Solio solar charger actually works ok... mostly
We've been trying out the Solio Magnesium solar charger at our house lately - and by we I mean my husband. The charger works with the iGo system tips which my husband was already familiar with so he took on the testing responsibilities. The Solio is pretty cool. It's small and compact and the solar panels fan out when needed. It can charge a cell phone or iPod with stored power from the sun OR by plugging into a wall outlet. That part makes it perfect for traveling - use the sun when you can, and when you can't, plug it in.
To charge the Solio we open it up and put it out on the sidewalk in front of our house in the morning. By lunchtime we move it to the back of the house so it can soak up rays until the very end of the day. It takes a day of full sun to get the Solio completely charged up. When it has a full charge it can charge one device - cell phone, Blackberry or iPod up with a little bit leftover for something else.
We put the Solio on the dashboard of the car while driving for the majority of the day a few weeks ago. We were hoping it could charge up on a road trip. We didn't see a noticeable difference in the level of charge the Solio had by the end of the day but, we will probably try again in the future. I'm guessing the safety glass blocked too much of the UV rays for it to be effective.
It's a cool gadget and, it actually works relatively well. It will be challenging going into the winter months to get a full charge on the Solio in one day so that is a downside. But really, watching my husband move it from one place to another all day to put it in the very best sun-gathering position was pretty entertaining for me!
It would be an awesome way to charge up a GPS, camera, iPod or cell phone while out backcountry camping. Just don't expect it to charge up everything, every day.
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