Has anyone bought a solar charger for there phone.

[mieshie75]

I was just thinking with the possible roll out of FP+ having a charged phone is almost essential now in the park. If I use my phone for pics and checking ride times etc... my battery will not make it 12+ hours. I was thinking of getting a solar charger for my phone, the ones you wear on your wrist. Has anybody else done this, does it work well? I just don't want to have to stop and plug in to something.

 

[CarrieR]

I didn't get a solar charger, but I did get a backup battery. Mine is a newTrent 4100 mAh, charges smartphones (iPhone/ HTC) about 3.5 times. I LOVE it. Cost about $40 and I consider it money well spent ( and I am quite frugal!)

 

[ChloesDaddy]

I second getting an external battery/charger. New Trent is good. I bought an Anker Astro 3e. It will charge an iPhone 4 four times and then some. Any truly portable solar charger is probably going to be too slow to keep up.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We have a backup charger for my husband's phone and it works great. I need something like that for my LG phone.

 

[wfjny]

I didn't get a solar charger, but I did get a backup battery. Mine is a newTrent 4100 mAh, charges smartphones (iPhone/ HTC) about 3.5 times. I LOVE it. Cost about $40 and I consider it money well spent ( and I am quite frugal!)

I can second that, although I was very lucky, and won my charger from a vendor...

 

[denise5374]

I just bought a Jackery Bar 5600mAh for our upcoming trip. Got it for $34.95 on Amazon. I think I read about it on here.

 

[chartle]

I second getting an external battery/charger. New Trent is good. I bought an Anker Astro 3e. It will charge an iPhone 4 four times and then some. Any truly portable solar charger is probably going to be too slow to keep up.

This

No way a solar charger would give you any kind of a real charge. The solar cell is just not big enough even under ideal conditions of always pointed at full sun all the time.

 

[wiigirl]

I have an Opteka I got off Amazon for around $40. It is a battery backup and solar charger in one.

Works great!

 

[DisneyFive]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005X1Y7I2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this little 3000 mAh backup battery for my wife's iPhone5. Only $20 and should charge the phone just fine.

I looked at larger ones, but 1) They are too big to lug around all day 2) They are heavier. This one will fit in her purse, no problem. (I already carry a small HD camcorder in one pocket and a small ELPH camera in the other of my cargo shorts so I'm maxed out)

Like the rest of you, I wanted to make sure her phone didn't die while in the parks, especially with the apps being more and more important. (FP windows and wait times, show times, FP+ if offered when we're there, dining reservations, etc...)

Dan

 

[chartle]

I have an Opteka I got off Amazon for around $40. It is a battery backup and solar charger in one.

Works great!

Have you ever just used the solar charger? Or had the internal battery be completely dead and tried to use just the solar charger to charge the internal battery.

Some people post that have a solar charger and works great but probably only use the internal battery and plug it in and charge it every night.

I have tried to find a honest review of these chargers. I have inquired at some electronics sites and under totally unreachable 100% efficiency some say it would take a day or more to charge a phone with just the sun.

 

[shyjade]

I bought the Anker Astro 3E 10,000 mAh (Amazon, $36.99 free shipping) after reading rave reviews here on the Dis.

Yes, it weighs a bit more than the charger I previously used, but it also charges MUCH better! I can charge 2 phones at once, and it's not much bigger than my Motorola phone. I can get at least 4 full charges out of it, which means both cell phones will not lose battery life in the parks. We tried it out on a trip to Chicago and loved it...the weight wasn't in issue at all. I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase!

 

[kaybird]

We have a solar charger that we have used the last 2 years. Bought it for my Marine son, and he loved it so much he bought one for me and another for his brother. It fits on the backpack, and worked beautifully through not only the Marines, but 2 trips to Disneyland, and 3 trips to WDW. And yes, of course we also charge the phones at night.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I didn't see what kind of phone you have noted.... if you have an iPhone, I would pick a Mophie Juice Pack instead. You wont have anything else to carry around and your battery will last all day.

 

[DisneyFive]

I bought the Anker Astro 3E 10,000 mAh (Amazon, $36.99 free shipping) after reading rave reviews here on the Dis.

Yes, it weighs a bit more than the charger I previously used, but it also charges MUCH better! I can charge 2 phones at once, and it's not much bigger than my Motorola phone. I can get at least 4 full charges out of it, which means both cell phones will not lose battery life in the parks. We tried it out on a trip to Chicago and loved it...the weight wasn't in issue at all. I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase!

The Anker 3e is a great option especially for the latest iPhones and Androids that handle a higher Amp charge. It will charge at max speed.

