Solio sucks
Whether you are living off the grid, or just moving around away from power outlets for your smartphone or laptop, solar chargers can be a life-saver. They also help reduce your carbon footprint by using natural energy rather than electricity. but its vital to carry the right one, or you will find yourself in a remote spot with no phone or wireless.
Two of the leading products are Solio and Power Monkey but they are not in the same league. True they can both recharge an iPhone or HTC in less than a day under a cloudless sky, but there the similarity ends.
Expert tests of the Solio Bolt and Powertraveller Powermonkey Explorer, two solar chargers that can recharge portable electronics such as cellphones, handheld GPS devices and e-book readers found the Solio to come a very distant second.
The $60 Bolt is easy to set up, but doesn’t hold as much power as the Powermonkey, and it has some design flaws. The Powermonkey is more expensive at $89, and has more parts to it, but it’s worth it since it has a larger battery and works even when the sky is slightly cloudy. The Bolt is light and compact, but there’s no easy way to carry it on a backpack or even lay it out on a car’s dashboard. Also, the multifunction button on back isn’t protected enough and can be easily pressed by accident, thus draining any stored energy. This happened several times during testing.
The Bolt might offer the convenience of an all-in-one design, but the Powermonkey Explorer can give devices more charge on the go with little maintenance, making it the better portable solar charger.THere is also a more powerful version of the Powermonkey – though it costs twice as much
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