Customer reviews from goalzero.com
Goal Zero - Sherpa50 Inverter Kit - Aluminum/Black
Average customer rating
4.5
(115 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 115 reviews
5 Stars
81
4 Stars
23
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Star
8
93%of customers recommend this product.
(
102 out of
110)
Customer Reviews for Goal Zero - Sherpa50 Inverter Kit - Aluminum/Black
Customer Rating
5
Great charger
on June 24, 2013
Posted by: Travelin' Joe
from Highlands Ranch, Co
Got the Sherpa 50 for an Asia business trip. The Sherpa 50 has given me some great piece of mind. I wasn't worried about not having enough juice for my laptop and cell phone. My cell is my life line and I've been in those situations where every drop of power counts. So cool not to have that anxiety. It also charged my laptop and phone really quickly. I don't know how they do this, but it seemed to just discharge the batteries and charge the phone and laptop really fast. I used the direct laptop port with my Lenovo and it worked like a charm. Got a few people asking about it too. I'm looking forward to taking it out backpacking to power up my phone, camera and laptop. Should be great.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
5
Charge it all!
on April 16, 2014
Posted by: shtumpa
from Haines, Alaska
Gender:Male
I have owned the Sherpa 50 battery pack, and Nomad 13 for about 9 months now, and this thing will charge anything!
I spend alot of time filming in remote places, such as Southeast Alaska, Grand Canyon, Desert Southwest.
It can charge my cameras, computer, and even my Phantom Gopro Drone!
I recommend this product to anyone that has electronics to use in the backcountry.
I spend alot of time filming in remote places, such as Southeast Alaska, Grand Canyon, Desert Southwest.
It can charge my cameras, computer, and even my Phantom Gopro Drone!
I recommend this product to anyone that has electronics to use in the backcountry.
I even use the battery back in airports and while traveling to give my gadgets a bit extra juice between outlets.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
5
Powering my Peace Corps service
on December 10, 2013
Posted by: Paul in Panama
from Panama
I use the nomad 13 and the Sherpa 50 to power all of my gear during my Peace Corps service. I live in a town without electricity and this has been perfect to power all of my electronics - two tablet, a camera, two phones, and soon to be guide 10 for rechargeable batteries. Not once have I wanted to use my electronics and not been able to.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
5
Staying Charged in the Yukon
on August 14, 2013
Posted by: Bossman
from Charlotte, NC
Verified Purchase:No
Leaving the grid for a two week hunt requires confidence in the equipment you choose to bring. My Sherpa 50 gave me that confidence. My guide was so impressed that I left him my set up to keep his I Pod and mini speaker going. I plan to take a couple extra Sherpa's this year to give to the outfitters.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
4
Compact, yet just as powerful
on February 23, 2013
Posted by: Jake Zeppa
from Concord, Ca.
Let me first start by saying that the newest iteration of the Sherpa50 is superior in almost all respects to the old Sherpa 50. Be that the smaller form factor, the use of Li-ion over Li-Po, and the products adaptability to your everyday life. The new Sherpa50 has almost everything. To make this review a little more readable to the masses, I'll start out with my impressions of this device, and the results of months of stress testing I imparted on this battery pack. And once the basics are out of the way, I'll lay down some of the technical information which people like me will find important. Based on how I rated this product, I'm sure you can guess I'm quite happy with the Sherpa50's performance and form factor. Having extensively used the older (and much larger) brother to the new Sherpa50, the newest version leaves my school bag, and backpack lighter, and with more space. Yes, the new Sherpa50 is half the weight, and takes up only 48% of the volume of the older version. This may not be important for everyone, but I don't have to tell those who backpack, or have to haul things on their person (bag, purse, pocket, whatever) how important a pound+ savings can be. Normally such an accomplishment comes at a cost, but not this time. So, what are some of the changes made? The biggest would be the changeover to laptop cells (6x 18650's, vs. 3 large LiPo's), and a much more compact circuit design. But GoalZero didn't just stop by making the product smaller; they added a beefier USB port (1.5A vs 0.5A, and yes, this thing charges iPads, and Smartphone's with ease), a cleaver attachable inverter (sold separately, though worth picking up), the addition of a laptop port (you can't use the laptop and 12v port