Solio Classic2 Battery Pack and Solar Charger (Silver)

This device works great. The usual solar limitations hold. It cannot charge faster than light hits it, therefore a single charge on an iPhone overnight, which drained it down to 40% battery (60% used up), took literally all day to recharge. Any deficiency in operation comes down to this: It can only charge so fast. The red light on the bottom, indicating when it's charging, is a huge help. The pencil hole is essential to keep the Solio Classic 2 aimed toward the sun. The charge level blink system is a very good way to figure out how much it's got stored. So it's got what it needs. It's amazing that there is so much functionality out of one little button. Because it's hard to hang on to manuals, I took a Sharpie and wrote a lot of the essential instructions on the back of the upper two "leaves". That's helpful when I hand the Solio to other people to use. Also, it holds its charge when in storage like nothing else I've seen. Pull it out after a week, hold it toward the sun, and it barely blinks red before shutting off because of a full-charge condition. The instructions say, it'll keep a year in storage. Well that's about right.

I wanted to love this product. I purchased it in addition to having one of their earlier 'Classic' models for a trip to Africa where I was going to need to charge my iPhone and camera without regular access to power. I shouldn't have wasted my money on this newer model. As has been commented before, the locking of the blades as they rotate open is anything but positive. The whole unit feels loose and cheaply assembled. Which is a shame, because the overall aesthetics are nice. Shortly after removing it from the packaging and opening/closing it a few times, I noticed shards of white plastic falling out of the hole of the hub. Turns out, the cylindrical clips that hold the blades together as one unit are weak and brittle. They had broken off with only a couple of delicate openings. This problem only worsened and while I was on safari and needed this product most, it failed completely and all three blades became disconnected from one another. Do not buy this product! Buy other products from this company, but not this one. I have an older classic model that is a champ and has stood the test of time. It saved my battery-dependent butt in Africa. But this product is poorly made. Again, do not buy this.

Ordered this through Amazon and had it forwarded to the Philippines where I live. Done it many times with no problem. The package arrived in the usual time, sealed and unopened. The "charge in" USB port was (is) bad, the cable would not go in and when I finally wriggled it in there was no charge to the unit. The "charge out" port works fine and the unit does charge via the sun (plenty of that here) but I gave it 2 stars because a major part of it's functionality is inoperative. The Solio web site states, "To ensure the highest possible quality, we fully inspect each product before it is shipped." Even the most cursory inspection would have revealed a bad charging port (there's only 2 total) so that statement is greatly in doubt. I give Solio's oxymoron of "customer service" 0 stars for no replies to my several email requests for support (through their Product Support form). I only got automated emails saying I would be contacted within 48 hours, never was. I decided to keep it rather than pay postage and endure delays back and forth to Amazon because it does work and I really need it with the frequent "rotational blackouts" due to the recent earthquake and typhoon here. ***Update 12/19 I received several emails from Solio and it seems likely some of my emails to them were not received because the recipient address "[email protected]" is being rewritten with a "<case number>@cases.netsuite.com" when you reply, I think netsuite is the parent company, not sure. Whatever, it's their problem to fix, I give up.

This product can charge an iphone 5 from empty to full no problem. It can partially charge the phone again without additional charging, if the Solio battery was fully charged. It takes several days of charging via solar alone to fully charge it. The solio will shut off to avoid overcharging its battery once it's full. Overall good product, but solar is a slow means to obtain power.

I bought this solar charger last month to charge my samsung smart phone and ipad 4. It charges fully in a day and has charged my smart phone from 10% battery power to 100% In 50 mins. I charged my phone 4 times fully with it before charging the solar charger again. I would very highly recommend the solio 2 classic if you need reliable solar charger. Going to go hiking and camping in the mountains this summer with it. Over all very pleased and may consider buying another soon again.

The Solio works well. I have few quibbles. 1. The small size of the battery. It charges my iPhone 5s about 1.5 times. 2. It takes a long time to charge from an electrical outlet. I get that the solar charging time is long, but it seems like it should charge faster than it does from an outlet. 3. There isn't any passthrough charging, where you can plug the Solio into the wall, then plug your phone into the Solio. You can do it, but the phone charges at twice the rate of the Solio, so you'd be better off just charging the phone directly from the outlet and leaving the Solio out of the picture. That being said, it does work well when you are away from electricity, and it charges pretty fast for a solar charger. Keeping it pointed in the direction of the sun definitely helps. Customer service was very responsive to questions I had, Glad I got one and plan to use it quite a bit in the future.

After about six months the connector holding the leaves together broke upon use. There is a center hole that has connectors that hold the three leaves together and wires. It has to be opened for use. The clips on the leaves snapped poor design.

OVUNQUE TU SIA NON RIMARRAI MAI SENZA ENERGIA NEL CELLULARE BASTANO 5 ORE DI LUCE PER RICARICARE COMPLETAMENTE IL TUO TELEFONO , OLTRE QUESTO TEMPO LA BATTERIA CONTENUTA IN QUESTO APPARATO SARà RICARICATA E IN MANCANZA DI LUCE POTRà COMUNQUE RICARICARE ALMENO 2 TELEFONI. QUESTA NUOVA VERSIONE NON è MOLTO TASCABILE COME LA PRECEDENTE.