Etón SCORPION Rugged, Portable Multi-Purpose Digital Radio with Crank Power Back-up and Weather Alerts - Green, NSP100GR

I bought this product for my son who recently purchased a camp where there's lots of trails for hiking, etc. After reading other's reviews, I decided on the Scorpion and it lives up to all the praise. It's perfect...good sound, nice size and attaches to your belt loop or backpack, easily powered and made tough. The extras like being able to charge your phone, light your way are bonuses. He has no reception for anything else so this radio is keeping him in tune with what's happening elsewhere. Very good product.

The good: Light weight, small, no batteries with hand crank, solr charger, has an AM/FM radio, has the weather band, a flash light AND last but not least a bottle opener.Yeah a bottle opener? Not really sure where that came from.The not so good: I cranked according to the instructions but the charge doesn't last as long as it's supposed to. Radio on mid-volume and the flash light on just doesn't hold up for more than 10 minutes at the most which means further cranking. The bottle opener doesn't seem very functional with the position it's in and frankly I was worried about trying it in fear of cracking the plastic case. The solr panel charges if you've got all day but in an emergency you really don't so be ready to crank.Overall it's pretty awesome and the absence of reliance on batteries is worth a lot of cranking in my book. It's a good product that I would buy again. If the charge lasted a little longer between cranks I would have given it a 5 star.

a great addition to any outdoor kit , the water rating is great its got a decent beam an the radio is a plus , an a bottle opener too ! I know it sounds gimmicky but when you forget one an you remember this it comes in handy . A quality build , the cells charge great in the sun , an the winding handle doesn't feel flimsy or cheap plastic , its a great build , the antenna could be an issue if your rough with it , that would be my only complaint .The clip is strong an closes well with no gap in between the metal.

This is a great product.At the firt time that I opened the products was a little smaller than I thought.But abou the functioanality about this item, it's great. It works perfectly it has a great volume in the speaker even that is sound just as mono, it's sounds great.when you connect you ipod in the Aux, the volumen is controled by the iphone or by the other device and not by the Scorpion.the radio reception it very clear, and abou the solar cell it very sensible so every time that sense a little bit of light, it start to charge.I think it's a great price and worth every penny that you pay.

ORIGINAL REVIEW (5-Star): This is a very nice little unit and it performs better than I expected. The hand crank feels solid, unlike others I've felt in the past that you worry will break quickly. The clip has a nice stiff spring in it and feels very solid. The radio reception is amazing and the retractable antenna is more than 7" long, so fine tuning is easy. The speaker is about 1.25" in diameter, but the sound is pretty good. Most of my vehicles don't get FM or AM this well. The clock is a nice feature and the display includes a battery gauge (similar to most cell phones). The LED light works well, but the three lights cast a strange shadow on the ground. It appears to be about as powerful as an average headlamp. The bottle opener has a metal ring all the way around, so you're not prying a bottle open against the plastic side. I've broken more than one widget when opening a bottle against a plastic surface...nice touch. I haven't had a chance to try the charging feature yet on my cell.Overall the design and build quality is top notch. We're not weekend campers, but with two kids this will be a great addition to our trip gear. Small, lightweight, rugged and functional.The only complaint I have is the placement of the antenna. With the unit lying so the speaker and solar panels are facing up, the antenna has a limited area to move around. But I consider this a minor issue.Note: The dimensions are for the main body of the Scorpion, and doesn't include the clip. The overall length is 6.5", and the other dimensions seem accurate.See my response to this post for an updated report...