simultaneously), and an LED light. The new Sherpa50 now comes with a regulated 12v port to keep some of your electronics happier. And I found total output to be fairly consistent with varying loads. But I did notice that the new design is a little less efficient when charging under solar power (requires more solar energy to acquire the same state of charge). There are also more apparent safeties built into this model. For the most part, these are good, because they not only protect you from a failure, but also extend the life of the device by limiting the amount of damage you can do to the cells. But under heavy loads, especially while charging from solar, I could trigger the thermal safety cut-off, completely disconnecting any external charge coming in. The older version of the Sherpa50 was less temperate on this issue, but on the same note, the older version appears to be degrading faster when it comes to maintaining maximum capacity. So, how has the new battery worked for me? Well, its main use has been powering my laptop (through the use of the attachable inverter) on an almost daily basis. In many instances I've used the new Sherpa50, with a few Nomad13's, to keep my laptop powered throughout the day without a plug in sight. Using the Sherpa50 to power your iPad (or other tablet) basically equates to 10-20hrs of use (depending on model) before even touching your internal battery. And if keeping your phone charged for days away from the city is important, well, look no further. So, here comes the technical stuff. First, I'd like to talk about the advertised capacity. Under a 1C discharge, initial capacity showed 51wh (±1.8wh), which is slightly above those quoted by the company (the original Sherpa50 only gave 43wh under similar testing). And with close to 60-70 discharge cycles now on this pack, it still shows a capacity of 47wh. Though data on the specific LG cells used by GoalZero are unavailable, similar models show an expected drop-off of 80% after 300 cycles, putting my results closely in line of a linear model. Cells come in a standard series parallel (3-3.7v series, 2 sets in parallel) configuration, using quality cells. Because the cells are charged to about 90% of their total capacity, there will be some degradation over the long haul (the ideal standard is to only use 65% of total capacity for longest life). But having designed/built a battery pack under similar parameters as GoalZero for the solar car of our University, we found longevity of the cells to be only a minor issue. To wrap up this review, the new Sherpa50 follows in the footsteps of its older brother. But the newest offering gives you more features in a lighter, smaller form factor, making this battery perfect for almost everything. Capacity in my testing has also increased by 18%, while battery safeties are maintaining that capacity longer. I really liked the old Sherpa50, but this new one I just love, that's about all I can say.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
5
Compact, rugged --- a great BOB Item!
on April 16, 2014
Posted by: saxman717
from MD, United States
Gender:Male
I bought a Sherpa 50 and paired it with a nomad 27 solar panel kit ---- the results are outstanding. Fast charges (on the order of 3-5 hrs, typically) and it charges my iPad and runs my lights/fan outdoors for a long time. Great item for a bug out bag and for emergency backup (on a small order).
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
5
Sherpa 50 Saved The Day
on March 12, 2013
Posted by: RHamilton
from Orem, UT
Very useful and handy to have in many situations. Travel, around the house, backpacking, motorcycle camping. My truck broke down in western Kansas just as a blizzard was coming through. The freeway was closed up ahead and I had no way to get to a hotel on my own. My phone was just about dead so I plugged into the Sherpa 50 and was able to alert my family as well as contact the local Sheriff's office for a ride to a hotel 30 miles down the road. At worst my life was in danger, at best it would have been a truly awful night in below freezing temperatures inside my truck. Goal Zero products have come in handy plenty of times, but this time I was truly grateful to have the Sherpa 50 along for the ride.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com
Customer Rating
4
Simplifies photography in remote ranges
on June 9, 2013
Posted by: Ty Guarino
from Bozeman, MT
My team of four took the Sherpa 50 to the Revelation range of AK and was pleased with its ability to allow us to take digital pictures for 20 straight days. With adequate sun, the power pack charges efficiently allowing us to watch movies on a laptop during our down days. The only drawback that we could find was that the power cord connection from the nomad 13 became frayed was not field serviceable.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting goalzero.com