Travelers Love Solar Powered Gear

Outdoor enthusiasts, business travelers, and everyday road-runners know these solar gadgets may carry the day.

* Outdoor Enthusiasts
o A solar lantern or floodlight offers the option of light at night in a remote location. Campers lighting up large campsites use a solar floodlight with high-efficiency, super bright LED bulbs. For a more intimate site, they use solar lanterns. Some up-market lanterns have functions to imitate the look of a flickering candle or a kerosene lantern. Reliable solar lights are weather and water resistant.

o Solar electric systems mounted on RV motor homes, boats, and small cabins provide significant electricity for weekend travels, or for longer journeys.

o A lightweight solar oven harvests the heat of the sun, allowing campers to roast meats, steam vegetables, heat stews, and bake fresh bread or other treats. Some ovens are made from recycled plastic and aluminum. The best have high-tech insulation and are designed to maintain steady cooking temperatures. Some even include an oven thermometer, a water pasteurization gauge and a recipe book.

o Solar backpacks make it easy for technophiles in fear of withdrawal to bring along an electronic gadget or two.

* Business Travelers
o Solar messenger bags and power units are excellent carry-along generators designed to charge assorted handheld electronics. The bags are usually padded to carry and protect a laptop. Some have large zipped pockets for documents, and multiple small pockets for electronic devices. Having the right connection for a particular cell phone is the biggest factor when travels are choosing a bag. Most bags also have their own plug-in charger (for plugging into an auto) just in case the storage cells need topping up on a rainy day, or after heavy use.

o Some solar powered alarm clocks use so little power they can make it through the night after absorbing just an hour of ambient room light. There are also a few solar clocks that will set themselves automatically to the time signal from the US Atomic Clock.

* Folks on the Road
o Solar Powered LED Flashlights are convenient and practical. The beams on the best ones are bright and stable. Some versions have a built-in compass. Compact and lightweight, they're easy to take anywhere you go.

o Travelers crossing blistering stretches of open highway use energy from the sun to run solar fans. The fans are also popular with beach-goers, campers, and hikers. The fans will run as long as the sun shines on a connected photovoltaic panel.

o Smart road runners know a solar charger is a very handy device for putting a trickle charge on an automotive battery when an alternator throws a belt, forcing them to try to nurse a car's electrical system home on the battery.

o LED road flares may not be solar, but travelers who've used them know they last a long time, and can be run on rechargeable batteries topped up by a solar charging unit.

Lastly, if you're an outdoorsman or frequent road-runner, one of the best gizmos around is a hat with a built-in solar light. The newest photovoltaic technology is combined with durable construction and ultra-bright LEDs, making a solar hat the perfect accessory for campers, cyclists, fishers, hikers and hunters; for anyone struggling to change a tire in the dark; for shading your head from the elements; or for hands-free lighting should you run out of daylight anywhere.