Review of Solar Joos – a rugged personal solar charger

I’m always interested in alternative energy. How can we power our many devices without plugging in. This is particularly important out in the wild away from a power socket. Solar Joos is a rugged solar panel with a lithium battery. It’s highly efficient at charging, even under a lightbulb. The enclosure is water proof and works even under water. However, it can’t charge while under water. EDIT – It can charge underwater, but powering another device via the plug isn’t recommended. It’s possible using silicon gel to protect the contact. As shown below, it’s a fair size, about the size of an iPad but much thicker. It’s heavy too due to the large capacity battery.

The Solar Joos comes with an assortment of charging tips and two cables, one for charging devices and the other for hooking up to a computer to access the information panel. To charge Apple products, it requires a female USB plug. The Apple plug goes into this USB plug. I’m a little disappointed that it doesn’t come with the default tip for charging Apple devices. It costs about $5 online.

I’m looking forward to taking this out on the field and to coffee shops, campgrounds, and out on the water. Check back later for a long-term field review.

Here’s a video demo of the device working under water.

Published by Daniel Hoang

Daniel Hoang is a visual leader, storyteller, and creative thinker. As an experienced management consultant, he believes in a big picture approach that includes strong project leadership, creative methods, change management, and strategic visioning. He uses a range of visual tools to communicate business challenges, solutions, and goals. His change strategy is to build "tribes" of supporters and evangelists to drive change in culture and organization. Daniel is an avid technologist and futurist and early adopter.

20 thoughts on “Review of Solar Joos – a rugged personal solar charger

  1. Daniel: Thank you for your great review! We listened to your comments about the Apple iphone/ipad accessory tip and now include it at no charge in the packaging for the JOOS Orange. Also, if you check out the YouTube videos we shot, the JOOS does charge under water!

    . Also, for your readers, the introductory price of $99.95 is ending soon and we are in back-order status. But, if anyone signs up for pre-order notification, we'll honor the introductory price through January 15, 2011.

    Thanks again – Mark Sherwood, President – Solar Joos, Inc.

    1. Mark, thank you for taking the time to respond. I’ve been waiting for something like this and considered a Solio before giving the Orange a try. To be technically correct, I edited my review. I meant that it shouldn’t be used to charge another device under water. First, the other device probably isn’t water proof. Second, I understand that the connection plug needs to be sealed first.

      I have some readers who are interested in a device that can charge a laptop. We look forward to new products you develop.

      1. We're in development for two new JOOS products; the JOOS Grape, a much smaller portable charger for people on the go (capable of charging a smart phone two and a half times) as well as the JOOS Lime, a larger charger that will charge lap-tops, Mac Books and the like. We'll keep you posted about these products in the coming year. Also, I forgot to mention, the JOOS Orange just won the 2011 Design and Engineering Awards BEST OF INNOVATIONS – for Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology. We'll be exhibiting at CES and Macworld in January.

    2. Hi Mark,

      I've been waiting for both the Joos Orange and the Power Boost Reflector Kit to be in stock before ordering since I'm in Canada and want to save on shipping. Is there anyway to get my order in even if the items are not in stock so I don't miss the intro price?

      Thanks

      1. Hi Ian, it's 2 to 3 weeks backordered but the order page still lets me add the Orange to the cart. I suggest putting in your order. They'll honor orders before January 15th.

        1. Hi Daniel,

          When I add it to the cart I do see it but it adds with the quantity as 0, if I change it to 1 or try and checkout it says I have no items in my cart.

          1. I confirm your situation. I suggest you contact them directly to see if you can get the introductory price. I'm not sure if Mark monitors this blog frequently enough.

            I've been using the Joos Orange for a couple days now and am really pleased with the performance and do recommend picking one up.

          2. I think they might be overwhelmed right now, I sent them an email a week ago and haven't heard back yet. I'll keep an eye on the site, maybe orders will reopen before the 15th.

          3. Hi Ian:

            We are adding in the next day or so, the ability to back-order the JOOS Orange, so keep checking the site (this will allow you to get the introductory price locked in). The new shipment will be here within the next 3-5 weeks (hopefully sooner) and you can then get the JOOS and the reflector kit shipped together. We have been inundated with orders and support emails, but we try to respond to everyone to by the next business day (as you can imagine, with the holidays, it has been a little hectic!) Thanks – Mark

          4. That's great Mark! I can imagine there have been many like me who have been waiting for the Joos Orange to hit the market.

            Thanks for checking back and answering my question, very much appreciated. Can't wait to get one!

    3. Listen everyone, I wouldn't even bother wasting the money on this. I ordered one and received it, didn't work. I sent it back and they sent me a new one. The new one really isn't much better. The kicker though is that I had to pay an extra $30 to return it, then was charged another $60 by ceded when they sent me another one. So I basically ended up paying an extra $100 because the company sent me a faulty product. And the new one really doesn't work that well.

  2. I've been using mine for a while and I only seem to be getting about a 10-15% charge on a full day of sun. I wonder if there is something wrong with my unit. I'm in sunny so cal, the website says 12 hours for a full charge in the sun.

    1. I live in Seattle so I haven't had much sun to test out the effectiveness of the charging. Their website claims 10-12 hours full sun to charge. I think it may also require the metal flaps that concentrate the sun.

      Once I get some sun, I'm going to do a little more technical testing on the effectiveness of the device. Overall, solar panels just aren't a very effective way of getting power. It takes huge panels to get any real usable amount of power. The panel on the Solar Joos is pretty small, albeit relatively effective compared to similarly sized devices.

  3. So far, after signing up for the pre-order notification long ago, I finally got an email today saying it was available to buy at $139. What was the purpose of trying to get signed up for the pre orders? If Joos says they are going to "honor" something, they should at least be honorable about it.

  4. So..I've been checking and checking the site, and every time it's listed as out of stock. I got my discount code e-mail late Jan 2011, but have not seen an e-mail that ordering is up. I really would like one, but have yet to see a way how to get it. With the three comments above, i'm just wondering if I'm missing something…

  5. I really like my Joos but reading all these comments really annoys me. They are having a lot of trouble ramping up their production. Apparently there's a strong demand as evidence by all your support. I hope they're able to honor your orders.

    Good luck to you all. Hope you get your orders.

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