| 782 | Goal Zero - Guide 10 | 2013-03-13 |
In January, when my friends Jon and David asked if I wanted to go on a backpacking trip to the Smokies, I immediately said yes. Then as the weekend approached, though excited about the trip, I was disappointed that I was going to miss Peyton and the Broncos in the NFL Playoffs. Yes, we like to watch football and like many Tennesseans we have always rooted for Peyton.
The game was Saturday afternoon. We had spent the first night of our trip on Mount LeConte. Rising early on Saturday, we crossed the Boulevard Trail and arrived early at Icewater Shelter on the Appalachian Trail. As game time neared one of the hikers brought out his iPhone and started watching the game. He was connecting through his home cable with the Slingbox app. Wow, watching football on the AT. Normally, I can easily pass on watching games, but this was the playoffs! Oh, well, I too transgressed against some wilderness code of ethics and peered over the shoulder of a crouched friend to catch the action. The reception was great, but the iPhone was using power fast.
I had brought a new iPhone on the trip. I did not bring a book, but instead was planning to read off the gadget. To back up the phone's charge, I brought a Goal Zero Guide 10 charger. Soon the charger was connected to my friend's iPhone and we were enjoying the action. The game was long and even went into overtime. With all our rooting from high on the AT, I thought for sure the Broncos would win, but ... oh well. The charger and phone were definitely winners.
We have been using Goal Zero products for two years. They have been our source of power during our summer trips. The Guide 10 (now replaced by the Guide 10 plus) is a small charger. It uses 4 AA batteries to store energy collected from a usb plug or solar. Use the charger to charge AA's or AAA's or to power other devices such as smart phones. It's small size and flexibility make it a valuable tool for backcountry electronics.
A few Guide 10 notes ...
The Guide 10 with four AA batteries weigh 5.8 ounces.
Four AA batteries weigh 3.7 ounces.
An insert allows AAA batteries to be charged.
Charging from about 30 percent, the batteries charged and iPhone twice. If the phone was down to 0, it would probably only charge one time with a short burst to spare.
Charging the batteries seemed to take about as long as a normal trickle charger.
You can charge your batteries with another charger and then put them in the Guide 10.
We replaced the Goal Zero batteries with eneloops. eneloop (Sanyo) could possibly make the Goal Zero batteries, but we believe the eneloops are the best, so why take a chance on using an inferior battery?
You can also use non-rechargeable batteries, but we probably already have enough of them in the landfills.
We have used the Goal Zero Solar Panels to charge the Guide 10. The 27 watt panel took about 4 hours to charge the batteries. However, Goal Zero advertises that the Nomad 7 will charge the Guide 10 in 2 hours. The Nomad 7 has a special connector for a faster charging time. I don't know why the larger solar panels do not have the same connector.
We like the Goal Zero company and their products. The flexibility of the Guide 10 makes it an important device for any gadgeteers.
Happy Guide 10 trails