Hiluckey Solar Charger Power Bank Review


Product: Solar Charger
Stockist: Amazon
Price: £20.99



The Hiluckey power bank is a compact solar charger sold by Amazon. This charger comes with a 10000 mA battery, which is the one I bought but can buy the same charger with a 25,000mA capacity. 

The Charger Unfolded


The power bank itself weighs in at 338g and is small enough to put in a rucksack compartment or even your pocket. There is a fabric strap and a stud that keeps the solar panel folded in on the main unit, and at first glance this looks fine. The power bank can also be attached to the outside of a rucksack to charge on the move, it secures to the bag using the same fabric strap.

Strap Which Can Attach to Your bag

 I wasn't convinced that the fabric strap would stay attached to my bag during my summer hikes. I tended to thread another strap around the unit between the solar panels to make sure it was secure. The instructions state that the charger will work best in direct sunlight and the tests I have done with the charger on the bag show that it didn't charge significantly. There are a series of blue lights on the side of the charge to indicate the level of charge. Again in testing conditions, even left in direct sunlight the charger didn't show an increase in charge. I think the main issue is that it can take many hours for the battery to show an increase in charge from the solar panels. As I was hiking in Scotland, even in our great summer I only had a few hours of direct sunlight to charge the battery. 

Power Lights


The battery itself is good for at least 3 days worth of charging. This depends on how much you use your phone and whether you are using a battery saving mode. The charger comes with a micro USB to USB lead allowing you to charge it up from a laptop or socket with USB connection.

Can Charge 2 Gadgets at Once


On the back of the charger is a torch which I did find useful and a feature that I could use in my tent in the dark. It also meant that I didn't need to take a head torch, saving myself 200g, well done me!

Light


Verdict

A compact solar charger that doesn't charge when the sun is shining on it. It may be best to buy a lighter power bank and use campsites and hostels to charge it up. The light and strobe light were useful additions as was the fact you could charge multiple items off the one power bank. 

Pros
  • Lightweight
  • Nice design
  • Added torch
  • Can charge 2 gadgets at once.


Cons
  • Doesn't charge up with direct sunlight.
  • Fabric strap might not last attached to the back of a backpack 
  • Heavier than a power bank stick. 
3/5


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dechmont Hill

Image
Walking With Kids At last, after a weekend where it barely stopped raining there was a break in the weather, and a chance to get out. Dechmont hill is our closest climb and measures just under 200m, which gives the kids a chance to get to the top. We parked on the road that runs parallel behind Gilbertfield road. The walk started on the track that leads to Dechmont farm and the shooting range. They are now turning this area into housing, so be careful of builders lorries etc. We took a left turn at the road which leads to the farm, and then a right at the Dechmont Range House, now abandoned. The track ends at a small compound, but takes you past the ruins of Gilbertfield Castle. Gilbertfield Castle The compound contains a couple of old houses which acts as a control station for the shooting range. There is no access through it, instead take a left turn before the end of the track and make your way through the grass. There is a path through here but can be obscured by the tall grass sur
Read more

Bike and Hike

Image
"It was a shame that for all the beauty of the scenery that the top of the mountain was covered in mist." Ben Alder and Ben Bheoil  These two Munros stand south of Dalwhinnie in a remote part of Scotland. The best way of getting to them is to cycle out to Culra bothy, some 17km, which, I suppose is one way of warming up before a lengthy hike. These hills were not even on my radar for possible hills to visit but something happened that changed all that. I have had a mountain bike for over 20 years now, for over 15 years it has been covered up, sitting, rusting out the back. A few years ago I did replace the main gear cassette and chain however frustrated at not getting the gears working properly I gave up and left it. That was until the start of the summer. I had decided on not worrying about gears, all I wanted to do is to cycle and to have a bike that would be a low maintenance as possible. With that in mind I took the gear shifters off, pushed the rear mech back and fixed t
Read more

Cort-ma Law

Image
  Cort-ma Law Less than an hours drive from Glasgow, just north of Lennoxtown are the Campsie hills, which allows for a quick days hike.  Starting Point The best place to start is at the Campsie Glen waterfall car park. This can get busy, so it is best to try and get a parking space early. The walk itself starts directly opposite the car park.  Car park location Location of hill Route The track ascends immediately from the carpark travelling east, go past the old shelter covered in graffiti. Shelter Hike up from the car park The track continues upward and the track could be tricky at this point for younger walkers. The first part of the walk ends at a small cairn marker.  First marker cairn From there the hike undulates for 2km as it snakes it's way slightly south of the actual top. Here you will reach a bigger cairn marker.  Second marker cairn From this marker turn north east to the trig point 4.5 km distance. The height of the summit is 526m. We reached the top with 4 kids in 1
Read more