Your Choice Goal Zero Solar Chargers (Refurbs) Price: $34.99 - 39.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Wednesday, May 20 to Thursday, May 21) + transit Condition: Refurbished
Does the Nomad 7 come with the 12v connector cable with the 8mm fitting on one end and the female cigarette lighter fitting on the other end? The Goal Zero website shows it as included with the Nomad 7.
[mod edit: these will indeed come with those accessories!]
These seem pretty exciting, but the comments from the previous sale make me wary. Pics & specs describe a later version than was actually received by customers. =/ If you need to make sure you have the latest version, buy elsewhere.
That said, I’m probably in for one, since any version should work for me.
I bought this the last time it was offered (Nomad 7). On the plus side, it works. Unfortunately, it looked as though it had been very well used, and was still quite filthy. If it had been the current generation, 50% off would be about right given the condition. Being that it is the original model, I’d rather pay the extra $40 at a reputable gear store like REI to get a clean current version.
When you are spending days outside, these things can be a big help. Those with phones/tablets that need 2 amps instead of 1 amp in particular should pair the 7 with a battery pack that can put out 2 amps (the Guide 10, for example, is “up to 1 amp”). Plug the battery to the panel and the phone to the battery. (Goal Zero’s Venture 30 can put out 2 amp, smaller ones are limited to 1 amp.) (7 watts / 5 volts = 1.xx amps at the MAX). The 7 is really just a gateway drug to higher capacity panels. Today’s 15 is more realistic, but not as portable. Others have pointed out other brands with inexpensive, portable, higher capacity panels; my heart still belongs to Goal Zero for getting me started.
Ohhhh…so reading the posts from the previous sale, I realize that these aren’t what manufacturers would refer to as “B-Stock” refurbished products. Rather, these are likely more like C/D-stock refurbs grades–heavily-used refurbs with no attempt to re-house internal components…and likely to be the older model. I guess that’s why it’s so cheap. Hopefully at least they check for integrity of things like the USB jacks.
I’ll never buy refurb on Woot again. Woot’s return policies are fine, and I’ve never not gotten my money back, but I’ve had to go to all the hassle of the return which is not insignificant. And it’s happened way too often.
The way i thought about it, really, all I need is the one output to a battery controller. So long as the PV cells are cranking out the advertised output…why pay $20 more…particularly when you’re buying three of them?
![[Preview 1]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/967a879f-740b-4a8f-8270-4a57b86a55fe.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 2]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/6e12f569-ac03-45df-87e7-58f95bc5cd4c.jpg){kind=link}
