How much of a life preserver does your wired lifestyle really need? Surge protectors and Uninterruptible Power Supplies are great in case of emergency, but what if the juice is out for days? How will you charge your iPhone, then? Xantrex's XPower Powerpack Solar 400 solves that problem...sort of. It's a hulking (12.3 pounds) sealed, lead-acid battery in a pretty package that can power up to 320 continuous watts worth of gear, and up to 600 watts peak load. The Solar 400 can send juice to its three-prong AC outlets, a cigarette-lighter-style DC outlet, or a USB port. It can recharge via AC or DC, or through its killer feature, an integrated solar panel. The catch? The battery holds only enough juice to power a 75-watt light bulb for an hour and requires nearly a full week in the sun in order to reach full capacity. —Christopher Null
WIRED Nice form factor, not too heavy, and easy to tote around. Built-in emergency lighting. Solar panel is removable and easy to position. Reasonably inexpensive. Should be plenty of sunlight in the mega-hot apocalypse of tomorrow. Can power AC and DC/USB devices simultaneously.
TIRED 75 watt-hours of charge is awfully slim. Recharges slowly under AC power (about 7 hours) and even slower via sunlight (the company says 45 hours). LED status display is wildly inaccurate to the point of uselessness.
$170, preparedwithpower.com
