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This article was taken from the September 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
How we tested
Jonathan Drori, a trustee at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, took five compact solar chargers with him on a seed-collecting expedition in Madagascar. He left each device out in the midday Madagascan Sun to recharge a fully run-down HTC One X smartphone and logged the time taken for the phone to reach full battery status. "It revealed big differences in their ability to convert light into useful energy," Drori says. He also assessed any included extra utilities, ease of use and portability.
Eton Raptor
Eton hasn't heard that less can be more. Its Raptor has a solar panel on one side; the other has AM/FM radio controls, an altimeter, a thermometer, a barometer, a compass, an LED flashlight and even a bottle-opener -- none of which work very well. It requires a big charge just to run itself, let alone boost another device.
Wired: Feature-packed
Tired: Confusing to use
2/10
£100, firebox.com
PowerMonkey Extreme
The Extreme has the largest solar panel of the group and comes in a sturdy zipped case. The external rechargeable battery is robust, and though a little heavy can easily charge an iPod or other devices with a standard, mini or micro USB port. The rechargeable battery is a separate unit, so devices can be charged from this, or from the fold-out solar panel, which is tough and waterproof to one metre.
Wired: Superbly designed; dedicated high-power output for an iPad
Tired: Power output not compatible with 12v or 19v devices
9/10
£120, thesolarcentre.co.uk
Freeloader Pro
This solar charger quickly boosted our smartphone's battery by 24 per cent in just 30 minutes, and it comes with a useful and versatile adapter suitable for a wide range of batteries. The swivelling design looks good but tends to trap scratchy grit. The black case feels flimsy and gets painfully hot in direct sunlight -- an oversight for a solar device.
Wired: Fast; useful multi-way adapter
Tired: <span class="s4">Unit's battery must be fully charged before your device's
6/10
£70, freeloaderpro.co.uk
PowerMonkey Explorer
The Extreme's little sister has a smaller panel and battery, making it compact enough to fit in a trouser pocket.
However, this means it takes longer to gather solar energy and it can store only a few hours of charge on its 2,200mA-capacity battery. Like the Extreme, the battery is separate, so you can charge directly from the solar cell.
Wired: Small, light, tough and cheap
Tired: <span class="s4">Lacks the power of the Extreme
7/10
£65, thesolarcentre.co.uk
Freeloader Classic
This sleek, compact charger has panels that unclip and plug into either side of its central battery. As with the Freeloader Pro, you first need to charge the battery before use -- which took around six hours -- before transferring that energy to your device.
An LCD display provides information on battery-power level, power input and connectivity.
Wired: Compact; stores lots of energy
Tired: Slow to charge its internal battery
4/10
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
