Okay folks, here's the truth, the weather in Oklahoma has been horrific. We've had flooding and tornadoes, earthquakes and a tropical depression. I mean, Blake Shelton pulled a man out of flood waters! It has been crazy out here, but honestly I'm not surprised at all by this weather. Here in Oklahoma, you never know what you're going to get when it comes to the weather, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared.
About a month ago, I was given the opportunity to review the Encore Buddy from Freeplay Energy. The Encore Buddy is a portable, chargeable, battery operated radio. I figured with May and June usually being our stormy months, it would be perfect for us to use in bad weather. Boy, I couldn't have been more right!
When the Encore Buddy arrived, I was so happy to see that it is a smaller sized radio, that can easily fit into an all weather emergency bag. The radio is black and comes with different USB cables to easily charge it. It hooked up just fine to the laptop, and it has a light on the front of it to indicate when it is fully charged. There is a solar panel that will charge the device if your are outdoors.You can also charge the radio by cranking the handle on the back of it. This was very helpful to us a few weeks ago.
This is one cool radio!
The Encore Buddy also comes with a back-lit display so you can see the time and radio station. There are buttons next to the display on either side that allow you to turn the volume up or down, power the device on or change the station. You can also charge you cell phones by plugging the cables and chargers into the radio. I think my favorite thing about the Encore Buddy is the LED flashlight built into the side of it. This was also very helpful to us a few weeks ago.
So, like I said, the weather here in OK has been terrible. About two weeks ago, on a Saturday evening, I was watching TV when I got the feeling I needed to turn the channel and check the weather. As I flipped over to the local news, I began to see what no person wants to see at night, Tornado warnings. They were all around us, and moving closer by the minute.
I waited as long as I thought I should before I woke Cory up. You see, he was supposed to work Sunday morning, and I didn't want to wake him. I had no choice, the sirens started going off, the power was flickering on and off , the wind was howling outside and the rain was coming down in sheets. I was afraid.
I woke Cory up and let him know what was happening. We were watching the news and trying to decide if we needed to take shelter in the bathroom, and then it happened. The power went out for good. We sat there for a second, too afraid to speak, listening to the storm outside. After what seemed like forever, I said, we need to get the Encore Buddy out and listen to NOAA.
After a few minutes, we were able to tune the radio to our local news station and listen for further instructions. We learned that we were in the all clear for the tornado, but nor for the severe thunderstorms and flooding. We turned on the flashlight and tried to get some sleep. However, sleep did not come, uneasiness and fear took over.
This was during the storm when the power was out.
It became unbearably hot in our bedroom, so we headed out into the living room for some relief. The storm had died down, so we opened the back door, set the Encore Buddy on the coffee table with the light pointed at the ceiling and were able to get about 2 hours of sleep. We slept because we were able to listen to the emergency radio and able to finally feel safe knowing it would alert us to any more storms.
When we woke up, the power had come back on, it was out for about 6 hours. The radio had shut off to conserve power, but the flashlight had stayed on. Folks, it stayed on for over 6 hours. I was truly amazed! The Encore Buddy blew me away that night, and helped us to stay up-to-date on the latest weather watches and warnings and kept us safe.
The Encore Buddy is the best thing I can think of to have in an emergency situation like that. I am so grateful that we had it, and we able to test it out on such a frightful evening.
What else I love about the Encore Buddy is that we not only can use it for severe weather, but when we go camping or to the beach, we have a portable radio to enjoy the music, and a way to keep our phones, tablets and all other portable devices charged. When the day gives way to night, turn on the flashlight and keep the party going!
The antenna helps to get clear stations.
We had no problem with signal during the storms
charged while you are outside enjoying life.
The button on top turns on the flashlight.
Encore Buddy from Freeplay Energy is such and amazing little device, I am so happy that we own one. This will always be in our emergency bag, and you might want to consider adding one to yours. The Encore Buddy retails for $69.99.
I want to thank the folks over at Freeplay Energy for allowing me to review the Encore Buddy. This amazing Digital Radio has been a lifesaver.
I want to thank the folks over at Freeplay Energy for allowing me to review the Encore Buddy. This amazing Digital Radio has been a lifesaver.
Want it? Buy it!
Interested in buying and Encore Buddy of your own? If so, head on over to their website to purchase one. While you're there, why not check them out on Facebook, Google+ , Twitter. Vimeo, Linkedin, and Pinterest.
This looks great! I guess I'm not tech savy, but how does it exactly charge devices when they're plugged in?
ReplyDeletethanks
***nvm, I missed the terms "battery operated" and just sat them.
ReplyDeletethanks for the review, Brittany.
What a reat Device. I am so glad that you had it t help you get through the storms. Here in Illinois we have been getting bad storms every Year too! We had a tornado touch down a few years ago and totally devastated the Trailer park and ripped apart some homes. It went o a corner angle through our back yard and got my neighbor behind us and did bad damage to the people across from her. Such a scarey feeling the noise of the tornado was like a million trains going through! Encore Buddy is definitely what we should all have!! Thankyou for the awesome review.
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