Goal Zero Products

[Yak Fish]

I was costco today in White Marsh and a product caught my eye. They had a rep there from a company called Goal Zero. They sell portable ruggedized solar power. The panels are water proof and can apparently take some abuse. They seem to be marketed towards camping and seem to be able to charge anything with a USB interface...as well as phones, cameras, etc.

It seems like such a cool item for a kayak, but I'm not sure what I would power with it other than my fish finder, camera or phone which go out fully charged with me anyway.

A radio may be cool....Does anyone have any ideas how they'd use one of these? I could justify a purchase if I had a reason

[jsquare]

They do look pretty interesting.

I think they really are marketed towards the basecamp style camping and outdoor activities. Looks like you just leave them in the direct sunlight while you go about your day time activities. Not sure about a kayaking application, other then if you were spending multiple days out with a basecamp on land, or if you were doing a Kayak Kevin style tour.

They have some videos here:

http://vimeo.com/17410078

[medicyaker]

I have to have one of these. As often as I lose power at my house, This would be ideal for the neccesities. I know I'm not gonna run the fridge or the Air conditioner with it, But it could do a lot.

[chex]

I'd use it for recharging a cell phone or gps device on any trip lasting longer than a day. You can charge an iPhone in 2-4 hours. The fish finder may need too much juice for the solar charger to be of any use though.

[ronaultmtd]

I was costco today in White Marsh and a product caught my eye. They had a rep there from a company called Goal Zero. They sell portable ruggedized solar power. The panels are water proof and can apparently take some abuse. They seem to be marketed towards camping and seem to be able to charge anything with a USB interface...as well as phones, cameras, etc.

It seems like such a cool item for a kayak, but I'm not sure what I would power with it other than my fish finder, camera or phone which go out fully charged with me anyway.

A radio may be cool....Does anyone have any ideas how they'd use one of these? I could justify a purchase if I had a reason

I looked into putting up solar power panels a few years ago- the cost vs, benefits just didn't add up, even with the federal tax incentives- one thing I discovered that isn't being told or explained very well is the solar panel charging capabilities degrade with time and have a fairly short useful service life