I bought mine from the gadget shop as it was priced at just £30 and went camping hoping this would allow me to charge my iPhone and keep in touch with the outside world.

The kit comprises two main parts. The small metal cased Freeloader unit whch contains a rechargeable battery cell, and the Supercharger solar panel. There are two small solar panels integrated into the freeloader unit but you're not likely to use these as the supercharger is better. The idea is that you fully charge the freeloader and, when needed, you connect up your iPhone (or other equipment) and transfer that charge to your device. The manufacturer claims freeloader can retain it's charge for a couple of months.

The freeloader can be charged via USB, so connect to a computer for example, or by connecting up the solar panel which forms the supercharger. In sunshine it should take up to 5 hours to fully charge the unit in this way. I have no reason to doubt this claim as I found the supercharger to be very effective - in sunshine. In cloud, the charging time is considerably longer, but it should be obvious that this would be the case. The manufacturer confirmed to me that a fully charger freeloader can supply about 70% of the full charge for an iPhone.

You can also charge devices directly by connecting the supercharger to the freeloader as well as connecting to your device. This I also found to be very effective.

The freeloader unit is not waterproof but this kit includes a protective pouch which also accommodates the supplied leads. The supercharger is weatherproof, however, and is fitted with a Velcro strap and two grippy clips to enable you to attach it to your rucksack, bicycle, tent... Whatever really. I had a little difficulty but did manage to fix it to the rucksack in the end. I felt slightly foolish, but I was able to recharge my iPhone so who cares?

The freeloader unit seems to work best after two or three full charges. It didn't do much first two attempts. Now, however, despite thinking of renewable energy as a load of hooey, I absolutely love it.

You need to think about how long it takes to recharge the freeloader in relation to what you want it to power and how frequently the item normally needs to be recharged.

For me, it does exactly what it says on the box and looks cool too.