Solar Technology Freeloader Full Review
Posted: 07 February 2008 by Adam Vaughan
We do have a few gripes. The biggie is that you can't see how much charge is stored -- there are no indicator lights or display screens, so you just have to guess. The design of the Freeloader is also no match for its gorgeous rival, the Solio, and assembling and packing away the solar panels can be a bit fiddly. For storage, you have to snap the two panels together, then insert them into the battery.
Last but not least, there's the eco impact of the battery, which like any rechargeable has a shelf life. In this case, about two years of typical use, at which point you'll need to buy a new one (£13) and recycle the old one. For recycling, you can post the battery to Solar Technology or use your local recycling centre.
The Freeloader is -- as you'd expect -- made in China. The factory is a Sedex member, which means factories and companies set themselves labour condition goals and let independent auditors check how well they're doing on those goals. In other words, it's a self-assessment and shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of good wages or working conditions. On the plus side, Freeloader's UK team do visit the factory twice a year to inspect standards.
Despite these flaws, the Freeloader is hard to dislike simply because it's so cheap. If you can't bring yourself to buy the pink version -- whose garish hue we find oddly charming -- there's also a discrete silver edition. You can buy yours directly from Solar Technology or through other online eco stores -- we got ours from Natural Collection.
Quality
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