Aa Solar Battery Charger

[partinj]

Seen a solar battery charger in campmor for recharges 4 aa batterys. has anyone ever use one of these on their Thur-hike sound like it could save some money on batterys.:sun

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

There is a lot of shade on the AT once the leaves are out. Unless you plan to take a long break to put the charger in the sun, it won't work. You will come to places that have electricity fairly frequently - why not just carry a small charger and 4 rechargeable AA batteries (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4291460) instead?

[The Weasel]

There is a lot of shade on the AT once the leaves are out. Unless you plan to take a long break to put the charger in the sun, it won't work. You will come to places that have electricity fairly frequently - why not just carry a small charger and 4 rechargeable AA batteries instead?

I agree. Tried using one of those on the dash of my car in sunny southern California. Took roughly a week, all day, for a battery to charge. NOT worth it on the AT.

The Weasel

[Jim Adams]

too little, too timely, too heavy.
i used one on a river trip, in the sun all day. wouldn't take it again.
geek

[Fannypack]

I tried a solar battery charger on PCT similar to http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=613&memberId=12500226&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1 . Attached (superglue) it to the top of my pack, it worked but i found that the batteries seemed to not hold their charge in the cold of the Sierras OR maybe it didn't work, ie., didn't charge completely.

I hate to say it but I couldn't beat the Duracell AAs, lasted longer and were reliable.

Good luck.

[mrc237]

Reliable, thats the key here. Wouldn't want to carry charger and have weak batteries. Extra AAs are not so heavy.

[fiddlehead]

You'll be lucky to see the sun more than a few times a week for an hour or two at a time, and then only at lookouts.
Maybe you could put it under a bedlamp in your hotel room. (i've had luck with that when i tried a solar charger 10 years ago on a different kind of trip)

[Footslogger]

There is a lot of shade on the AT once the leaves are out. Unless you plan to take a long break to put the charger in the sun, it won't work. You will come to places that have electricity fairly frequently - why not just carry a small charger and 4 rechargeable AA batteries (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4291460) instead?

==================================

Been reading a lot lately about these devices and have seen some e-mail traffic from PCT hikers who have used them. Thinking about carrying one on my PCT hike.

But, as FD indicated, there is too much shade on the AT for these devices to be practical, IMHO.

Most everything I use operates on AAA batteries so for the AT I would just carry some extra AAA Lithiums. Actually might end up doing the same thing on the PCT cause I really don't want to carry a charger.

'Slogger

[SalParadise]

you can do a search; a few other people have asked this on WB.

I would think carrying 4-6 extra batteries along would be a lighter option than a solar charger.