Small solar panels are powerful enough to keep all your small devices charged when spending time in the outdoors. But since you’re hipster as heck, you want something less common than a rectangular slab you’ll leave under the sun. Maybe you’ll find the Waterlily Micro Turbine a more desirable option.
A rotor-style turbine, the device can generate electrical power using the active motions of both rivers and winds, making it ideal for use when camping out in areas where one or both of those are readily available. It does that while coming in a compact profile that measures 7 x 3 inches (diameter x thickness), ensuring you can slip it into an external pouch on your pack without any problem.
The Waterlily Micro Turbine comes with an integrated 12-foot cable that’s hooked up to a small box housing two USB ports (available in either 5V or 12V configurations). To use, simply mount the device on a place with access to wind gusts or drop it in a flowing river, then plug in your charging cable and you’re set. It can generate power on wind speeds as low as 6.7 mph and water flow rates as low as 0.7 mph, all while being able to handle depths of up to 36,070 feet. Granted, we don’t how you’ll be able to charge when it’s that deep (the cable’s only 12 feet long), but we’re sure you’ll figure it out.
Slated to ship in August, the Waterlily Micro Turbine is now available for preorder. Price is CAD $139.