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Partially open (Pearl White)

Solio Bolt Solar Charger

$65.00

(6)

Item # 826630

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The Solio Bolt solar charger keeps your electronic devices powered up on the go with an onboard battery and rotating solar panels.

Solio Bolt charges popular USB-compatible gadgets including smartphones, MP3 players, e-readers, GPS units and cameras
Easy to use—simply connect the charger using your device's USB charging cable
Built-in battery will hold a charge for up to a year; at full charge the battery will provide most smartphones with at least 2 complete charges
The Solio Bolt solar charger can be charged from sunlight or USB port

Imported.

Item 826630

$13.00

on this item with coupon code
REIANNV through May 28.

Coupon details & exclusions.

Not a Member? Join now

How to Use Your 20% Off Coupon:

Online, at REI.com and REI-OUTLET.com

If you're an REI member: At steps 3 and 4 of checkout under REI Membership, enter your membership number and coupon code REIANNV. Note: Check "Use my dividend on this order" and we'll apply your dividend balance toward your purchase.
If you're not yet an REI member: Include an REI membership for a one-time $20 fee with your purchase and use coupon code REIANNV at checkout. (You won't have to enter a membership number.) Note: You will have the opportunity to buy a membership at checkout.
Coupon applies to highest-priced eligible item. Coupon good through 5/28.

AT REI STORES

If you're an REI member: At checkout, provide coupon code REIANNV (or a printout of this coupon) and your REI membership number to the cashier. Note: Ask to have your dividend balance applied toward your purchase.
If you're not yet an REI member: At checkout, include an REI membership for a one-time $20 fee with your purchase and provide coupon code REIANNV (or a printout of this coupon) to the cashier.
Coupon applies to highest-priced eligible item. Coupon good through 5/28.

BY PHONE: 1-800-426-4840

If you're an REI member: Provide coupon code REIANNV and your membership number when you call in your order. Note: Ask to have your dividend balance applied toward your purchase.
If you're not yet an REI member: Include an REI membership for a one-time $20 fee with your order and mention coupon code REIANNV .
Coupon applies to highest-priced eligible item. Coupon good through 5/28.

Exclusions:

Offer valid 5/17/12 9pm PT – 5/28/12 11:59pm PT.
Coupon (or coupon code) must be presented at time of purchase. Online and phone customers must use code "REIANNV" to receive this discount.
Offer valid at REI.com, 1-800-426-4840 and REI stores.
Offer not valid on REI-OUTLET.com items, REI Adventures or REI Outdoor School.
Offer not valid on sale items (prices ending in $ ._3 or $ ._9).
REI membership number is required at checkout. Not a member? You can join for a one-time $20 fee during checkout.
Offer not valid on special orders, package discounts, prior purchases, REI gift cards or e-gift cards, passes and tickets, gift boxes, memberships, shop services, rentals.
Offer not valid on bicycles, strollers, hard shell boats or stand up paddleboards.
Offer not valid on any item with GPS technology, personal locator beacons.
Offer is limited to stock on hand and backorderable items, is nontransferable and is not redeemable for cash.
Merchandise purchased with this offer is not eligible for the REI member refund.
Offer may not be combined with any other discount or offer.
Limit one coupon per customer.
To order by phone, call 1-800-426-4840 Mon. through Sun., 4am to 11pm PT.
Cashier Instructions: Apply 20% line discount to highest full-price item; please refer to exclusions.

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Solio Bolt Solar Charger Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Solio Bolt Solar Charger

3.7

(based on 6 reviews)

67%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Good value (4)

Cons

Best Uses

Travel (5)
Emergency equipment (4)
Portable electronics (3)

- Primary use:
- Personal (4)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (4)

Reviewed by 6 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-6

Oct

2011

(58 of 59 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great Little Charger

By Inconel710

from Colorado Springs, CO

About Me Value Oriented

See all my reviews

Pros

Charges Quickly
Compact
Good Value

Cons

Best Uses

Emergency Equipment
Portable Electronics
Travel

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

I use an old iPhone 3G as a GPS since I'm too cheap to buy a dedicated one and I like the apps on it. The biggest problem with it is that tracking a hike kills the battery in a few hours. Enter the Solio Bolt. I picked up the Bolt because it was the cheapest battery + solar panel combo available at REI and I had a 20% off coupon as well. My thinking was that even if the solar panels don't recharge the battery very quickly (like some reviewers have commented about the Brunton units), at least the battery would recharge my iPhone once or twice. In the end I was pleasantly surprised.

When I started my day hike, my iPhone was already down to about 2/3 charge. After about an hour of hiking, the cold weather had caused the battery voltage to drop (that's just chemistry folks) and the iPhone needed a charge. I hung the Bolt on my backpack and plugged in the iPhone. In a little over an hour the iPhone was fully recharged and the Bolt was down to around 80% (another indication the cold was the culprit since a full charge should have dropped the Bolt to around 50%). After lunch and another three hour hike out, the Bolt had soaked up enough sun to fully recharge itself.

