Esky ES-CR01 Emergency Hand Crank Radio

Mary

July 27, 2026

Buen radio

Excelente radio para mi madre😍 fácil de manipular

0:16

Don’t buy for emergency storage

We live in “the cone of uncertainty.” I keep this radio in a box of emergency lights etc inside the house (so in air conditioning.). I took it out today to charge our preps and it is a mess. The rubber/plastic parts are oily (including a picture of it. It’s weird!) and crumbling - including the portion that protects the slots to plug things into it, etc. it also isn’t working. So if you are buying this for emergency purposes and keep it more than a couple years it isn’t reliable. Go check yours now and get a better quality model. It worked fine when first bought. But it isn’t intended to be a part of ongoing preparation equipment apparently Good luck!

Does not work after one hour is use.

After using this for one hour, the this item stopped working. When you crank it and turn it on nothing happens. I would mot recommend this item to anyone that is needing a crank radio. It is very disappointing that it cannot be replaced after 1 hour of use.

Nice little unit

I charged it when I first received it, and tested all the functions. It’s a really nice little hand sized unit; comfortable to hold. The radio works well.

0:03

Patricia G. Trujillo

January 29, 2025

Happy Customer!

I have tested this radio when we’ve gone camping and it works very well! It charges are phones super quickly, provides multiple features, powers on fast, portable and easily stored, and good radio quality. Have not tested the weather alert feature yet. Overall a good purchase.

So nicely compact!

I got rid of my old Red Cross emergency radio when leaving Florida, but realized I still had need of one in my new state. This one is so much smaller than my old one- it’s delightful! And I can charge this one via a USC cord instead of an A/C brick. Two thumbs up- I’m so glad I upgraded to a newer and better device.

Lily 11

August 5, 2024

Small and so far it worked ..!

I cranked a bit and it’s working properly. I hope I really never have to use it. I’m in Florida and we have lots of storms…this radio has a little solar panel, I wonder how long will charge for !

0:27

Cute!

It’s really cute and compact. I wasn’t expecting it to be tiny or miniature in size, but it fits in my purse perfectly. So it worked out well. It just arrived so I haven’t used it yet, it’s a nice candy apple red which is my favorite color!

Very compact

I'll start off with it is small but powerful. The flashlight works great, the SOS is very loud. I was able to charge my phone with it. It does its Jon.

It's hard to to get the crank handle off. I had to use something to be able to get it off.

0:50

Reviews_by_Barbe

January 11, 2024

Small

This is a great little device, perfect for a bug out bag.

I got it for my husband, and he loves it. I didn't expect it to be as small as it it, but actually it being small is a benefit. I love that you can charge your phones using either crank, or solar power.

April D.

January 8, 2024

Another great prepping purchase.

I live in TN and I wanted to have a radio that didn’t require batteries. It is smaller than I expected but that was on me for not reading the dimensions, I keep it in my nightstand in case the power goes out.

Cyrus Monroe

February 24, 2023

For how small it is...packs a punch.

I honestly thought it would be bigger I did look at all the pictures....but brain to picture ratio for some reason still thought it was bigger.

But that doesn't matter with this thing, packs a LOUD punch for the sound and not bad sound either, I have other radios, and they are well lets say trash, this is not crisp clear sound, and really good tuning it doesn't drift like others I have do right out of the box.

What i REALLY love...WHICH NO PICTURES SHOWED....was the BATTERY COMPARTMENT....what the battery looked like how it was put in connected. I knew it was a 3.7v as the stickers showed so that means it was an 18650 which was great I have tons of those. 2000mAh is good, but i knew i could do better, 3000-3600mAh is what I wanted to shoot for, least more time on the radio, and longer lasting flash light.

SO I opened up with the REALLY small screws...IT IS REPLACEABLE!!!!!! SO I TOOK A PICTURE!!

They even corded it! and PLUGGED IT!

Because this makes it SO Much Easier to spot weld then solder the to the tabs a new battery.

