The Solar USB Charger range by Brando

The Brando solar USB charger is essentially the same kind of device as the Solio Solar Charger and the Freeloader Solar Charger. It features an internal battery connected to small solar panels, and a swag of connector tips for using it to recharge a wide variety of small electronic devices.

There are several Brando models, all of the same dimensions. There is the polycrystalline unit with the 2600mAh battery, a cheaper model with a thin film panel and a 1500mAh battery and a unit with two USB ports to allow charging of two devices at once. It features a built in 2000mAh battery which is a reasonable capacity, and the output voltage can be changed between several preset levels. These units can also be charged up on mains electricity.

An Unbelievable Price

There is one major difference between the Brando item and the others in this size and capacity range; the price. While other portable solar chargers are around the $100 mark, the Brando variants come in at surprisingly low prices of between $29 for the thin film version up to $59 for the dual port version.

The lower price of the unit seems to have been made possible by shortcuts in the manufacturing process. Various reviews of the Brando line of solar chargers indicate that the units may work as described in the user manual, but are equally likely to be malfunctioning or not functioning at all.

Then there is Brando's return policy on these items. They state that faulty items need to be returned within 30 days of them being shipped to you. Between transit to you and back to the company, that does not leave much time for a unit to prove itself to be defective. Indeed they state that postage can take anywhere from 7 to 30 days depending on your location, leaving you with virtually no recourse if you receive a faulty unit. This does not compare favourably with the one year warranty offered on the Solio charger. They also reserve the right to decide whether or not they will refund you or replace the unit.

Buying a Brand charger seems to be a bit of a gamble. It might work fine and if it does then you've had a win and have avoided the extra cost associated with longer-warranty chargers. Unfortunately there seems to be an all-too-high chance that you will have wasted your money and will then have to go and purchase a more expensive unit. While the pictures look good and it would be great to get an item like this for the price of the Brando solar USB charger, it seems that once again you get what you pay for.