It is still bigger and heavier than we wanted though. Ours is definately more of a true backup. I don't expect that we'll need it, but wanted to have something just in case we did, so we wanted it as small as possible but still get the job done. My wife's purse is already so full of other stuff that she brings in to the parks that a bigger battery wasn't something she wanted...

Dan

 

[chartle]

We have a solar charger that we have used the last 2 years. Bought it for my Marine son, and he loved it so much he bought one for me and another for his brother. It fits on the backpack, and worked beautifully through not only the Marines, but 2 trips to Disneyland, and 3 trips to WDW. And yes, of course we also charge the phones at night.

I'm also assuming you charge up the charger everynight?

I'm just trying to get a handle on the solar part of these devices and wondering if its more of a gimmick and really can't change a phone.

Like I posted I have read a few reviews from people here and it sounds like that they really only are using the internal battery and just charging it up every night and that may be the solar cell recharges that internal battery a little during the day.

Someone did some quick calculations for a solar charger and that for their area which has a similar number of "Solar Hours" per day as Orlando. It would take over 8 days to charge the internal 3,500 mah battery in the charger.

For comparison I think an iPhone 5 has a 1,144 mAh battery* so from dead maybe 3 days.

* Wow didn't know it was that small, no wonder why you need an external charger.

 

[elgerber]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005X1Y7I2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this little 3000 mAh backup battery for my wife's iPhone5. Only $20 and should charge the phone just fine.

I looked at larger ones, but 1) They are too big to lug around all day 2) They are heavier. This one will fit in her purse, no problem. (I already carry a small HD camcorder in one pocket and a small ELPH camera in the other of my cargo shorts so I'm maxed out)

Like the rest of you, I wanted to make sure her phone didn't die while in the parks, especially with the apps being more and more important. (FP windows and wait times, show times, FP+ if offered when we're there, dining reservations, etc...)

Dam

I bought this one too, and am taking it with me when we fly out today. I tested it and it worked quite well. It's not as heavy duty as some, but I wanted something small to fit in my bag, and it will work for what I need it for.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I bought the Anker Astro 3E 10,000 mAh (Amazon, $36.99 free shipping) after reading rave reviews here on the Dis.

Yes, it weighs a bit more than the charger I previously used, but it also charges MUCH better! I can charge 2 phones at once, and it's not much bigger than my Motorola phone. I can get at least 4 full charges out of it, which means both cell phones will not lose battery life in the parks. We tried it out on a trip to Chicago and loved it...the weight wasn't in issue at all. I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase!

This is the one we bought for our last trip as well. We loved it! I travel a lot for work so it will get used quite a bit even outside of Disney. Allowed us to get through our Ultimate Touring Plan day without having to worry about battery life.

 

[kaybird]

I'm also assuming you charge up the charger everynight?

I'm just trying to get a handle on the solar part of these devices and wondering if its more of a gimmick and really can't change a phone.

Like I posted I have read a few reviews from people here and it sounds like that they really only are using the internal battery and just charging it up every night and that may be the solar cell recharges that internal battery a little during the day.

Someone did some quick calculations for a solar charger and that for their area which has a similar number of "Solar Hours" per day as Orlando. It would take over 8 days to charge the internal 3,500 mah battery in the charger.

For comparison I think an iPhone 5 has a 1,144 mAh battery* so from dead maybe 3 days.

* Wow didn't know it was that small, no wonder why you need an external charger.

Fully charges in about 4 hours. We just keep it plugged in the whole time we are in the parks. The Cell pack has a light that reads if it is charging, we find we are in the sun plenty. Also has several adaptors so will work for ipads, etc. SolarDyne is the name.

 

[chartle]

1. Fully charges in about 4 hours.

2. We just keep it plugged in the whole time we are in the parks. The Cell pack has a light that reads if it is charging, we find we are in the sun plenty. Also has several adaptors so will work for ipads, etc. SolarDyne is the name.

1. I'm assuming thats charging your phone from the internal battery of the device.

2. Have you ever tested how long it takes the solar cell to charge the internal battery from dead?

 

[kaybird]

1. I'm assuming thats charging your phone from the internal battery of the device.

2. Have you ever tested how long it takes the solar cell to charge the internal battery from dead?

It charges from dead in about 4 hours. It never goes dead if we keep it plugged into the solar panel, as the panel continues to charge. This is what my son's company uses when in the field. Sent one to my nephew in Iraq, where they admittedly have more sun. It does however, managed our group's 3 phones nicely during a 14-16 hour day in the park.