Green Gear Review: SuperBattery Hand-Crank Gadget Charger

You’re in the middle of nowhere, miles from a gas station, and your car breaks down. You pull out your cell phone to call AAA and – oh, great – it’s dead, too. What, exactly, do you do in this scenario? Well, if you’ve got a Datexx SupeBattery hand-crank gadget charger, you simply pull it out and start cranking. After a few minutes, you’ll have enough juice to power your cell long enough to make the call.

The SuperBattery can charge up to 1,200 different devices, including cell phones, mp3 players, digital cameras and handheld game consoles. Two minutes of cranking gives you six minutes of talk time on your phone or 50 minutes use of the built-in flashlight – just enough for emergency situations. It can also be used as a portable charger for camping trips and other situations in which a wall outlet is not available – just charge it up with the AC adapter before you leave and bring it with you.

I decided to test out the SuperBattery with my iPod, to see just how well it met these claims. I brought it with me on a long day hike and when my iPod power started getting low, I plugged it into the fully charged SuperBattery and got approximately 4 extra hours of play time.

Later, when the SuperBattery charge was up, I tested the hand-crank function, turning the crank for about two minutes. I hooked it up to my iPod and, indeed, got right about two minutes of listening time before the charge wore out.

The caveat: Datexx recommends always keeping your SuperBattery fully charged, which means constantly leaving it plugged in to an electrical socket when not in use, to prolong the battery’s life cycle. It does meet EnergyStar requirements and consumes very little electricity, but for people who are trying to cut back on the amount of gadgets plugged in around their homes, this might be a no-go.

However, the SuperBattery does successfully harness a source of renewable energy that we sometimes overlook: the power of our own strength. For an average cost of $35, the SuperBattery is definitely worth the cash to have a relatively green gadget charger on hand at all times.

Link [Datexx SuperBattery]

The World’s Greenest Roller Coaster is Pedal-Powered

It’s frightening enough to imagine taking a ride on a man-powered ferris wheel. However, a pedal-powered roller coaster takes the whole “eco amusement park” thing to new heights – literally.

The Skycycle at the Washuzan Highland Park in Okayama, Japan may not be a speed demon’s dream, but thrillseekers will still get a kick out of it considering that you’re basically riding a bike on a thin rail, dozens of feet above the ground on the side of a steep hill. Aside from the lights used to illuminate it at night, this ride uses zero electricity.

Sure, it probably won’t be showing up at Busch Gardens any time soon, but it’s always cool to see human-powered tech being used in innovative ways. Personally, you’d have to drug me to get me on this thing. The height is bad enough – add in rusty tracks and a flimsy seatbelt and my answer is hell to the no.

Link [Ecofriend]

All the Cool Kids Use Hand-Crank Gadgets

Solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy are certainly cool, but when it comes to small household items, sometimes the best form of energy you can use is your very own muscle power. Hand-crank gadgets and gear are a low-tech way to unplug many items in your home, from blenders and food processors to washing machines and even cell phone chargers. Here are a few examples of hand-crank tech that would be super-easy to integrate into your daily life.

SUPERBattery – This hand-powered charger for mobile devices will power up your cell phone, mp3 player, portable gaming devices and other gadgets without ever needing to be plugged in. The $30 system is best left for emergency situations since you only get 2 minutes of talk time on your cell for 6 minutes of cranking, but it’s a handy thing ot have around.

Wind n Go Freedom Shaver – You don’t have to resign yourself to being a hairy hippie just because you want to stop using your electric razor. This wind-up razor never needs batteries or electricity to charge – just crank it up and for $46 you’ll be beardless as a baby.

Hand Crank mp3 Player – If you feel like your arm muscles could use some definition, perhaps a hand-crank mp3 player is just what you need. 10 minutes of cranking equals the same amount of power generated by 50 minutes of charging via the USB cable. It has no screen, minimizing drain on the 3.5 hour cell-life, and has 1GB storage capacity. Cool idea, but it looks like it’s only available in Japan for now.

