Goal Zero NOMAD 7 Solar Panel USB Black

Since receiving my Nomad 7 Dolar Panel with the optional battery pack, I never have to power my phone any other way! Ah, freedom!

I bought the Goal Zero kit with solar panel and recharger for the trip to the jungle in Guyana. The plan was to leave the solar panel and recharger in camp then be able to charge up cameras, etc at night. I tested it out in Tucson, AZ, in direct sunlight and in more than 8 hrs it would not charge the Switch 8 Recharger more than 50%. I tried numerous times, changed angles, no improvement. The Switch 8 Recharger would take a full charge from my laptop. In the end, I left the solar panel at home, wasn't worth the weight.

This seems to be a good solar panel. I purchased it mainly with the idea of being able to recharge mine and my wife's iPhone 5's when out camping. Initially, I couldn't get it to work, so I called Goal Zero customer service. First person I got on the phone told me it should work fine and gave me little other instruction. Tried it and it still didn't work. Called back and got a different customer service person. This lady walked me through different things that need to be done, then it worked. If you have an iPhone 5 understand that you need to put the panel out in the direct sun, let it warm up a bit first. Then put the phone into airplane mode and/or shut it down completely. Doing all that, it will recognize the power source and recharge. Or you can just use the Guide 10 Plus and recharge that.

It didn't work so I took it back to Wal-Mart. I went online and bought the Bear Grylls solar charger that rolls out and it works great. Should have bought the Bear Grylls solar charger first.

Nomad 7 was used with an external battery pack to keep 3 cell phones charged over a 45 day period while hiking - camping off grid in Kenya and Tanzania. No electricity yet no cell phone failure because of lost charge. This type of usage does require you to use your head and plan how you are going to manage / sequence multiple phones while maintaining each in a functional state.