• What if you switched to solar energy to charge your smartphone this summer?
  • With its Trail 14 W sold for 99 euros, XMoove launches a lightweight and practical solar charger to take anywhere.
  • Rather fast, the device sold 99 euros, is effective, but sulfur of a rather outdated connectivity.

It is not he who will save you energy (although...), but it may be he who will get you out of a bad time this summer, when the battery of your smartphone reaches a critical level. Its name: the Trail 14 W. Launched by XMoove, it is a solar charger designed to accompany us during our summer adventures. Trek in Corsica, ride by electric bike in the heart of the volcanoes of Auvergne, ascent of the dune of Pilat, or day at the beach in the Bay of the Somme... He will be of every day... without electricity, as evidenced by the test carried out by 20 Minutes.



Foldable and resistant

Weighing 300 grams, foldable, this new solar charger measures 45.5 x 31 cm unfolded, and 31 x 16 cm folded. It is made of ETFE resin. It is renowned for its high resistance, not only to harsh thermal conditions, but also to UV. Here, XMoove promises its charger operation between -10 ° C and + 60 ° C.

The device, which groups its photovoltaic cells on two of its panels, offers an electrical power of 14 W. It has two USB 2.1 ports capable of delivering power of up to 2.1 amps. The same one that corresponds to the one that most smartphones need to recharge....

Under the sun... exactly

Very easy to use as we have seen, the charger nevertheless assumes to be perfectly oriented in front of the sun's rays to draw the maximum energy. To complete the operation, XMoove has housed a small LCD module that displays in real time the intensity of the load, up to 2.1 A. It is therefore not very difficult to optimize the charging time of your smartphone or any other equipment, such as the battery of a camera or a powerbank.

However, care must be taken to move the charger regularly so that it follows the path of the sun. Otherwise, the intensity of the load will gradually decrease. This small screen being placed under the panel, it is also sometimes necessary to engage in some acrobatics to be able to read what it displays. Finally, it is necessary to take care not to leave the devices charging in direct sunlight, at the risk of damaging them.



XMoove provides with its Trail 14 W a carabiner. Vocation: hang the charger on a backpack to enjoy its benefits when you go hiking, for example. But a single carabiner will not be enough (the panel lacks a little flexibility and can fold). The three eyelets present will nevertheless allow at the end of a small DIY to hang it well to load a device ... as long as you walk with your back to the sun. Because like all chargers based on photovoltaic cells, the Trail 14 W does not produce (or very little) energy if it is not in direct sunlight.

3 hours to recharge a smartphone

Conclusion: by playing on the orientation of the Trail 14 W, it took us a little less than 3 hours to fully recharge in direct sunlight a classic smartphone with a 4,500 mAh battery (the Reno 8, Oppo). And nearly 6 hours to recharge a powerbank with a 10,000 mAh battery. What to avoid the breakdown. And what, already, imagine yourself on a beach for an afternoon with your charger, and leave golden underneath with a smartphone whose battery will be ready to follow us until the end of the night!

On arrival, this new charger is very practical, even reassuring, in view of our future summer outings. Nevertheless, if the Trail 14 W has two sockets to charge two devices simultaneously, these are USB sockets a little outdated. And the only cable provided by the manufacturer is a USB to micro-USB cable. A micro-USB socket that, if it was universal a few years ago, has long since given way to USB-C.

  • Tech
  • Solar
  • Solar energy
  • Smartphone
  • Summer
  • Summer holidays
  • Tik Tech