Goal Zero

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

I bought this recently because I'm out and about and away from any power source for long lengths of time. I spend a lot of time hiking, biking, or even just tooling around the city. I'm planning a bunch of trips in the future, and going on a big bike ride in a few months. I was looking for some way to power my electronics (and I have a bunch!) without having to find an outlet.

I checked out some other options. Some of them just seemed cheesy, or weren't very effective. They only gave off a couple watts and were expensive for what little you got. I figured I'd need about 5 watts or so (the GPS on my phone uses about that much, although I don't use it all the time), and that ought to do it.

The Nomad 7 is perfect for it. It's pretty light (about 12 ounces) and very efficient (18%). In full sun I can get easily 5 watts out of it. I can charge my cell phone from dead in about 2 hours. I'll charge up some extra batteries and then when the sun goes down, I'm good for the next day. It has bungie cords around it, so I strap it onto my backpack and away it charges.

What people don't often realize is that solar power doesn't work necessarily the way they expect it to. It's variable power depending on how much sun you get, so unless it's giving off enough current, some devices won't charge at all. The solution to that is to use a power pack. That way if the solar panel isn't giving off enough power, it'll take what it needs from the battery pack. If the solar panel is giving off more than the device needs, it'll store it in the battery pack. That way I've been able to charge my iPhone, even my iPad, no matter how much sun there is. It's also the most efficient way to use it, since it maximizes the panel since whether in the device or in the battery pack, all of the power the panel generates will be used somewhere. You can connect the solar panel to the battery pack and plug the device into the battery pack all at the same time.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

The Nomad 7 is a fantastic little tool! During the weekday while I'm at work I let the Nomad 7 sit in my dashboard to charge up, then once I get out of work I make my way down to the boat landing and hop in my kayak and I'm gone. It's very useful for when I'm enjoying my time too much to notice my phone has run low or if my tablet needs recharging while I'm out camping with friends. It's absolutely the neatest little tool I've ever used. I work in a computer technologies manufacturing factory and even the lads and lassies in 'carpet land' as we like to call it are impressed. I'm absolutely going to be purchasing more devices from GoalZero in the near future! Thankyou so much for this wonderful device and I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

Great for charging my Galaxy SIII. In actuality I need the Guide 10 to maintain a steady charge here in my overcast climate.

I purchased the Nomad 7 at the Dayton Hamvention and was quite pleased with it's performance. I went back for the battery pack and free gift (charge cable for many phones/devices) and was sadly pleased to find them sold out.

I have seen and used similar brand name products from outfitters and equiptment co-op's, and hands down the Nomad is awesome. Please be sure to get the Guide 10 accessory for power hungry devices such as tablets and smart phones.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

Whether my opinion is relevant to you depends on whether your needs are similar to mine...What I do:

* backpack into a hiking "base camp" where I tend to sleep for a few nights while doing day hikes (I don't pack up and move every day).

I carry a phone for evac calls, to reference trail photos and to take my own photos. When I'm scrambling through a boulder field or doing some light rock-climbing, I don't want a solar panel strapped to my back -- I would leave it on top of my tent back at camp.

Solar panel charges battery during day when I'm gone, when I return, I use a day's worth of sun stored in the battery to recharge phone (and possibly a go-pro camera if I'm out of backup batteries for the go-pro).

Since I'm gone ALL DAY, I don't need a super-fast charge, so I don't need to bring acres of solar panel. I also tend to do high-altitude hiking in blue-sky Colorado, so I run into close-to-ideal charging conditions. What I DO need is a full phone-battery worth of juice by the end of the day.

The Switch 8, when full, will recharge my iphone 4 one full (100%) load. But to fully charge the Switch 8, my tests (near sea level, not in Colorado conditions) indicate I really do need a full day of sun with the Nomad 3.5 (the smallest panel). This means that a partly cloudy day or a half-and half day may leave me with less than a full charge.

I'm considering using the Nomad 7 panel (2x the area of the Nomad 3.5) to provide some assurance I can get a full load during those days which change from sunny to rainy -- as it SHOULD charge the same Switch 8 battery roughly twice as fast.

My other idea is to split the USB connection and charge TWO Switch 8s simultaneously off of the Nomad 7, but that would be at the same speed as the Nomad 3.5 can charge one battery. If this idea works, I'll have two batteries full of juice on a sunny day after 8-9 hours or have two batteries each 1/2 full on a partly cloudy day.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

I purchased this product for my iPhone 5 and I also purchased the speakers . The solar panel was not compatible with iPhone 5 n would not charge my phone. I purchased both items because I was going in a camping trip. Unfortunately I didn't find out in enough time that it didn't work so I could return the items n purchase something else.
Do not buy this item. Later I read it might not be compatible and you could purchase an adapter. What a joke. The speakers stopped working the second day out.
Don't waste your money!!

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

i've got this as a gift with the speaker as a package and the speaker quit working after a few months and wont turn on nor charge. the solar panal does such a trickle charge with any device i've plugged into it even in direct sunlight. It'll take all day to just get a mostly charged device(cell phones, mp3 players, etc). With being up in alaska we get very long days, that wont be enough for a full charge. LoL anyways kinda disappointed with products with high hopes but oh well. i gave it two starts for effort of a neat design.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

Have used the Nomad 7 with Goal Zero Guide 10+ on a ten day camping trip and worked to charge or GPS and cell phones.

Have carried the Nomad 7 on multiple day Moto camping and used it to keep the bike batteries topped up. This is a very useful product and I will be adding another Nomad 7 for individual and linked use.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

Charged my backup battery charger for my verizon galaxy nexus perfectly. Only drawback was I had to constantly reinsert the USB charging cable if I walked in and out of the sunlight since it didn't like the drop in voltage. On second day at Disneyland, switched to Guide 10 pack which manages change in charging voltage better.

I got complements, like "Cool Backpack". I had to tell them that it was a normal backpack with a Goal Zero clipped to it. Folded up easily when I went on rides with the kids.

SUGGESTION: Cut hole in pocket that holds charger or Goal Zero should make a clear window so you can see the status LED of whatever you are charging.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

My Nomad 7 was delievered with a small scratch on the panel surface that marred the appearence. GoalZero sent me another one that day with a return goods tag to insure my satisfaction with the product. I am sure the panel's performance would not have been effected just my overall satisfaction. GoalZero made sure I would be pleased with my Nomad 7.

Comments about Nomad 7 Solar Panel:

Well, so far not very happy. It won't charge my galaxy note cell phone.