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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
Full disclosure: I have not spent much time with this product.
I purchased this as part of an "emergency kit" and out of the box, I am really disappointed. The unit looks nice, every feature seems lackluster.
Construction: 4/5
Overall the unit seems pretty sturdy. Very very items protrude from the main body and the construction feels mostly solid. The battery flap is a little flimsy and the packaging seemed to be designed to scatter items from every direction when opened, but those are minor concerns.
Crank charging 3/5
Actual charging rate given is one minute of cranking equals about 10-15 minutes of radio or flashlight use. This is pretty good and by far the most useful feature. To fully charge the internal 2000mAh battery, however, takes approximately four and a half hours according to the manual, which seems excessive.
Solar charging 1/5:
This is, essentially, a gimmick. The unit cannot be meaningfully charged via solar. In practice, the solar panel is meant as a trickle charger, maintaining battery level from passive discharge only. That said, given the size of the solar panel I expected this going in.
Radio 3/5:
The radio speaker is surprisingly clear despite its size, operation is straightforward, and it includes wide-band in addition to AM and FM, which is neat. That said, the tuning knob is TINY and the motion very heavy, making fine tuning exceptionally difficult. Paired with an analog dial type tuning readout, you're going to have a very hard time getting to the correct frequency. A spot to use a screwdriver for tuning or a digital frequency indicator would go a long way to making this more user friendly.
Battery 2/5:
This, I feel, is where the unit really disappoints. The 2000mAh battery is pretty tiny my modern standards, but in a pinch would provide about a half charge to a modern phone. I knew this going in, so i can't really fault them. USB charging and use of the crank simultaneously is not recommended and the instructions recommend using the hand crank at least every three months, likely to avoid deep discharge of the battery. Furthermore, there is no battery charge indication, so you are left to guess how much juice is left at any given time. Finally, the unit uses AAA batteries, rather than the more common and energy dense AA.
Lighting 3/5:
Again, easy straightforward operation, but falls down on actual use. The flashlight itself is not very bright, much dimmer than my $3 LED flashlights. The reading light seems brighter, but is only activated by tilting the solar panel thus eliminating the ability to tilt the panel to optimize sun exposure.
In summary:
I had high hopes for this thing. Even knowing its limitations going in didn't prepare me for how disappointing this unit is. And that is the problem with it! Everything is just OK. Good but not great. Middle of the road. I haven't decided if I am going to keep it or not, but will certainly be looking at my alternatives. I think I'll return and spend the money on an actually capable solar charger and a battery backed up NOAA radio.
I purchased this as part of an "emergency kit" and out of the box, I am really disappointed. The unit looks nice, every feature seems lackluster.
Construction: 4/5
Overall the unit seems pretty sturdy. Very very items protrude from the main body and the construction feels mostly solid. The battery flap is a little flimsy and the packaging seemed to be designed to scatter items from every direction when opened, but those are minor concerns.
Crank charging 3/5
Actual charging rate given is one minute of cranking equals about 10-15 minutes of radio or flashlight use. This is pretty good and by far the most useful feature. To fully charge the internal 2000mAh battery, however, takes approximately four and a half hours according to the manual, which seems excessive.
Solar charging 1/5:
This is, essentially, a gimmick. The unit cannot be meaningfully charged via solar. In practice, the solar panel is meant as a trickle charger, maintaining battery level from passive discharge only. That said, given the size of the solar panel I expected this going in.
Radio 3/5:
The radio speaker is surprisingly clear despite its size, operation is straightforward, and it includes wide-band in addition to AM and FM, which is neat. That said, the tuning knob is TINY and the motion very heavy, making fine tuning exceptionally difficult. Paired with an analog dial type tuning readout, you're going to have a very hard time getting to the correct frequency. A spot to use a screwdriver for tuning or a digital frequency indicator would go a long way to making this more user friendly.
Battery 2/5:
This, I feel, is where the unit really disappoints. The 2000mAh battery is pretty tiny my modern standards, but in a pinch would provide about a half charge to a modern phone. I knew this going in, so i can't really fault them. USB charging and use of the crank simultaneously is not recommended and the instructions recommend using the hand crank at least every three months, likely to avoid deep discharge of the battery. Furthermore, there is no battery charge indication, so you are left to guess how much juice is left at any given time. Finally, the unit uses AAA batteries, rather than the more common and energy dense AA.
Lighting 3/5:
Again, easy straightforward operation, but falls down on actual use. The flashlight itself is not very bright, much dimmer than my $3 LED flashlights. The reading light seems brighter, but is only activated by tilting the solar panel thus eliminating the ability to tilt the panel to optimize sun exposure.
In summary:
I had high hopes for this thing. Even knowing its limitations going in didn't prepare me for how disappointing this unit is. And that is the problem with it! Everything is just OK. Good but not great. Middle of the road. I haven't decided if I am going to keep it or not, but will certainly be looking at my alternatives. I think I'll return and spend the money on an actually capable solar charger and a battery backed up NOAA radio.
