Trail Tested: nPower Peg Personal Energy Generator

By Prada     Publishing again due to many requests...

Gang, I have to admit, at first I was hesitant to order the new nPower® PEG. It’s the new personal energy generator that can charge your small electronics on the trail (cell phone, iPod, etc) with energy generated and stored from you simply walking down the trail. The website told me it could  get me off the grid, “Disappear into the woods - the nPower® PEG uses your kinetic energy to keep you in touch with loved ones and ready for emergencies.” (http://www.npowerpeg.com/ ) Hmmmm, I was intrigued. So earlier in the year I got on the waiting list. And I waited.   

It was awhile before I heard back from the company, but let me tell you… the wait made me want it even more. I REALLY wanted this thing that NO ONE could get…I mean you had to go on a waiting list to get this thing! ARGH! I WANTED THE PEG!!!!!!

I was still waiting. I was hooked. I was drooling…I was DREAMING nPower® PEG dreams. The dreams were always the same...I’d get a mysterious knock at the door in the middle of the night and there it would be, life size, and standing in the gloriously blinding glow of newness! Laughing as I write this...What has their marketing done to me!!! (You know you’re laughing too, and if you’re not, you really need to get out and hike more).  

I was so crazy about this thing I felt like the acne-ridden, awkward pre-teen girl who just found out she got back stage passes to see Poison (yes, the 80’s ROCKED!) I ordered the Peg late on a Friday and had it in my excitedly shaking hands by Tuesday. Let’s talk about amazing customer service: they had shipped it off to me within 41 minutes of ordering, and even notified me by email it was on its way. I was really impressed. 

Out of the box it is very simple to use and understand. There is the Peg itself (think the size and shape of the relay baton we all used in phys ed in high school) along with the USB charging cord (to charge it from a computer). They also include a cable and micro-USB to hook to your hand held device to then charge it. I also ordered the extra Apple adaptor tip so I’d be able to charge about anything that might come along. ($11.49 extra). I was pretty happy with this. My only slight disappointment was that I had to add my own connector to be able to plug the USB  into a wall socket. I really wish, for the price of the unit at $169.99, that this had been included. My other ever-so-small wish was that I only had one cord to keep up with instead of two (that would charge-in and charge-out) but I’m really not complaining! 

Everything together weighs just over 14 ounces. At first I cringed at how much weight that seemed to be, but now after using it I’d even trade out a day’s food if I had to just to be able to have it along. The thing is magical. Just knowing I have unlimited power “in my pocket” (of course based on my movements, which on the AT is A LOT) gives me a sense of security on the trail. Many times I hike alone and used to always hurry off the phone when calling home, to save my battery, just in case. Now I can talk at will, lend my phone to others who can’t ever get signal (by the way VERIZON ROCKS!!! Sorry Barfo), text anyone and everyone if I like, and send pictures on demand. I could even charge other people’s phones on the trail, and that feeling of being able to help out was amazing (and could make me adoringly popular!!!)    

The compact size fits just about anywhere in your pack too, slides down in the previously wasted space between all your other gear. I never even noticed it was there. I have to say I’m in love with the thing, 14oz or not, it’s one of the best safety devices I’ve invested in. So in case you were wondering, yes, it’s worth every single cent (not that I wouldn’t be REALLY, REALLY, CRAZY happy if it cost about half as much as it does...but you can’t have everything!!!). So yeah, order it. It’s Trail Tested, Prada Approved!