Gadget of the Day: Freeloader Globetrotter

The Freeloader – a portable battery pack and solar charger in a tough aluminium case – is joined by the Supercharger – an additional bank of solar cells which soaks up the rays in double-quick time, allowing you to charge up the battery in as little as four hours. On a full charge, its makers claim it’ll power a mobile for 44 hours, a PSP for 2.5 hours or a PDA for 22 hours.

The Supercharger panel is weather resistant and attaches to your rucksack, bike panniers or the top of your tent for all day hassle-free charging – weather-permitting of course. A USB cable connects it to the Freeloader, which can also be charged by hooking it up to your compy’s USB port.

It comes with eleven adapter tips to hook it up to all your portable tech – from iPods and PSPs to TomToms. The Freeloader weighs in at 185g, and the Supercharger at 200g so it’s not going to break your back if you’re packing the lot for your next trip. We know we will be.

Essentials

Freeloader Globetrotter

Price: £49.99

On sale: Now

Contact: Solar Technology International

Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home