GOAL Zero: Just in the knick of time

Novack's Adventures | Jody | May 13, 2011

Only mere hours prior to departure from London, Barna went out of his way—and I mean waaaaaaay out of his way—to make sure I was going to be powered up for this trip.

The GOAL Zero Nomad 7 solar panel, GOAL Zero Guide 10 battery pack, and for good measure, the GOAL Zero Rock Out portable speakers showed up at my house tonight thanks to the efforts of Barna from GOAL Zero.

I will be tweeting, blogging, and in general—staying connected. That is going to require power. Turning to GOAL Zero was the best option to keep the WIFI, iPod Touch, batteries, and speakers powered over the course of the month long trip. Obviously my camera batteries and laptop are going to require an outlet, but this way I can stay 100% connected without an outlet for days on end powered only by the sun.

GOAL Zero Nomad 7 solar panel is a foldable, weather resistant solar panel that can collect 7 watts of power. It comes with a 12V cigarette lighter atachment, and cable to connect to a battery pack…such as the GOAL Zero Guide 10 battery pack.

The Guide 10 is basically a battery charger for 4AA’s that connects to the solar panel for recharging power, or can be charged from a USB port. It comes with a USB out for charging any USB powered device…like the iPod Touch, cell phones, and the WIFI device that will be used for our 3G internet access.

At first inspection, the setup is pretty slick, and is exactly what I need. I’ll bring a couple extra sets of AA’s and we will have all the power we need for a day or two, even if the sun doesn’t come out. There will be a ton of photos of the setup throughout the trip as I report back on how it works out for us. Right now though, it is time to pack.

We leave for our flight out west in 7 hours.

A part of the series: Jody's Bike Trip