Some other things about the Bolt that made me happy. It has a USB output port and a microUSB input port. Since my regular cell phone (not an iPhone) uses microUSB to charge, that means I already have compatible wall and car chargers for the Bolt. The Bolt comes with a very short USB-to-microUSB cable for charging it from a computer. That means I had an instant adapter to charge my cell phone from the Bolt! Finally, newer Apple products look for voltage on the data pins of their USB connections and don't always charge correctly without it. That means your typical USB charging circuit may not work with a newer iPhone or iPad. Solio recognized this and built in a dedicated Apple compatible circuit and you can easily switch the Bolt between regular USB and Apple device charging.

It won't power an entire base camp but, the Bolt is great power source for your USB devices on the trail. At 5.3 ounces and about 3.5 inches wide (closed) it is light and compact and perfect for my needs. It's a great product.

Comment on this review

Jan

2012

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great value solar charger

By Baxter

from Atlanta, Ga.

About Me Quality Oriented

See all my reviews

Pros

Charges Quickly
Good Value
Reliable Performance

Cons

Best Uses

Emergency Equipment
Travel

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

I've used this to charge my iPhone 4 since I use the GPS and map function. The Bolt will give two full charges before needing a recharge. Its small and compact which is great for backpacking. I can tell its focus is towards Apple since its two settings are: Apple and general charging.My only complaint is the charge in port is micro USB and not just USB so it just another cord I have to keep track of.Overall, for [$] it can't be beat.

Comment on this review

Jan

2012

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Solio Bolt Solar Charger

By kimboly95

from Long Beach, California

About Me Value Oriented

See all my reviews

Pros

Good Value
Reliable Performance

Cons

Charges slowly
Lacks Power

Best Uses

Emergency Equipment
Portable Electronics
Travel

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

I bought these for my parents and their reviews are as follows:

Father: The solio is best charged from a wall outlet first and then kept topped off by soaking up the sun. It works to charge the phone.

Mother: It works great and it is easy to use; only thing the instructions for apple and non apple products are a little confusing and they had different charging lights.

Overall cool look and light weight. Great to use when traveling on planes to recharge your phone.

Comment on this review

Dec

2011

(2 of 12 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

needs refining

By k2mykel

from The Funny Farm, GA

About Me Quality Oriented

See all my reviews

Pros

Good Value
Long Lasting

Cons

Charges slowly
Needs Direct Sunlight

Best Uses

Emergency Equipment
Portable Electronics
Travel

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

Got this little guy for Christmas and charged it from my laptop. It worked great. Charged my iPhone and earbud and still had a 20% chrage. Then I tried to charge it via the sun. Bad news. If there are any clouds or trees or a tree limb covering the sun it will NOT charge. The little red light is very difficult to see in the bright sun and can not be seen with polorized sunglasses on. I'm now on day 2 trying to charge with the solar cels and am at 50% power.

Comment on this review

Feb

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

so excited!!

By tesslzz3t

from chicago, il

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy To Set Up
Easy to Use
Good Design
Lightweight

Cons

A little small

Best Uses

Backcountry
Backyard
Day Trips
Travel

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

I bought this little guy for a canoeing expedition I am going on this summer. I was a little worried about not being able to take all the pictures and videos I would want to document the trip, and didn't want to have to buy a bunch of batteries, so I looked into solar chargers. I have not been able to use the bolt on a trip yet, however I do have it set up in my window soaking up the sun and it is working beautifully!
If you are looking to charge camera batteries like I am, I would recommend looking for a universal battery charger on the interwebs. Most of them are compatible with the bolt, but most cameras aren't.
What I really like about the bolt is that it has a built in battery so you can take advantage of the sun anytime it is out, even if there isn't something in need of charge. The other nice thing is that it can get charge from the sun while it is outputting charge to your device, which is super handy!
The only down side is that the solar panels are kinda small, so it takes a while to charge and when it is folded one of the solar panels remains on the outside which is a slight worry for damage. But the price beats all the competition and I am overall very happy with my purchase :)

Comment on this review

May

2012

1.0

Not worth the money

By BruinDave

from Long Beach, CA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Lightweight

Cons

Does not charge
Not enough power

Best Uses

Comments about Solio Bolt Solar Charger:

Wanted to use it with my HTC smpartphone. First, fully charged from AC connection; used it to recharge my phone on a weekend campout but it ran out before fully charging the phone. Placed in sunlight for 7 hrs; 20% charged. A second day in sun; still only 20% charged. When I returned home, charged it from AC and tried recharging my phone again. Again, only enough for about a half-charge before it ran out. It's small, light, and utterly useless. Returning it as soon as possible!