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This story originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of our print edition.
“Not many people can say this, but I literally put my life in the hands of this solar setup,” Jeremy Thomley said, after using the Sherpa 50 to power his nebulizer for daily breathing treatments in the backcountry. (See Tepui-Top Bouldering in Venezuela for the rest of Jeremy’s story.) From country-hopping in South America to charging camera batteries and iPhones in the Venezuelan jungle every day for three weeks, the Sherpa 50 was an excellent solution for portable power in a lightweight and compact package. “The one thing every country has in common is the sun,” another tester said, “to know you can have power anywhere you visit is reassuring, whether you’re headed to the backcountry or not.” The kit, which includes the Sherpa 50 battery pack and the midsize Nomad 13 solar panels, weighs in at just under three pounds, charges in full sun in about eight hours (or from the wall in three), and houses enough power to charge a full-size laptop once and a smartphone seven times.
$450; goalzero.com
Further Reading
Review: Adventure Travel Gear