I bought this radio because I liked the idea of a solar powered radio for use on the beach and in the yard. I thought it may also come in handy in the event of a power outage (you know those battery powered things never seem to work when you really need them!) When I recieved it, it was much smaller than I anticipated, and very cute! It has great reception as compared to another cheap little battery radio I had (it gets my a.m. Yankee channel crystal clear, which the other didn't :) And, I have actually used it more in the house than out, unlike I thought. I don't know if the battery came with a precharge or not, but after about 30 seconds of cranking, it has not run out of life yet, hours of use later?!
Overall a great little device, seems to be quality construction and small enough to throw in a bag for any outting. (I'm taking it to work with me today to listen to those Yanks:)
I bought this little radio for 3 reasons: 1. It doesn't require batteries.
2. It has a solar panel.
3. It's very compact.
When I received the radio I was surprised at how small it was. I actually said to myself, "Wow, this is really cool!" It was perfect for my needs because I ride a motorcycle - which is my only means of transportation, other than my feet - and I use a backpack to carry everything around, which means that I have to organize my compartments.
The sound in both AM and FM are very good, and I was surprised at the clarity when I used my ear buds.
The solar panel at the top of the radio works very well, but only if it's in direct sunlight and on sunny days. If it's overcast, you'll need to use the dynamo to charge the radio. When you get a good reception, the green light next to 'TUN' will be on. You'll notice that the radio will lose power when the reception starts to fade, and the green light starts flickering. Eventually, the light will fade. That's your queue to start cranking again.
The flashlight is very bright, and the lanyard convenient to have so that you don't accidentally drop the radio.
The one feature I was disappointed with was the cell phone charging capability. In the instruction booklet, they recommend winding the radio for at least 15 minutes to get 1 minute of cell power. I would not recommend this radio if you plan on charging your cell phone. Believe it or not, it's actually tiresome to wind the radio for a whole minute, let alone 15 minutes. That would require a lot of people.
I cannot really comment on the radio's durability because I haven't used it for that long. But I like it so much that I take very good care of it. In fact, I keep it in its bubble wrap when I put it in my backpack. It wouldn't hurt to purchase a little protective case.
Overall, I am very pleased with this little radio. It's a great invention and it does everything I need it to do.
It's a really clever compact design and great to have except that I had to return it twice. The first time the light stopped working. The second time the light worked but the radio didn't. Of course, there was no problem with LL Bean taking them back. After two times I decided to quit.
