EnerPlex JUMPR Slate and KICKR IV Review

No matter how much you like being off the grid, chances are if you’re somewhat like the rest of us, you get a little cranky when your iPhone-Pad-Mac-etc. runs out of juice.  There are more and more options for keeping your electronics charged while you’re on the go – we’ve recently been test driving out some outdoor-oriented portable power gear from new-to-us brand EnerPlex.

The EnerPlex JUMPR Slate and KICKR setups are compact and durable

Specifically, we’ve been using Enerplex’s JUMPR Slate 5K charger and KICKR IV portable solar panel on some recent adventures (from hiking/camping to more pedestrian commercial air travel) to keep iPhones topped off and iPads juiced.

JUMPR Slate 5K

This ultra-slim charger is only 6.7”x3.7”0.3” and designed to fit easily into binders, backpacks, glove compartments, etc.  The lithium-polymer battery has a capacityof 5100 mAh (for reference an iPhone 5 fully charged is 1570 mAh) and charges from a wall outlet in about 5-ish hours.  The Slate can also be charged with solar, which I’ll get to in a little bit.

First Impressions:  The JUMPR Slate is so thin and light that I usually forget that I’m carrying it in my Camelbak (on the trail) or in my Filson messenger bag (daily carry) until I need it.  The charger works exactly as you’d expect and has LED charge indicators, so you know how much reserve juice the device has left.

I’ve been impressed so far with durability for such a thin package.  I wouldn’t overly worry about dropping it or being rough with it.  In a pinch, I’d bet you could use the thing as a cutting board or mini bridging ladder (kidding).

KICKR IV

The KICKR IV is a portable, foldable, durable solar panel array that is equally comfortable spread on a rock, hood of the truck, or lashed to a backpack.  I’ve not had a chance to use the KICKR IV as much as the JUMPR, but my initial impressions are that it also is a piece of kit that doesn’t need to be babied.  In a test run in about 80% sunlight, it recharged the JUMPR slate about 50% in 2.5-3 hours.

Parting Thoughts

Overall I’m initially impressed with EnerPlex’s offerings.  I’d love to see them apply their solar charging design, weight, durability, and packaging philosophy to vehicle solar charging application;)