Crank Monkey: The hand crank charger to climb a mountain with

There is quite a few selection of hand crank battery chargers today and new ones keep on emerging- While looking for a hand crank coffee grinder I came across the newly announced Powertraveller Crankmonkey. Power traveler Crankmonkey is a hand-cranked portable power source which works independently of the presence of mains electricity, batteries or even sunshine – put simply, you just crank it up to produce power which in turn can charge your electrical gadgets. Power is delivered instantly and its makers claim 10 minutes of hand cranking will give an iPhone 6 or similar smartpohne enough power for an 18-20 minute phone call. That will hopefully be enough to tell mountain rescue where you are when you’ve been lost on your trekking or just need a juice to make that awesome picture of your landscape surroundings.

The Crank Monkey phone charger by Power Traveller uses a wind up system to generate instant power to charge phones, and other USB gadgets and its makers claim it is perfect for when “you’re part of a rescue team on a mountain, in distress on a yacht at sea [or] stuck in the snow”. We’ve not all been there but in case it happens you would definitely want to carry that hand crank battery charger with you.

There are no batteries inside the charger. Instead, you plug it in (there are micro and mini USB adaptors, plus a USB port for almost any cable, new and old iPhones included) and wind the detachable handle.

5V Power Out hand crank charger

The hand crank charger generates power for 5V devices using micro USB output and can be used, for example, to charge smartphones, GPS units, action cams and head-torches making it ideal for, say, mountain rescue teams, climbers, skiers or sailors in emergency situations. Powertravellers says the Crankmonkey ‘can generate enough power to switch on a smartphone and make a call in just two minutes’ or, with ten minutes cranking, provide up to 6 – 7 hours of light for a Petzl head torch, 20 minutes of talktime on an iPhone 6. With a solid hour of cranking the device will apparently fully charge a Go Pro Hero 4 and we all know that the battery on Go Pro Hero’s are always a bit short to capture all our exciting adventures. It will work with virtually any 5V device including GPS, Sat Phones, avalanche transceivers, smartphones, handheld video cameras and much more.

Featuring a 32:1 gearing system that allows users to generate power at a comfortable speed, the hand cranked battery charger Crankmonkey is ergonomically designed for easy use and is made from aluminium making it strong and robust.

Tough And Waterproof hand crank charger

Finished in red (or black) anodised aluminium, the charger and handle look like they’d be welcome in the backpack of any outdoorsy type, right next to the satellite phone, GoPro camera, Swiss Army knife, flares and rope. The hand crank charger is waterproof – IP65 rated which means it will survive rain and jets of water, but don’t go dunking it in the rapids. The Crankmonkey charges 5V devices using a micro USB output and weighs a claimed 346g with dimensions of 150 x 96 x 45mm.

From the outside it looks like a hand-cranked version of the Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme, but there’s no battery inside. Instead the inside is filled with a selection of gears, a rotor assembly and cunning electronics that convert your arm-power into handy electrical juice. As there are no batteries inside the Crankmonkey there is no worry that it will let you down in the emergency situation. This Powertraveller product comes with a lifetime guarantee and gives you the peace of mind that no matter what situation you find yourself in, the crankmonkey will always give you power – every time, every place, everywhere.

More Information

A zipped carry case with hoops for strapping it to your bag is included, but while both the charger and handle fit next to each other, they’re loose and tend to rattle around and scratch against each other. A separate interior pocket or way of clipping the two components together would have been welcome. You can get more information on product updates and current prices www.powertraveller.co.uk or follow the link to  purchase hand crank PowerMonkey.

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