• Buyers Guide 2005 home
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Outside Athelte
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Outside Expidition
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Outside Travel
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Outside Style
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Gear of the Year
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Gear to Covet
  • Buyers Guide 2005 Killer Values
  • Letter from the editor

Browse Outdoor Gear

Gear Blog Gear Guy

Today's Question
How long should I hang on to my sleeping bag? answer

Which light-weight gear will work best on the Appalachian Trail? answer

Gear Favorites

Buyers Guide 2004

Outside Buyers Guide 2005
Gear to Covet
Solio Portable iPod Charger ($100)
Audio-player accessory
by Anthony Cerretani

Solio Portable iPod Charger
Solio Portable iPod Charger (Photograph by Nigel Cox)

There is no 125-volt, 15-amp receptacle in the Bolivian Andes. But sunshine? Yeah, they've got that. Which is good, because now all you need to keep your iPod Mini marching across the altiplano is the Solio—a backup battery pack that recharges itself via either built-in solar panels or a wall socket. Juice up the Solio before you leave home, then, when your iPod battery starts dying, plug this into your player to buy yourself nine or so hours of music. Once the Solio's lithium-ion cell runs down, unfold the unit's photovoltaic wings and let it bake in the sun. Nearly ten hours later, you'll be back to Usher—or whatever funky groove you'll need to push on through that looming bus ride from hell.










Partner Sites:


©1994-2008 Mariah Media Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of material from any pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.