Unlike nearly all of my colleagues on 50 Campfires, I’m not a “gadget guy.” When I’m outdoors for any pursuit, I’m likely to be found using at least one piece of gear as old as I am or older … stuff that was handed down to me by my dad or even my grandfather. At this writing, I’m wearing a Pendleton Wool Shirt that was Dad’s at least 60 years ago!
However, when a really good gadget comes along, I’m willing to add it to the arsenal, and it’s likely to stay a part of the arsenal for a long, long time! That’s the mindset with which I undertook this Dark Energy Poseidon Charger review.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I made a visit to our remote cabin deep in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We haul our water in and sparingly run a generator for power though we try to keep it to a minimum. If we need anything less than cooking or cleaning light at night, we just run propane lanterns. However, the demands of the working world require I “stay connected” via my smartphone. So instead of firing up the 4000w generator to charge it, I decided to try out the new Dark Energy Poseidon charger. Well, I can tell you after one trip with this gadget, it has earned its place in the arsenal.
The charger itself is ultra-rugged. I don’t baby my gear, and on its first trip the Dark Energy Poseidon charger ended up falling in the snow a couple of times and on the hardwood floor of the cabin. No problem.
Dark Energy claims the Poseidon will fully charge a smart phone six times when it’s fully charged. I was getting 3-4+ charges, but it may have been due to the cold temperatures. When I had it in my pack out in the woods, the temp hovered at about 10 degrees, so that may have hindered the reserve power store.
A couple of the features I love about the Dark Energy Poseidon are the USB mini cable that’s wrapped in 20 feet of flat-braided paracord. I predict the cord so protected will last a long time. Each end also has a secured cover that will keep out water unless its submersed. The charger has two USB ports that can be used simultaneously for a total output of 3.4 amps (2.4 and 1 respectively). The cord can be used to charge the device from a wall outlet just by swapping ends and plugging the USB end into the provided transformer.
I did notice that the brick charged more slowly when plugged into a wall outlet powered by the generator than it did from the outlet at home, but that’s true of most of the stuff I plug in at the cabin.
One other great feature is the built in LED light. I don’t imagine myself using its SOS signaling capability any time soon, but it sure is a handy, comforting light when making a trip to the outhouse in the wee hours of a winter morning — especially when the first sight we were greeted by when arriving at the cabin were large mountain lion pugs less than 10 feet from the front porch.
Didn’t try charging the iPad or the GPS from the Poseidon on this trip, but have no reason to doubt it will handle them capably as well. I’m also going to try keeping it in close quarters with a hand warmer when temps hit the single digits or below. I bet that will perk it up!
