Review: Levin 12000 mAh Solar Charger

This review represents my personal and unbiased view on Levin 12000 mAh solar charger. In this test I will evaluate everything I think is important for consumer – consumer experience.

What's in the box:

•  12000 mAh solar charger
•  Carabiner
•  Micro USB cable
•  30 pin Samsung adapter
•  User manual (read it!)

First impressions:

Solar charger is very nice looking device, with rubberized edges which protects charger from accidental drops. Solar charger is also water – resistant. On the front there is 1.7W monocrystalline solar panel, power button and four led battery indicators. Every indicator represents 25% of power capacity. On the side there are 2 micro usb output (1A) and one input (1A), which are sealed with cap, to ensure water – resistant structure. Powerbank has also built in led torch. Led torch has two different modes: normal and flashing light.

How it works:

 There are two ways to charge this powerbank, via built-in solar panel or via external power source, using micro usb cable. Powerbank is really simple to use. Plug in device you want to charge and click on power button. If you want to use led torch, press power button twice, and if you want flashing light, press power button one more time. To turn it off, double press power button again. When battery level on solar charger is low, one blue indicator starts to flash. If you charge it via solar energy, one indicator turns green.

Test:

•  Solar charging: I placed solar charger under sunlight for 5,5 hours. It is December, so the sun isn't as powerful as it is in the summer. From 5,5 hours I was able to get 510 mAh  of power. That means it would charge iPhone 5S around 25%.
• Charging time from 0 -100% via 2.4 A external power source was around 7.5 hours.   
• Battery efficiency: From one full charge, I was able to charge my ipad mini retina from 38 to 100%, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 from 0-100%. Battery efficiency with first full charge was 61%. Here is important to mention, that solar charger automatically shut off, although there is still some battery juice, in order to protect its battery from deep discharge.
•  I have no problems charging two tablets at the same time (ipad mini retina and nexus 7).
• Overheating: There were no overheating problems, even when charging two devices simultaneously.

     Compatibility: I have no problem charging: nexus 7, nexus 10, ipad mini retina,  Samsung Galaxy Note 4, bluetooth speaker, sony headset and Garmin GPS watch.

Conclusion: Very satisfied with the product and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for dust and shock proof, water resistant powerbank. But if you want to use it just as solar charger I don't recommend it, because solar panel will charge powerbank slowly.  You have to look at this solar charging as an extra feature, which provides you with some battery juice for those emergency situations. For people who want to charge their devices via sunlight only, I recommend looking for  higher efficiency solar panels (10W or more). Also I would like to see, that micro usb would be built in powerbank as an extra feature.