HY Mini Wind-Powered Charger

At last a portable charger which won’t be subdued by the British weather. No sun or even daylight required.
I’ve always fancied a wind turbine but the cost and potential objections from my neighbours have prevented me, until now that is, and if my HY mini were to offend anyone I can always slip it in my pocket.
Instant gratification straight from the box is achieved by blowing the blades – when you get them to ‘charging speed’ a little green LED illuminates them in a curiously affirming way. As a commuting cyclist I teamed HY mini with the bicycle kit which is ideal as HY mini requires a wind velocity of 9mph to charge. I’d hate to have to plan running against the wind to stand a chance of getting sufficient wind speed... pedalling into the wind is a different matter, now, as I console myself with the thought that at least the HY mini will be getting a good boost!
It charged the devices I needed it to - a Nokia mobile (with the old style larger connector – though it supplied with quite a selection of adaptor tips including the new ‘skinny’ Nokia tip too) credit to the manufacturers for making the charging cable on a nice retractable reel for keeping nice and tidy – avoiding those un-ravelling a spaghetti like cable jumble before next use moments. Life was breathed into my i-pod too – no i-pod tip is supplied but I simply used the i-pod’s cable via the full size USB connector on-board the HY mini.
As well as meeting my own charging needs it’s also proved a good conversation piece, it’s nothing if not quirky in style... However my daughter thought I’d opted to ‘pimp my ride’ by installing a fan for keeping cool this summer.
There are some downsides – the green charging LED which is so gratifying initially can’t be seen when you are actually pedalling so one’s never sure just what percentage of the journey you are adding charge. I expected a conditioning charge to be required (mains adaptor is included) but according to the documentation – if the battery gets completely exhausted the turbine alone won’t be able to fully re-charge it - that said in the month I’ve been using it I haven’t encountered such a scenario. Potentially the biggest disappointment is it’s not particularly water resistant – if this could be addressed it would be awesome, as it is it’s pretty good.
Please note I’m a member of Ethical Superstore staff – I’m trying to be transparent in this review but you should know just in case you think I’m trying to give you the hard sell...