Bike Blender – Okay, so this is more leg-powered than hand-powered, but it’s still a cool off-grid gadget. The Bike Blender is available in both conventional and stationary models so you can either get some exercise in your backyard while whipping up some margaritas or prepare a smoothie while bicycling home from the store. Genius.

Wonder Wash – Hand wash your clothes without breaking your back. No need to bend over a tub for hours on end when you can simply throw your clothes into a bin with some water and soap, turn the handle for a few minutes and rinse. Voila, clean clothes without using any electricity at all in no time flat. Check out our recent review of this hand-crank washing machine.

Go Battery-Free with a Wind-Up Remote Control

How many remote controls are sitting on your coffee table right now? Those remotes aren’t just plastic pieces of junk, they also use up batteries. But, there’s no sense in getting up every time you want to change the channel, adjust the volume or pause the DVD you’re watching, so getting rid of them isn’t really an option – or is it? A new wind-up remote powers up to 6 gadgets at a time.

Just turn the dial on the front of the remote to charge it – thirty turns will keep it running for a full seven days. Mindlessly turn it while watching your favorite shows and you’re golden. It’s £19.53 (about $28.50) at Ethical Superstore.

If only it weren’t made of plastic, it would be awesome.

Link [Alternative Consumer] + [Ethical Superstore]

Japan Harnesses Energy from Commuters’ Footsteps

Two of Tokyo’s biggest train stations have begun experimenting with harnessing the energy generated by the footsteps of millions of commuters who pass through each and every day. Special floor tiles installed in front of the ticket turnstiles trigger a small vibration that can be stored as energy every time a passenger steps on them.

From The Telegraph:

Multiplied many times over by the 400,000 people who use Tokyo Station on an average day, according to East Japan Railway, and there is sufficient energy to light up electronic signboards.

“We are just testing the system at the moment to examine its full potential,” said Takuya Ikeba, a spokesman for JR East, adding that the tiles are constructed of layers of rubber sheeting, to absorb the vibrations, and ceramic.

Deeply dependent on imported fuel to power its industries, Japanese companies are at the forefront of research into clean and reuseable energy sources.

The “Power Generation Floor” at Shibuya Station on the other side of Tokyo can generate an even more significant amount of power considering that 2.4 million people pass through it each day. The power generated by the tiles, made by Soundpower Corp., can be stored in capacitors and channeled to the areas of the station in need of power, including the lighting system and ticket gates.

It’s awesome to see this technology get tested on a large scale. It only makes sense to harvest clean, emissions-free energy however we can, and with the millions of people that pass over busy stations like this all over the world, it really has potential to do a lot of good.

Link [The Telegraph]

New Nightclub in London Gets 60% of its Power from Dancing Clubgoers

Last weekend saw the grand opening of Britain’s first ‘eco-nightclub’, “Club4Climate”.  The London club features a high-tech dance floor that generates power from the people who are dancing on it.  The dancer’s body movements cause the floor to generate an electric charge that is said to produce an estimated 60% of the club’s energy needs.

From Atypical Events:

Club4Climate was started by a property developer named Andre Charalambous, who goes by the alias of “Dr.Earth.”

The entrance fee to the club is just £10 but upon entrance, customers are must sign a pledge promising that they will work to curtail climate change.

Customers who arrive at the club on foot or on bikes will get in for free, although they will still have to sign the pledge to fight climate change.

The green efforts at Club4Climate don’t stop at the electricity-generating dance floor, the venue also sells organic drinks in polycarbon cups and the bathrooms are equipped with waterless urinals and low flush toilets.

The club also has its own solar power and wind turbine system, and any excess power will be donated locally.

60% is a pretty high number! If it’s correct, we love this – this is some major eco-innovation.  The website is kind of hilarious (check out Dr. Earth), with a tagline of “all you have to do is dance to save the world” and the statement that “Dr. Earth wants you to be environmentally aware, but he sees no reason why environmental awareness and hedonism shouldn’t go hand in hand. They are not mutually exclusive.”

Check out the video below:

Link [Atypical Events] + [Club4Climate]