- [ Mr. Mobile] Smartphones these days
have pretty big batteries,
but thanks to power-hungry features
like 4K cameras and 4K displays,
if you use them to their full potential
you can wind up with a dead phone by lunch time.
In the office where outlets are everywhere
that's not a big deal.
But for a weekend out on the water,
or a long drive into the wilderness,
you need something like this.
I'm Mr. Mobile, and I've spent five days
with the KaliPak 601, a portable power station
for the outdoor aficionado with deep pockets
and strong shoulders.
(upbeat techno music)
The 601 is the largest of three power generators
from Kalisaya and I really can't emphasize
large enough this is nothing like
the pocket batteries you're used to plugging
your phone into.
It's a suitcase-sized power station
that tips the scales at about 14 pounds
and comes with a shoulder strap in the box.
Now Kalisaya does make the most of that space.
You get a storage bag for all your phone
and tablet chargers and your devices themselves.
And there's a dedicated envelope for the
included solar panels too.
More on this in a second.
On the other side, behind a non-removable cover,
is a giant lithium-ion battery, 558 watt-hours.
For context, the battery of the surface laptop
I'm writing this review on is a mere 45 watt-hours.
Accessing all that power is simple,
at least for mobile devices.
Two 12 volt DC outputs and four USB type A ports
can handle most any phone or tablet out there,
with charging rates maxing out at about 12 watts.
Not the fastest but it gets the job done.
I've used the 601 to power all my devices
and some of my family's for much of the past week.
That's three or four smartphones, a smartwatch,
and iPad Pro, the odd action camera.
It took me four days to drop below the 70% mark.
I can tell that with a glance at the power meter,
and if I want more detailed info,
there's an app that talks to the KaliPak over Bluetooth.
When you do run down the battery
you can charge it by plugging in to AC power,
which takes about 10 hours to bring it from empty to full.
If you're still out in the field,
well that's where the solar array comes in.
Unfold it, plug it in, and point it at the sun
and you can get a theoretical 40 watts
of charging power out of the thing,
if you're willing to do a little math.
See as I learned during my with Modern Dad,
there's an optimal angle for solar panels
and it's based on your latitude.
My testing grounds for the KaliPak
are located at approximately 41 minutes north latitude.
Multiplying that by 0.93 and subtracting 21,
it gets me an ideal solar panel angle of 17 degrees.
Now if you didn't bring your protractor camping,
well you can use the app to see how much juice
you're getting from our favorite mass of incandescent gas
and adjust your angle accordingly.
Keep in mind that solar is a pretty slow charging method.
Kalisaya cites 18 to 19 hours for a full charge.
When you remember that the sun is only up
for about 15 hours a day here in the summer,
well, solar charging has a stop gap.
Fortunately the battery is big enough
that you shouldn't need to use it much over a weekend.
The 601 first hit the market over a year ago,
so you won't find bleeding edge features like USB-C.
Also I wish Kalisaya could have found space
for a 110 volt AC plug as Anker did
on its much smaller PowerHouse.
Now this was a conscious decision.
The company didn't want to include an AC inverter
for a number of reasons:
Efficiency, weight, cost.
But, still I'd really appreciate the convenience.
If you do want to charge a laptop
you have to buy a separate plug-in inverter
or use a DC adapter.
Also, while there's an available rain coat for the device,
it's sold separately.
Only the solar panels are rated
for dust and water resistance.
The KaliPak itself is not.
Given that, I was kind of put off by the $600 price tag,
and even more so by Home Depot,
which wants a stratospheric $830.
But that's coming at this thing
from the perspective of a gadget nerd.
Turns out that camping and outdoorsy tech
routinely runs on the expensive side.
At this price tier the only comparable product
I could find in terms of power density and size
was the Jackery Power Pro,
which is earlier in its life cycle.
It's just starting deliveries to kickstarter backers.
Larger power packs from Goal Zero and Energy
cost about $1500.
And on the other side, the Anker PowerHouse
doesn't come with solar panels,
has a substantially smaller power reserve,
and only saves you about a hundred bucks.
Given all that, the KaliPak 601
starts to look like a better deal,
if you're shopping for a solution
to the problem of keeping your gadgets charged
on the fringes of civilization.
Just be sure to factor in the cost
of whatever accessories you're gonna want.
And leave room in your weight calculations
for all 14 pounds of this sucker.
For more mobile tech, from outdoor to indoor,
check out Mr. Mobile's channel on YouTube
and subscribe if you haven't already.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.