Lawmaker's Review: GoalZero, Crovel, Diamond, Sawyer

[Lawmaker]

Went out to Lake Jordan this weekend with a couple of friends. It was an easy no hiking trips so I thought that I would try out several things that I had laying around.

First off lets start with the GoalZero. I purchased the Sherpa 150, UI, Nomad 27 and two Light a Life’s. The packaging that came in was very heavy duty retail boxes that have metal rings for hanging on hooks. I open the boxes and am very impressed on the quality of construction of the items. The Sherpa 150 is about the size of an average bible and almost the same weight. Very surprised in how light it was. I was able to fit all of the items, camera, camera and phone chargers in a Pelican 1450 to take out with me. They are built solid but I was not taking any chances. Good thing too because it poured.

We arrived there in the late afternoon and started unloading trucks. By the time we were done unloading and started to set up tents it was getting dark rapidly. I saw two guys holding flashlights in their mouths while trying to set up a tent. So I pulled out the Sherpa 150 and the two lights and set them up so that we could see to set up tents. I just laid them down on the ground and they illuminated very good so that we could see the attachment points and such. After helping them I hung one light on a tree next to my tent location and set up mine. Here is the finished tent with one on a tree and one inside the tent.

With Flash
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8986/pict4505.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/257/pict4505.jpg/)

Without Flash
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2326/pict4506.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/255/pict4506.jpg/)

I ran the two lights all night long until I went to sleep. The battery meter never moved. The next day there was no need to set up the solar panels but hey I am reviewing so I have to. Disclaimer, I was in the woods and direct sunlight just wasn’t happening so I put it in the brightest light available. I plugged in the Nomad 27 and UI into the Sherpa 150 and I immediately started to see the battery meter charging once the panel was in light. I started to charge my Blackberry through the UI. While doing that, some of the guys came over and started asking about the set up. I offered to charge some other phones and had two Iphones come forward. Using crummy light, usage from the lights the night prior, I charged 2xIphones, 1xBlackberry, 1xcamera battery and the battery never went under 50%. Used the lights all the next night with no move in the battery.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7092/pict4517.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/pict4517.jpg/)
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/8866/pict4516i.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/pict4516i.jpg/)

Overall the the Sherpa 150 and the lights were great. I like the USB output directly on the battery. Very handy to have. I did not property test the panels but they seemed sturdy and easy to connect. The UI worked. It was a bit bulky for what it does. This also might attribute to the large amount of battery usage. I have read reviews of people measuring the draw and the UI was very inefficient. Provides 110 and 220.

Pros: Mobile rechargeable power anywhere to power anything. Lights are awesome.
Cons: Nomad 27 is a bit heavy but it is a big panel. UI seems to draw too much.

[Lawmaker]

Next is the Crovel Extreme. I had ordered the original Crovel but while waiting for it, it was discontinued and the Extreme came out. I was happy because it had some great new features.

Someone else brought one of the current issue E-tools for comparison.
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/7325/pict4509b.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/502/pict4509b.jpg/)

I dug some holes, hammered in some tent stakes, used the saw and chopped some wood. You can go here to see all the features: http://www.gearupcenter.com/products.php?product=NEW%21%21%21-Crovel-Extreme. When I first picked it up I noticed it was heavy for an E-tool, 5.5 pounds. Then I noticed it was fairly sharp. I had a bit of difficulty deciding how I wanted to carry it on my pack. Still working on that one. I let several people try it out and tell me what they thought about it. Many liked it and said it was heavy also. Put it this way I did not find anything that it had trouble with. I was even surprised how easily it could chop wood. That is where the weight comes into play. I would not dare to do that with a normal e-tool for fear the shovel blade will separate and come back at me. I did notice that it was a bit hard to swing the hammer because of the shovel blade hitting me in the wrist. I think this could be solved with the blade perpendicular to the hammer instead of parallel. It wasn’t a big issue just had to readjust hand. One of the compromises of having so many tools in one.

Chopped some wood.
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1337/pict4514.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/pict4514.jpg/)

Video of one of the guys chopping some wood.
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IhRkgDB1Suw?hl=en&fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhRkgDB1Suw

Pros: Heavy, Sharp, Durable, American made, Supporting small business
Cons: Heavy, Sharp (I stubbed my toe bad on the blade.)

[Lawmaker]

Next is USMC Diamond 3man Tent.
As you can see from the solar light pics I got it up pretty easily. Actually if was very easy to set up. Some of the other people had problems setting up theirs. I finished mine and helped other people. One of the features that I really like is the rain fly buckles into the tent stake straps. Super easy. It was very roomy inside and nothing got in.

Pros: Super easy setup.
Cons: A bit heavy for the weak minded

Next is the Sawyer Complete 2 Liter Water Filtration System - SP162
http://www.sawyer.com/SP162.htm
It comes with two bags. A dirty bag and a clean bag and a filter in-between. I filled up some nasty lake water in the dirty bag and hung it up. Connected the tube to that then the tube to the filter then the filter to the clean bag. It started filling up automatically. About a minute later and it was done. Tried some of the water. It was clean but didn’t taste the best. I am not running to the toilet either. So I guess it works. And works fast.

Pros: Fast
Cons: Some weight or gravity is helpful for movement through filter