Brunton Solarport 4.4. Solar Charger at REI

http://www.rei.com/out​let/product/790790 for the fantastic price of 60$ + free shipping to a REI store near you (if you have one).

This has a Car charger outlet built into the hinge and can output a good 265mA at 12V. That can probably be used for charging a BP511 using a car charger (I already have one).

No idea how effective it is in real usage, but REI has a fantastic return policy usually and if this charger can deal with all my USB stuff and can recharge a SLR battery via a car charger, it can be pretty useful.

I just got one, thanks for this, handy to have "in the bush"

One note, Ship to your home address!

I went for in store pickup, despite that meaning I had to wait for over two weeks vs a few days for in hoime delivery just to save the $8.00 in shipping costs,..

We'll since it's now being sold in my home state, I have to pay about $5.00 in taxes!

So I only save $3.00 and have to wait two weeks and drive to the store to get it

Sorry about the shipping . I don't really need this right now so decided to wait a while. My wife gets pissed if I bring home new things frequently

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #7782904
I just got one, thanks for this, handy to have "in the bush"

So I only save $3.00 and have to wait two weeks and drive to the store to get it

Did you try canceling it and re-ordering it. You should also be able or adjust the order. They are pretty helpful.

i think if they charge tax to ship in store they would still charge you tax to ship to your house (assuming store and home are in the same state) at least they do for me in VA. though when i ship to store it's usually about 7 days to get it.

joove wrote in post #7784787
Did you try canceling it and re-ordering it. You should also be able or adjust the order. They are pretty helpful.

Nah, I'm a pushover,.
I can wait

The SolarPort 4.4 is a very handy little charger, and works great, but Brunton no longer makes it. I wish they did. Not as compact & light as the flexible panels, but having the 12v & USB built-in is nice. If someone still has stock, push them on a clearance price & grab one.

A few notes about using this (or other solar chargers) with your camera battery charger...
- All solar panels produce DC power - a standard AC camera battery charger will not operate directly, and solar panels will not drive AC power inverters directly either. Look for a DC car charger for your battery model.
- Most battery chargers require a minimum amount of power before they will start to charge your camera battery. Some are as high as 5 Watts. If your panel only puts out 4 Watts peak (like the SolarPort 4.4), you will not likely have success. To keep your panel size down, put a solar storage battery between the panel & your camera charger, so the panel can work all day to put power into the storage battery, and then your charger can operate any time from the storage battery & get all the power it needs.
- Last note... it is far easier to work a solar charger solution for a 3.7v or 7.4v camera battery than for an 11.1v battery due to the need for the power system to provide at least 14v for the 11.1v battery. Feel free to contact me if you are in this situation. I have some articles on the subject posted on my site (listed below).
Cheers.