EnerPlex Kickr IV

[Chris Simpson]

I wanted to share with everybody a new piece of my kit that I absolutely love, my EnerPlex Kickr IV.
The Kickr IV is a 6 watt regulated solar charger with a 1.2 amp USB output that uses thin film CIGS technology from Ascent Solar. Having formerly worked as a solar installer I know from experience that thin film style panels do not have as good of an overall efficiency as monocrystalline, however they typically respond better to partial shading and overcast conditions. With a monocrystalline panel if you shade just a small portion of it, the whole string will not produce power. CIGS panels do not have this shortcoming and the only reduction in power output would be from the shaded area while the rest of the panel still produces electricity efficiently.
Now that I have briefly explained the technology I will explain why I love this charger so much and why I think it is one of the best on the market.
It is light and portable. This means it takes up very little room in any of my packs and doesn't provide much of a weight penalty at only 292g. It is durable. It can handle the abuse that most of my gear receives and keeps working. I have strapped this to the hood of my car and left it there for hours in high winds and rainstorms and it still works fine. It works. This is the biggest for me. This thing works even if it is a little cloudy or overcast, and you do not need to constantly adjust it to the angel of the sun (although it does help). This solar panel still was able to sufficiently charge my GoPro even though it was overcast out. It took a little while, probably about 6 hours, but it worked.
As great as the Kickr IV is there are some downsides. One is that some smartphones do not like when there is a voltage drop caused by someone walking in front of the panel. My iPhone had a bigger problem with this than my girlfriend’s droid, and this can be solved by using an intermediary power bank like their Jumpr Slate or any other power bank. I am getting my girlfriend one of their Jumpr’s so she will stop complaining about her phone always dying.

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