The Solo Rocsta is a solar charger with a built-in battery pack, which definitely falls into the nifty-neat-cool category. Sit this puppy face-up in the sunshine, and it self-charges with the rays of the sun. Plug it into your iPod, phone, camera, or any other item with a USB charger, mini USB, micro USB, and start feeding them power. You have a Nokia, Samsung3, or LG3 item, which has a unique power port? No worries; the Rocsta solar charger comes with a selection of do-dads that fit into the power ports for all of these.

In my house, there’s a constant battle for iPod power ports. One is on the computer, another is plugged into the wall, and someone’s left out. Or, at least they were, until the Rocsta came into the house. And when we went out onto the Chesapeake for a day of fishing, it became even more useful. The bite was slow, the iPods got some heavy use, and by noon their batteries were tapped. But the Rocsta kept ‘em going strong.

The unit holds onto its solar charge with a Li-ion 3.7-v built-in battery, which reaches a full charge with eight to 10 hours of exposure to the sun. It weighs a hair over four ounces, and also has a built-in carabiner clip for bikers and hikers. I really like these little gadgets, despite the $79.99 MSRP. Check ‘em out for yourself, along with other solar chargers, at  the Solio web site.

The Rocsta from Solio keeps your gadgets humming right along.