Review of Fuse Solar Charger

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $149.00
Sale Price: $129.00
Today's Bonus: 13% Off

I purchased the Fuse Solar Charger just under a month ago, and so far I'm impressed with the quality and thoughtfulness of this product. It is ruggedly constructed and comes well stocked with a good capacity battery and with several of the most popular power adapters. At the time of my initial review I've only tested this by charging the battery and by directly charging my cell phone in controlled settings, I have not taken this hiking yet.

That being said here is what I can tell you about the battery and about hooking directly to the solar panel. My test device to charge was my Palm Pre, which has the "Govnah" application installed. This application monitors temperature, processor, memory, battery, load, etc. The most important feature for these tests being the ability to monitor battery input and output. Based on some simple tests I've done it appears that the Battery does not charge my phone quite as quickly as the Solar Panel directly. I noticed the battery was only sending out about 300mA 500mA to my phone whereas the Solar Panel (in direct sunlight) was sending about 600mA. I suspect this has something to do with the battery on my phone being higher capacity, and I noticed the more charge left in the battery the more the power from the battery charger dropped (50% battery 400mA, 70% battery 300mA). Ultimately each method has a downside. When using the battery it is consistent, but slowly charges with less power as your device is charged, and secondly when charging with the Solar Panel it only reaches its full potential in direct sunlight. The less direct the light, the less charge you get, or none at all.

Overall this is great gear, and in my opinion the stats that the manufacturer has listed do not over or understate the product. The charge times for the battery seem to be pretty accurate (in direct sunlight!), and as stated using the panel directly in optimal conditions can give you quick charging results as well. A couple of final notes I want to mention. One, I suggest purchasing a good USB battery charging kit (See Sanyo Eneloop 2-AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries with USB Charger). They work mostly the same as if you have them hooked up to your computer, and it makes for a great portable charger for your camera batteries. Lastly, you can easily remove the battery from its sleeve in the Solar Panel bag. It is very slim and lightweight, which is great in particular for women with a purse, but just a tad too bulky for a pocket. It has the ability to charge most phones fully 1 to 2 times before needing recharged, and can save you in a pinch.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I just got three of these which I plan to use in Peace Corps service in Kenya. I haven't yet used the solar panels to charge with because I have been testing the batteries using USB and AC power. I will update my review once I've used the panels, too. I just wanted to at least give some information on this product for anyone who is curious.

Initial impressions:

* very well made/designed

* solar panels are very sensitive (if the red indicator light is anything to go by)

* lightweight

* the product images and description lists these as coming with nine connectors, but all three of mine only included four.

* the batteries themselves are very light

I looked at the Solio chargers, too, but opted for this system because:

* It's more versatile:

Voltaic batteries can be charged using the solar panels OR using a USB connection on a computer OR USB connection directly into a wall socket

can strap to a bag, a bike, a roof, anywhere you can clip the straps

* It's more outdoorsy:

waterproof solar panels (Solio's panels aren't...)

* Easy to use:

USB connection right on the battery (Solio requires an adapter for this even though most devices now can use USB)

I've used full-charged batteries to power:

* BlackBerry (takes half a battery to fully power)

* iPod touch (most recent generation; takes half a battery to fully power)

* Kindle 3 6" (haven't yet tested how long it takes to charge...)

The negatives:

* the panels are waterproof, but can be scratched...take care

* the batteries have a power on switch that gets clicked constantly if you have them floating about loose in a backpack

UPDATE (January 2012):

So...I'm back from Kenya and, as it turned out, I almost never needed to resort to charging the battery packs using solar energy alone. So, I don't having any news there.

I can say that while traveling, the little battery packs were *marvelous* to have. I took at least one with me everywhere I went so that I could recharge my phone, my iPod, and my Kindle if I couldn't find an outlet to plug into. Even when I could find an outlet, I still mostly charged everything using the batteries so that I could prevent exposing my electronics to power surges.

In the future, I'll just bring all three of my battery packs for travel. I'll only bring one of the pairs of solar panels, leaving the other two at home.

Best Deals for Fuse Solar Charger

It worked fine until last summer. I live in the south so yes, it can get pretty hot, but you would think that a solar charger would hold up better. The battery pack apparently melted and became so warped that it no longer fits together. It is now useless unless I want to buy another battery pack.

I also agree that more detailed instructions should have been provided.

Honest reviews on Fuse Solar Charger

Charged once in the States before heading on a cycle tour. Took a long time to charge in direct sunlight and more time to charge the iPod and the bike lights. However, once actually on the bike tour it stopped charging unless fully unzipped open and slightly folded back and even then only in direct sunlight

But if jostled a bit it would stop charging. Bad connection sounded like but when unscrewed as per the vid all the connects looked solid.

Contacted Voltaic and they responded the same day with helpful link and trouble shooting advice. Even offered to shop replacement parts. So I give them credit for that and also the 2 year warranty. We'll see.

I found that a cheap USB to wall plug is great for Europe rides to charge iPod and bike lights since outlets are everywhere

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Fuse Solar Charger

I got this solar charger because it was the only one I could find that had an option to generate 12v, which is what is often required to charge camera batteries. I have a Panasonic DMC LX-5 and got a third party charger with a 12v (car charger) option. Once I got this solar charger it was missing an adapter that was needed to allow me to use the camera batter charger. I contacted Voltaic customer support and they told me which adapter I needed. Also, since my version had an old tag that showed 5 adapters rather than the 3 that came with it they sent me the adapters I needed, including a spare plus one for my GoPro. They could rightfully have charged me (the missing adapters show weren't what I needed anyway), but sent it out free of charge...didn't even charge me for shipping!

As for the unit itself, I am very pleased. It is of good build quality and worked great on a two day hike that I made through a heavily wooded area. It was able to provide enough of a charge for me to use by iPhone 5 as a GPS tracking device for the whole trip (about 12 hours of GPS usage) and still have over half a charge left (normally, my iPhone would only last 2 hours with a GPS tracking app active).

One big hint about this (and all) solar chargers is to get the angle right. So long as the face points basically towards the sun it charges well even with shade. However, once the face turns more than 45 degrees away from the sun you loose most of the power generating ability. If you are attaching it to a backpack (as I did) try to strap it to the top during the middle of the day. Also, when you stop to rest, lay your backpack such that it points towards the sun.

I highly recommend this product.