How can I keep my batteries charged on the move?
AThe electrical desert is not a pleasant place to visit, particularly when dragging along as many thirsty devices as Guru has in his pockets. The natural first instinct of the gadgeteer is to pack an external battery or three, and they’ve improved hugely in recent times – massive capacities, enough volts and amps to satisfy the most brutish phones and tablets, that sort of thing. But they do have a flaw: when they’re empty, they’re empty. Whether you’re hiking, running, or squelching round a festival, an empty battery pack – even one as awesome as Anker’s super-capacious PowerCore 20100 (£29) – is just dead weight.
So what to do? Despite the efforts of Guru’s close personal friend Elon Musk, consumer solar tech isn’t really up to scratch yet – marching around with a solar backpack is by no means guaranteed to keep a large device ticking over. If you do want to try it, look for one with at least a 10W panel, like ECEEN’s Solar Power Satchel Bag (£120), which also includes a 10,000mAH battery pack. If you’re going to be returning to a secure base often, you might also wish to consider a more heavyweight panel – RavPower’s 24W SUNPOWER (RRP £139, but you’ll be able to snag it for around £50) offers up three USB ports with up to 4.8A output.
It’ll be cloudy, though. It’s always cloudy. GaGu would love for some brilliant fire-and-forget kinetic solution to be out there, like the strap-on Ampy Move ($75, or around £60), but the general consensus is that this particular unit is almost entirely useless unless you spend your entire day flailing about like a raver in a tornado. An only marginally more sedate option for dire emergencies is a simple dynamo, like the VonHaus 4-in-1 Lantern (£15), which will give you a trickle of USB charge (and a nice 10 LED torch) for as long as you can stand to crank it.