those radios that you can crank to charge, has any lab or magazine ever tested them for radio performance, length of operation on a single charge, or maybe how much abuse the crank can take before it breaks off.
it would be nice if there were a Consumer Reports for surviver gear.
__________________
MOE! LARRY! THE CHEESE!
Life Member the Elmer Fudd Hunt Club
I have a Xventure from Academy. It came with a flashlight and radio. For the money it's not bad. I have a 22yr old son who could destroy a Sherman tank with a rubber mallet, so the crank didn't last long. I have epoxyed it on so it won't come off again.
I've never been impressed with the crank type radios. I realize that they do have their place, and I guess for 30 bucks it would never hurt to have one. But I guess I always figured if I wanted to sit around and crank on something that long I'd make my own ice cream, while listening to Mark Levinn (or an ipod) on my Milwaukee job site radio. LOL I think these job site radios have been overlooked. Mine can work for a whole day at the beach on one 18volt battery, and they don't take long to charge. Granted, the batteries are expensive, but if properly maintained they last a long time. I have some that are at least 6 years old and I still use them. Milwaukee, Dewalt, even Ryobi--all of these make decent jobsite radios and even lights that run on the same batteries. For around $200 a guy can get a pretty versatile setup.
Pesonally, I try to have two fully charged batteries around at all times, which would be enough to get through most power outages brought on by ice storms and the like. If the situation demanded I would just charge them back up w/ my generator while cycling the fridge and deep freeze. As a bonus, my Milwaukee radio has a 12 volt adaptor so I can charge my cell phone--and who knows, in a shtf scenario, when one might need a batterry operated sawsall!
sorry about the windy post, I'm not trying to hijack. Just thought I'd throw another option out there.
__________________ If anybody asks I spent it on golf balls.
I've got one that has the radio and a flashlight. It also has adapters to charge all kinds of items, like cell phones, GPS, etc.
I have one also, a real cheap one I'd add. Only cost me like $9.97. lol But it too has adapters to charge cell phones. There wasn't one for my phone of course. Not sure if any of the adapters will work for other things like a GPS or anything though. And the flashlight works quite well and if you use the crank charger properly, it will and does hold a charge for a while.
But for a cheapy, IT WORKS pretty good...
__________________ "My next door neighbors two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs then Obama has." - Gary Johnson
Consumers Report 
As far as testing? go to 'Consumers report" they may have others tested