I have to grudgingly recommend the Scorpion because it is so cool, but:1) the knob at the end of the folding handle broke off within 10 minutes of cranking. I had to drill a hole and purchase a screw to fix it. While cranking, you will fatigue and try to jocky the unit in to different cranking positions to keep your battered wrist from falling off. This leads to sheering stress in the weak plastic pin that holds the knob...I was using normal cranking force when it snapped off.2) a full charge yields less than an hour of radio time. I may eventually replace the internal battery with a better brand (yes, it is replaceable)3) Crank charging my smartphone was so marginal (and painful) that one would only resort to such torture in a life-or-death situation. It powered an external USB LED light ok(via cranking, unit provides no battery powered USB out)When used as an external speaker for my LG Thrill, there was a definite improvement in sound quality, but it still sounded like a cheap clock radio.Radio presets would have been nice to have. Reception is pretty good.On the positive side, the rubberized armor gives it a tough rugged feel, and the unit packs a lot of functionality in an ultra portable package. Like an Italian sports car, it looks better than it functions, but it has earned coveted real-estate on my night stand for its ability to always provide talk radio, light, and a minimum level of preparedness.7-21-13 Update:Unit no longer charges via solar, must either crank charge or plug in (I have not used it that much, it has only spent about 5 hours in the sun). Not dependable enough to recommend.

Parfait comme lampe d'appoint quand une coupure se produit. Une accroche mousqueton permet de ne pas la perdre, un décapsuleur sur le coté pour les alcoolique, et une radio incorporée le tout de bonne qualité (matériel solide)... bref la lampe de survie par excellence.

I had previously purchased an Eton FR360 as both an emergency radio, as well as to bring camping, on trips etc...While it is reasonably small and lightweight, I wanted to find something that was more compact, even if I had to sacrifice some of the features.Finally I decided upon the Eton Scorpion, hardly sacrificed anything, and do not feel that anything lost is a compromise.For it's size and features, I don't know if there is anything out there even close to this.It literally fits in the palm of your hand and is about 1 1/2" thick.Lightweight, splash proof, and built very durably out of plastic and rubber.There is a carabiner for attaching to a bag,made of aluminum so it will not corrode, although it would easily fit in the side pockets of most backpacks.Has a bottle opener which, while kind of a gimmick, works perfectly.Has AM/FM as well as weather radio stations. The reception is exceptional, the antennae can pointed in any direction, and conveniently slips inside the whole unit.It keeps time on the built in clock with a backlit LCD display.All of the buttons are grouped together well, a little on the small side, but still very easy to use and click when pressed so you know you have used it.The dynamo is very smooth, and very easy to generate sufficient constant power for all of the features the unit offers.The LED flashlight is very bright, easily maintained by intermittent cranks of the dynamo, and lasts a long time off of the internal battery. It is either on or off, and does not have a flashing mode.The speaker is very clear with the radio, and the unit also allows you to plug in other devices like and iPod through the aux port. It also has a headphone jack for private listening of the radio.These units have an AC adapter input, but even in overcast weather, the unit produces enough power to run the radio continuously.One of the things I was unhappy with my FR360 was that it would not charge my Blackberry, but the Scorpion will charge it when using the dynamo, but it will not charge it off of solar or the internal battery.It has a battery charge indicator, as well a light that lets you know if the option you are using is draining power from the unit, or if it is operating purely from the power generated by the dynamo or solar panel.I hope I have not missed anything as I am extremely happy and impressed with this product.I would recommend this to anyone who does backpacking, in your car or house for emergencies, and even to take down to the lake, beach, or river because of it's resistance to water.

I gave this item as a present after much research but the great thing about it is that each time we go to the outdoors I also get to enjoy it just as much.It is compact, rugged, it includes all the very basic features one needs and is extrimely simple to figure out and use. Reception is quite good and the only thing I can't quite figure out is why a bottle openner ! Why have it on since most are now twist caps ? Anyway, that extra feature does no arm and doesn't take anything away from a great must have piece of gear for leisure and emergency. Enjoy it like we do.

Works good but the crank handle broke off!

I like the ability to charge on the go. Hiking or camping essential! Solor power or wind-up is great to get the flashlight and radio function.on a fully charged eton - after plug-in. Tried to chared my 5% iPhone, gave in 28% then the eton was dead. Enough to keep me going.charges in a full day - partial sun. 8 hrs of light 2-3hrs direct 90º sunlight.Overall good unit to have with you in your vehicle as an emerency, and a must for campers/hikers.