I consider weather radios to be a must have device in any household. Especially in the tornado season, I find that not having one risky, and I would never expose myself and my family to the risk. However, I had the same weather radio for many years, until it broke this year, in March. I was extremely concerned with that and I hurried to find a good replacement for my old radio. However, because I was in a hurry, I didn’t spend enough time checking for the best replacement, I found the Eton model, thought it was a good deal for all the features included and I ordered it immediately.

This is a really small unit that fits in the palm of your hand and it is quite lightweight, so I was all the more impressed with what the manufacturers have managed to put in it. The radio comes with a hand-crank generator, a built-in solar panel, a LED flashlight, and an USB port to charge a mobile phone.

I started using it immediately, as I wasn’t going to wait the tornado to knock at my door. However, it took me a while to set the right frequency as the tuning controls are quite sensitive and, for this small unit I would have expected something more steady. In the end, I managed to successfully set the frequency. Still, I was quite disappointed with the audio clarity and I can’t really stay with my ear stuck to product to be able to know the latest weather news. At some times, the radio even loses the channel it’s broadcasting. I won’t think about what will happen to the signal during a storm.

In addition, the manufacturers advertise that it can charge phones, and the unit does charge mine, however, my son has an iPhone and it doesn’t work for it. I have read that many people have dealt with this problem after purchasing this radio and I believe it would only be fair to let people know about these details, especially since many possess iPhones. Moreover, I wouldn’t even think of the flashlight to guide my way through the dark, as it only produces a faded beam of light. I do agree that this a basic product, coming with an accessible price, but, what I don’t understand is why endow a simple weather radio with so many functions that do not work properly? I would prefer a simple weather radio, instead of this one, that will let me down in emergency cases.

The hand-crank generator works fine, but when it comes to the quality of its material, I wouldn’t crank it with more speed as I’m afraid it might break. Luckily, you can keep it tucked away in the safe place at the back of your radio. I wouldn’t recommend buying it, instead invest in a more reliable product, as I will probably be forced to soon.