exposed all day to the sun in the car under the windshield and charging it from the battery pack at night.

Will this work? I need my phone to last with use for 3 days!
 
I use the Joos Orange for camping and it works great. It's also water-resistant but you shouldn't have that problem out in the desert. :)

Leave it out during the day to charge the internal battery then connect it to your phone at night.
 
Chargerdan said:
I use the Joos Orange for camping and it works great. It's also water-resistant but you shouldn't have that problem out in the desert. :)

Leave it out during the day to charge the internal battery then connect it to your phone at night.
Click to expand...

damn big capacity battery @ 5,400 mAh on the joos!
I went ahead and got the SOLIO Bolt since it was $65 - 20% off @ REI.

I will let you know how it works out for me, only thing is it's 2000mAh capacity. So one charge will drain it out...but I think the desert sun should charge it back up pretty well.
 
Hi Deamonite

Coachella nice I might be going too :)

I have look on few products and the one you have specified in your description.

Personally I use Lenmar one which is of higher capacity that Solio Bolt which is great and provides versatile and simple to recharge - using any AC wall adapter, 12V DC car adapter or laptop with USB output; or charge in direct sunlight.

I see you got your already but just in case someone else will read the thread too and might be interested in different options.

At the moment available at www.batteryworld.com with a nice 25% off your bill :)

http://www.batteryworld.com/lenmar-...-battery-and-charger-with-charge-capabilities
 
Never going to Coachella again. Long lines unbearable weather, ATMs ran out of cash to couldn't buy beer or water after awhile. Stuck in the parking lot for 2 hours trying to get out because they didnt hire competant peopleto direct traffic That being said' have fun!!
 
I had a blast at Coachella, went the first weekend and camped out. Things went super smooth but we were veterans to the camping scene (my 2nd year, my friend's 3rd, and the last person was a 7 year veteran!). As for water we carried in backpacks with empty refillable bottles and sealed cans of beer. No issues at all and since we camped we never had issues to deal with such as parking. Food we made at our campsite or just bought it from the concessions stand (I brought with me about $200 in cash just in case. Since I knew the ATM's tend to run out or charge high fees). Weather was not bad it was only 90f max on Saturday and Sunday. I heard the 2nd weekend hit 105f

The Solio Bolt worked alright, couldn't quite charge up to the full 100% on Thursday or Friday due to cloudy weather conditions but the Saturday and Sunday it was really warm and sunny. Got my 100% charge sometime after leaving it in the sun from 6am to 5pm.

At night it worked great in charging my phone from 0 to 100% leaving maybe 10% left on the Solio. My only complaint is occasionally having to shift the Solio toward the sun for maximum efficiency and well it's really hard to see the red charging light sometimes when the sun is intense.

We didn't want to charge our phones in the car because of the drain on the battery (we had an old SUV with a record of battery issues).
 
daemonite said:
We didn't want to charge our phones in the car because of the drain on the battery (we had an old SUV with a record of battery issues).
Click to expand...

You think your phone is going to kill the battery? Maybe spend less on going to shows and more on a new battery... just a thought.

PLUS if you put that thing on your dash in a closed vehicle good luck, it will most likely over-heat and be destroyed. I would just go with charging it off your car battery. You can start you car every now and then and let it run for a minute to offset the power the iPhone uses. Have fun.
 
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