Customer Reviews

Brunton Solarport 4.4 Watt Foldable Solar Charger with Battery Charger

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I would have given this item 5 stars if it had included a selection of connectors for charging different types of electronics. Unless your cellphone/camera etc comes with a usb charging cable you will probably have to purchase extra cables. It only comes with a single type of connector (I think for Nokia phones) for charging. If you need usb charger cables look at the ziplinq (or zip-linq) usb accessories here on Amazon.

05/01 Review Update - Rating reduced * (1 star)

I cannot get this solar charger to charge batteries. I have attempted to contact Brunton customer support but they have been unresponsive. I can no longer recommend this product. Sorry.

The first time I tried to charge batteries with the Solarport, I got no results. Then I read the directions: the interchangeable tip has to be turned so that the plus sign is on the same side as the word "Tip" (in the U.S., that is; it's the opposite in Europe). If the polarity is wrong, the unit can't charge your stuff. I suspect those who could not get the unit to work might have had the tip oriented the wrong way. I'm just getting started with my Solarport, but the person who recommended it to me swears by his, has been using it for some time, and bought a second to daisy chain with the first.

We bought this to be part of our home emergency kit and it worked like a charm. We had a major December storm that knocked out our power for 4 days and we lost our land phone line service too. The Solarport worked in cloudy, overcast conditions and kept both our standard cell phone and our Palm Treo charged so we were able to stay in touch with the world via cell phone & email.

I used this on a backpacking trip in the Rocky Mountains. It performed very well. The BattJack (AA/AAA) charger is really handy and works well too. One item of note is to make sure you try charging using 6V first as this mode works best for most devices. Also, be careful of the polarity on the adapters. Read the instructions BEFORE using the unit. The only things I might recommend to Brunton is to add a cover for the side connector panel to help keep dirt and moisture out when using outdoors and to include a couple other adapters because most of my electronics DO NOT use the 3.5mm or 5.5 mm adapters that come with the unit. I understand from another review that you can purchase more adapters at Radio Shack, but have not confirmed this as yet. [...] The adapter shortage is the only reason I gave this unit 4 stars....

This device produces enough power to run my Sony Shortwave radio. I already had the necessary plug adapter for it, so no big deal. These plugs can be bought at any Radio Shack.

I also like the built in car lighter port that will accomodate my cell phone and PDA charger.

If you had this sitting on the back dash of a car for a long trip , the kids could use it to power their portable video games or CD/MP3 players. (As long as there is sunlight)

Great device for emergencies or on the go. Free power!
Well worth the money.

It's a great concept. Unfortunately, it didn't work that well for me. Even in the bright sunlight here in Colorado, I could only charge 2 NMH batteries at the same time. And it won't work through a window. Not very good for $110.

Tech support? They have one guy, and you have to call the main switchboard - they don't have a tech support number. Good luck reaching him. I left him a message 3 days ago and never heard back. As far as I'm concerned, their tech support is non-existent.

I returned mine.

I, like many others had a hard time figuring out how to get this thing to work. It has one major design flaw. When it is not in DIRECT sunlight, the battery charger indicator lights will show that the batteries are fully charged. For a long time I thought that it wasn't working.
It needs full on, undiffused sunlight or it just won't work. When you find a patch of sunlight it works great. Due to this I would recommend keeping a good supply of charged batteries on hand if on a long trip out in the field in case of extended times of cloudiness.
For the money it works well, just make sure you keep it in DIRECT sunlight.

Generally, I find the Brunton Solarport works as advertised, but there are a couple things people should know before getting one. First, it has trouble charging hi-capacity NiMH batteries (1800mAh +). It might charge 2 in very bright light, but not 4. Second, don't expect it to charge well using light that has passed through a window. Window glass often filters and/or reflects light, so the unit receives less light and is therefore less effective. (Of course, you can solve these problems by spending another $100 for another Solarport and linking the 2 together, but for $200 you might consider another solar option.)

I am very disappointed in the Brunton Solarport 4.4. I wanted to charge my iPhone but was unable to charge it; even in full sunlight with the phone turned off. It did charge my Garmin Forerunner (a smaller device.) Not much bang for the buck; I wouldn't recommend it. No response from product support guy; won't return calls.

The solarport has some really neat features. It includes a cigarette lighter plug-in port and it also comes with a battery recharger for AA and AAA batteries. One down side is to charge your cell phone you have to turn it off, which can be frustrating to turn off your phone in the middle of the day. However, it charges really quick in bout 3 minutes i can charge my cell phone 5%. This is a really good product for camping and hiking also. I'm still figuring out new ways to use it every day. It is one of my favorite gadgets and I reccomend it.