While reading a recent article about some hikers that became lost in Alaska’s Denali National Park, I was amazed that a fading cell phone saved their life. Rescuers were able to locate them based on their weak cell phone signal.

In their case, they were lucky that the battery held out. I bet they were wishing that they had included a portable solar charger in their gear that day. With today’s vast array of electronic gadgets on our body at all times, more people are finding it helpful (and lifesaving) to add a tiny solar charger to their bag for just such occasions.

I remember many years ago thinking how cool portable solar chargers were and wanted to add one to my outdoor gear, in case my car battery died or I wanted to write an article on my laptop in the middle of nowhere (like a beach!). The were expensive, rigid and too bulky and heavy to add to my gear list. Read the rest of this entry »

It was not so long ago that solar powered lighting for pathways, gardens and general landscaping was quite a luxury for the average homeowner. You had to spend a lot of money for installation, an electrician, and watch your electrical bills climb.

Not so anymore with the proliferation of inexpensive and very attractive solar lighting sets and accessories. Now, you can light up the yard or that dark passageway at night with abandon (check those neighborhood covenants, though), without harming the planet or your electrical bill.

Today’s outdoor solar lighting marketplace offers an amazing array of options for your lighting needs, including solar pathway lighting, solar flood lights, motion-sensing solar security lights, and colorful solar globe lights. Some solar lights even have built-in bug zappers! (see picture) Read the rest of this entry »