Small Solar Made Easy

From an email to a friend, earlier this week:

Hey [redacted], yesterday somebody at the trailhead mentioned solar power while camping and you seemed interested.  Here's approximately what I'm using: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015365 with https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015325  I say "approximately" because this is a little newer gear than mine, and is packaged up much more nicely.  Less of a handraucically operated science project, more of plug-and-play.  Anyway, it'll damn sure charge up a cell phone and a laptop, grind your coffee beans, and have plenty left over for camp lights.  And yes, it's from a ham radio retailer, but they're about $20 cheaper than direct from the manufacturer's site.

And of course, it'll run a ham radio just fine too, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.  Three more notes: (1) Sorry about the block text, blame Blogger's quote mechanism.  (2) "at the trailhead yesterday" (with pic)  (3) Approximately what I'm using (with pics).

The great thing is that small solar has gotten affordable, lightweight, and easy to use – or just sum it up with the one word practical.  It's really all come together in about the last four or five years.  If you've looked at solar in the past and moved on (usually with good reason), now might be a good time to take another look.

Anyway, solar power, all the cool kids are doing it.