I personally prefer solar and storage batteries, but sometimes they just don't cut it. Inverters draw power even when not in use and batteries are heavy, so hauling them into the bush can be quite challenging.
I came across a Walmart brand of generator, intrigued, because is was a pure sine-wave inverter generator, meaning clean, 110v power at the outlet. What fascinated me the most was the size. Can be easily carried with one hand and it's tiny, given the output - 800 watts constant, 1000 watt surge.It can actually handle 900 watts constant without any issues. Did I mention it's tiny? Indeed it is - Take a peek. I used a 3.78 litre jug of vinegar for comparison.
Now the problem that many might come across is the constant noise that one of these make. Yes, they can be loud. This one is rated at 62db which is not bad at all, in fact, after planting it in the bush, behind a tree and running an extension cord, it becomes a barely noticeable hum. But the real point is that you only run it when needed and as I mentioned, I would rather go solar with a storage battery than use a generator, but sometimes solar is not quick or powerful enough. Large arrays of panels are extremely expensive and cumbersome. So I end up bringing a small panel, a small storage battery and run my chargers off that. Battery gets a little too low, panel can't keep up, I fire up the generator and charge the battery then shut it down. If it's a real aggressive energy consumption day, such as burning the midnight oil and needing to light up the camp, yeah, the battery will run the inverter for a period of time, but even with CFL's or LED lighting, they will eventually push the battery to it's limit and shut down. Time to fire the generator up.
I've used lanterns, candles, efficient LED lighting, laptop, recorders, etc but frankly, the convenience of just being able to plug in has it's benefits and caveats. I think the first thing is noise, followed by smell, the fact that you are not "roughing" it and you might miss something - that weak sound off in the distance, you would never hear it. I totally agree, but it's merely a camp maintenance tool for me and I would never consider going the entire duration running one of these. Just when needed. There is ample opportunity between run times to get stuff done and to absorb the reason why you came to your location to begin with.
