Portable solar panels have become the standard accessory people use to charge their devices during camping. It’s easy enough to use, while being able to charge everything from portable power stations and camp lanterns to smartphones and more. Problem is, solar panels only work in daylight, basically rendering them out of commission for a good chunk of the day. That won’t be a problem with portable wind turbines like the Aurea Shine 2.0.
Unlike solar panels that require daylight to harvest energy, the wind turbine can continue generating power day in and day out, so long as you’re getting even a small amount of wind to get the blades spinning. This is the second generation of Aurea’s portable wind turbine, by the way, with the new version touting a higher power rating, greater power delivery, and a host of new capabilities that make it more powerful than its predecessor.
The Aurea Shine 2.0 is a portable wind turbine that measures 13.75 x 4 inches (length x diameter) when the rotors are folded, allowing you to squeeze it into most bags without using up too much space. It comes with a three-foot long foldable pole for mounting the turbine, as well as a set of pegs and guy lines to ensure stability wherever you set it up. Inside, it houses a 50W 12,000 mAh battery where any charge it generates is stored, with a USB-C PD slot allowing you to plug in any small electronics and 12V devices.
It can generate power as long as there’s enough of a breeze to make the blades turn, with a minimum wind speed of 8.0 mph required to see any action. Naturally, the amount of power it can produce will depend on the wind speed, so you’ll want to place it an area where it can get maximum exposure to stronger winds. At strong wind speeds of 28 mph, it can supposedly produce 50W of power, which is enough to charge most phones in 17 minutes, most laptops in two hours, and most tablets in 40 minutes, provided, of course, your devices support that level of power delivery.
The Aurea Shine 2.0 can be used to charge portable power stations, although you need to purchase the outfit’s optional adapter with XT60 and 8mm DC connectors to do so, which makes it especially useful, since you can keep feeding power to the battery pack all day and night. It also comes with a companion app that shows current wind speed, power output, battery state, temperature, and other vital information, allowing you to keep tabs on how well your setup is doing in real-time. In case you don’t want to use the app, there also LED indicators right on the device to keep you informed on battery state, generated power, and temperature.
It has an MPPT charge controller that ensures 95 percent efficient power conversion to make sure it generates the most energy it can, regardless of how strong the prevailing winds are. Other features include a sealed housing rated for IP54 weatherproofing, full electrical protections, composite-reinforced blades, and an optional six-foot collapsible mount for more efficient harvesting of winds.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for Aurea Shine 2.0. Pledges to reserve a unit start at $356.