Over the last 15 years, at different times, I've owned three solar and/or mechanical wind-to-charge radio/light combos. Don't remember who marketed (but none were from CCrane or Freeplay).

They were always stored with emergency supplies, taken out once or twice a year to crank, charge and test (in other words, they weren't in daily use). All three crashed and burned around the third or fourth crank 'n test. One, the crank handle broke (I was able to do a makeshift repair, but nevertheless, wasn't pleased). The other two, the charging mechanism broke on the inside of the unit. Cheap internals. They hit the trash pile.

Relative to what was available on the market at the time, these were mid- to high-end units. Haven't looked at them lately, so they may have evolved into something better-constructed these days. CCrane products seem to enjoy a good reputation.

Based on these experiences, and a reluctance anyway to rely on anything mechanical when reliability is paramount, I've kinda given up on these (maybe unfairly; I guess my experiences could be a string of bad luck). I'm more inclined to stick with battery-operated gizmos, and keep a good supply of lithium, alkaline and NiMH rechargeables (I'm in the process of replacing all my NiMHs with the superior Sanyo Eneloops).

On the other hand, nothing wrong with having wind-to-charge or solar units as third layer back-ups.

Dan