This is the first time that I have reviewed an Eton product on this site, and personally, I believe that every house needs an Eton product. Eton makes a lot of products that are “powered by nature”, which means that if you need some emergency power, they are the ones to go to.

The Eton FRX5-BT for Emergencies

I once reviewed Eton’s SolarLink FR360, and it is essentially a radio that is both solar and hand-crank powered. The FRX5-BT is a step up because it has Bluetooth, even though I never really looked at the SolarLink FR360 and thought: “Hey, let’s put Bluetooth on this”. However, if you are in an emergency, it might calm you down to hear your own playlist on this speaker.

There is a huge improvement with the solar panel, because it used to be just a small stripe on the SolarLink, but is now a huge panel that covers the entire back of the product. Oh, there is also an LED flashlight and emergency beacon on the side that seems improved.

I don’t remember the stats on the previously mentioned SolarLink, but the FRX5-BT has an IPX-4 splashproof rating, which means it withstand a lot. Clearly, you should get one of these for that zombie apocalypse.

The Eton FRX5-BT as a Charger

So, there is a hand crank still, and you can see it in the image as something that is on the front of the thing. If you crank it for about four minutes, that is good enough to power the AM/FM/SW digital radio for about 10-15 minutes.

If you need some juice for your smartphone or tablet, then you can use the included USB cable. Oh, you should plug it into the 5V 2.1 A USB port, and it should charge a smartphone just once.

The Price of the Eton FRX-5

You should be able to get the Eton FRX-5 on the company website for $129.99.