Review on 📻 La Crosse Technology 810-106 NOAA/AM/FM Severe Weather Alert Radio with Solar: Stay Informed and Prepared by Aaron Carney

Update: When I first received the device I gave it a very positive review, see below. But aside from the shortcomings others have pointed out, it has one glaring and horrible problem with prolonged use: the plastic around it oozes a very sticky liquid that has now covered the entire device. If you touch it, your fingers will be sticky and it will be very difficult to remove. It's a bit like pine sap, and in the end only GooGone helped get my fingers clean after a lot of scratching. The device itself cannot be cleaned this way as the amount of juice is too much and any kitchen towel or rag you use will inevitably leave lint in the sticky mucus. Apparently they use the cheapest cheap plastic. And this sticky substance covering the entire device now renders it completely unusable. That being said, solar charging has never worked reliably in the long run and I really wonder if all these different charging modes really make any sense, other than sounding bizarre since each is weak in their own way. In the end, it seems like a tried-and-true battery-powered weather radio combined with an ample supply of fresh batteries is the way to go. Previous Review: Overall this is a great little radio. First impressions were disappointing as I experienced the frustration of a 5 minute start and a night of charging when it didn't hold a charge. Turns out the little plastic strip you have to pull out to connect the battery contacts is actually broken inside the battery compartment, I only pulled out 2/3 of it and the rest got in the way of the battery connector. After this small disturbance, the device works great. It's great that it can use so many different charging methods, as I could see from a quick test they all work, although I don't have any data on how well pure solar charging can charge almost empty. The sound quality is very good, the weather section works flawlessly, although more advanced weather radios allow you to customize what types of alerts the device actually raises, saving you a night's sleep unless absolutely necessary. The flash is very bright. Finally, on the design side, kudos to La Crosse - that's probably the beauty of all NOAA compact all-in-one radios.