Customer Reviews

Powermonkey eXplorer - Portable Charger with Solar Slave (Grey)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have two of these (unlike the previous reviewer, I know how to checkout and bought two intentionally) They are fantastic, they can be charged by plugging into the wall, USB, or sunlight and surprising to me they also charge by the light of my dinning room chandelier!

Although I rated the item as a five I do have one complaint: finding additional tips for other things has been difficult. The kids want one for their Gameboy and I'd like a few for misc digital cameras that I carry that need a specialized tip. But until then, I can still charge those things if I use their USB charging cable and connect it to the female USB tip on the PowerMonkey.

Very versatile, well worth the money, highly recommended.

I have the PowerMonkey eXplorer and it is a great product. My iPod tip was a bit loose - but a long way from junk... I just glued it and it's good as new. NO problem with the charger or the solar slave.

I DID spend a lot of time online looking for tip options. They are available from 1-877-886-2646 and they have about 50 additional tips. Very nice to do business with.

The powermonkey works better than expected!!! It does not need direct sunlight. I placed it about 2-3 feet from a window and it works perfectly. This is an excellent product! Feels good being able to charge virtually any electronic device "off the grid". [...]...Just look around.

I originally purchased the classic Powermoney Powermonkey PowerTraveller Portable Charger (Grey) and found it to be a great item. The main difference between the old and the new version is that you can charge the older one as well as charge your iPod at the same time (I personally like this feature). When I saw the updated version, I picked that up as well.

The PROS:
uses 110V or 220V
has all the necessary adapters for power
includes many tips for electronic devices including the iPod and iPhone as well as others like the Razor phone
compact
can charge via solar
automatic shut off (not found on older model)

the CONS:
the cord is a little short (minor complaint)
extra tips are a tad expensive
cannot charge device and powermonkey at same time unlike original model as mentioned above

All things considered, it is a great setup. Every person I have shown this to, loves it!

If you have an older tip like I do, the tip will not work thanks to Apple's decision to remove the firewire support for their new syncing cables thus the old tip will not charge newer iPods and iPhones. One solution I found was the Scosche Scosche passPORT Charging Adapter for iPod touch 2G, 3G; iPod nano 4G; iPhone 3G (Black) which is a tad bulky but does the trick very nicely.

You can order directly from Powertraveller to get the other tips. The pricing is a little steep but using paypal you can get it sent to your home. The new tips (called MonkeyNuts) worked with my iTouch and iPhone (new 3GS). Be certain to securely insert the adapter into the device. Enjoy and thank for reading!

I had the original power monkey used for a month traveling Africa with the family, worked great in 4 different countries, stayed powered up on a 24hr airline flight back to the USA from Africa. I'm getting the solar power monkey explorer to replace the power monkey(gave it to my son). It does have delicate connectors(knew this from reviews) just take care inserting them & you'll be fine. Highly recommend this great power saver.

I picked up one of these some time ago and have been very happy with it. On a recent week-long bicycle tour I strapped it to the top of a bike trailer and charged up the battery for our cell phones. It takes a long time to charge, a limitation of the size of the panel, so don't expect to charge a pile of phones every day. If your requirements are for more power, including for laptops, consider the much larger SolarGorilla. But for small size and portability you can't beat the Powermonkey eXplorer bundle. (I am not affiliated with Powertraveller, I'm just a very satisfied customer.

I'm very happy with this product. I bought this a few weeks ago and have used it constantly. As I enjoy off-the-grid power, I was excited that included is a solar-panel to attach directly to the powermonkey battery, to connect directly to your phone or gaming device (though it is not generally recommended that you do so). This battery and solar charger have kept my power-hungry droid charged at all times, especially when I'm on the go.

Coupled with the Clipray (Etón American Red Cross CLIPRAY ARCCR100R_SNG USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank LED Flashlight (Red)), this product becomes even more versatile for when a USB slot, power socket, or sunlight are not available to you, and included adapter set increases the number of products that the clipray can provide power to. The power crank is also able to charge your powermonkey faster than the solar panel, granted with constant physical effort. This product has made my powermonkey even more useful, and it was rather cheap.

Pros: - Plentiful adapter set gives you access to the majority of phones, as well as tips for your PSP or ipod.
- Access to multiple power socket models across the world, a USB charge cord, and the solar panel give you access to multiple sources of power, when indoors or traveling in the sun.
- Although the adapter kit can't anticipate your every need, there are also many more adapters available for specific cameras and phones, and DS adapters as well on the company website [...]. Some of these adapters may also be available on amazon as well.

Cons: - Solar panel doesn't charge the powermonkey nearly as fast as you would like, though this problem persists with solar-panels in general.
- Some tips seemed a little flimsy and fell easily out of my phone, or didn't provide a solid connection at certain angles. I remedied this using my own usb cord with its own adapter set. Adapters also seem to slip out of the power cord coming out of the solar panel and powermonkey a bit too easily.
- Unfortunately, you cannot charge your device and charge the powermonkey simultaneously (probably for good reason, but you would think it would be able to do this easily).

I was skeptical of this product but needed something to be able to travel with and took the risk. It has actually worked mcuh better than I anticipated and saved me on several long trips that I wasn't able to charge some of my devices. The solar charger does not produce enough to charge my Blackberry while turned on but with the "power slave" I can get enough charge to keep me going.

Low-quality construction, broke after a few uses. Unreliable device and a complete waste of money. I could not get in contact with customer service.

We ordered this product to use on a safari in Africa. It died after one use. E-mails to the company have gone unanswered. We are in the process of returning it.