I posted a couple weeks ago about the Goal Zero Nomad 13 portable solar charger I bought for the big pack trip. I haven’t yet had time to test it.

However, one evening last week, as I lay awake in the middle of the night contemplating the upcoming adventure (the closer it gets, the harder it is to sleep at night), I started running through, in my mind, what a day on the trail might be like. As I did so, it occurred to me that we would be using our electrical devices during the daytime, but would be unable to charge anything at night. Funny how I hadn’t thought of that before, as I plug my iphone in to charge before I lay down to sleep.

Furthermore, I realized that if our one solar charger were to be damaged, we would lose the use of all our electronic equipment within about a day, including the ability to call for help via satellite texting in case of emergency. I made the decision then that we needed a second solar charger, not only to increase our ability to recharge items during daylight hours, but as a backup in case one unit were to be put out of commission. I considered, for just a moment, the thought of buying a Sherpa recharger, however, with a price tag of over $250 for a basic model, it seemed impractical for us.

I headed back up to Cabela’s with the intention of buying another Nomad 13, but upon looking over the various models and options offered by Goal Zero, I came across the Guide 10 unit. This model is also a solar charger, with two solar panels measuring about 6 by 9 inches, putting out about 7 volts, 7 watts. It is able to charge at 5V at up to 1A (5W)  regulated – via USB port or 6.5V up to 1.1A (7W) unregulated – via mini-solar port.

Also included is a charger pack for four AA batteries that is charged from the solar charger. This battery unit may then be used as a charger for items such as my iphone 6, the DeLorme InReach Explorer GPS/satellite unit, and our recently purchased GoPro Hero 4 camera. From the literature, it appears this 4-cell unit is capable of recharging two cellular telephones on one charge. This will help for charging at night or when the sun isn’t shining brightly during the daytime. The batteries may also be removed from the unit and used as regular AA batteries. Also included is an adapter for charging four AAA batteries.

Just as the Nomad 13, the Guide 10 comes with integral cables for charging at either 5V or 6.5V, as well as an integral USB port and a separate USB/mini-USB cable for charging Android-type cell phones and other accessories. I will have to remember to bring the proprietary Apple cable to charge my iphone from the USB port. Also included is an adapter for 12V connections that use cigarette lighter-type connectors.

The Nomad 13 and the Guide 10 solar panels may also be “daisy-chained” to increase electrical charging capacity and decrease the time involved in recharging devices.

You can see the size relationship between the larger Nomad 13 and the Guide 10 units. the solar panel size of the Nomad 13 is roughly 1/3 again the size of the Guide 10, however the battery pack certainly increases the utility of the Guide 10 package and offers us one more option and backup plan for charging our very important electronic gear.

The Nomad 13’s price tag of $159.99 also made the Guide 10 a bit more appealing. Along with the benefit of the battery pack and charger came a price tag of $119.99. The combination of the two solar chargers, I believe, will serve our needs very well.

I feel much more comfortable now, having two solar charging units with us on this trip. The trick will be determining, while on the trail, the battery life of each of our several electronic devices, and developing a routine for recharging each of them in turn,  to keep them all alive and functioning optimally for two-and-a half months on the trail.

wish us luck!