(If you do do this do not break the battery control circuit, or battery management system...BMS that is attached to the battery you need this if one isn't in the 18650 you have already to replace it with)

I haven't done this yet, BUT I know it is possible now which makes me extreeeeeeeeeeemly happy that I know this is possible.

Do i wish it was just a spring battery compartment yeah...but on how small it is...thing had to be compromised and such. Thank god it wasn't soldered to the board!

But they made it is one CAN replace the battery, with a little effort....Man oh Man do I love this!

For any one thinking about it, BUY THIS! You will not regret it!

Handy radio with solid reception. Excellent customer service

I received this as a gift. When I took it out of the box, the flashlight was on. Unfortunately, it won't turn off. Waiting for a response from the company.

Update: received a quick reply from the company suggesting I remove then reinsert battery. However, there was no need. The flashlight had turned off by itself during the night. Upping my rating to 5 stars.

0:32

Just buy it!

This thing is 100% worth it’s small price. I was terribly impressed with the sound quality from such a small radio. The flashlight is bright and the instructions were easy to follow. Very satisfied with this purchase!

I used it the first time in the car during a drive-in movie to save the car battery, but it offers me a little security next time we have a weather emergency. I love that if we lose electricity, I can hand crank it or solar power it to charge my phone so I don’t lose contact in an emergency.

Prettysoldier

February 19, 2021

Not great for emergency use if it doesn't work

Bought the Esky 3 years ago, specifically becauseof the charging feature. The red battery light never turns off no matter how long its cranked or set in the sunlight (no I don't let it get hot) . Today the charger no longer works. I've only used the charger twice ever. Once upon getting it and today, so the plug is not worn out. Flashlight and radio still work. In the second picture is the Running Snail I bought 1 year ago and it is charging no problem. They are obviously the same radio with a different label slapped on it. I have sent a support email to the company, but it is outside of it's 1 year warranty. I'm not sure what lifetime support means. I'll update when I receive word back.

Cute and useful

I love this. It very compact as you can see from the photos. I’m a woman with average size hands. The radio sound is clear and relatively loud. I gave a full charge it is still charged couple of months later. The flashlight is not super bright but enough. The hand crank works. I tried it with my phone. I have not tried the solar power yet.

Tiny but mighty!

I really like the soft feel of the yellow casing plus it's doing its job. I don't have wifi and am tired of using my data to stream music so the radio does it for me! Still trying out all of the features. Cranked it up the first day and now charging via solar, low level light in the kitchen. It has a battery gauge on the front so you see what kind of charge it's holding. A few cranks brought it 1/4 charge in a snap. I love that it has 3 ways to charge: crank, USB, and solar! Flashlight is good output. Weather band works as well. I live near the Gulf but hopefully won't need that feature any time soon! This little radio is just enough for me.

Customer

October 5, 2020

Radio and flash light

It is small I thought it was bigger and the brightness isn't really good. The radio works good the sound is fine after all it solar to so it isn't that bad I hope it could of been alil more bigger.

Jack of all trades, master of none (sortof)

Overall this is a great product. Based on estimates for a different radio that had a 2000mah battery which took 4 hours to charge I'd guess this would take 2 hours straight of charging via the hand crank but I 30 Donald portable solar pannel and a power bank would be a better option to charge this the radios reception is actually not bad and the speaker can go pretty loud. It doesnt sound all that great but it is loud. And you can charge your phone. The solar pannel on the device itself I wouldn't waste my time with. Its garbage. But that's how it is with on device pannels. They're too small. And well the flash light is crap compared to any other flash light for 10 bucks. But this is a radio first and a flash light second. And as a radio it's good for the price. I wouldn't spend more than 20 bucks on a radio you're going to use in the very unlikely chance of an emergancy but it's worth the money for that.

Small radio but practical

The radio is quite small it fits in the palm of my hand, and I think I have average hands for someone who is 5’5

It is very practical if you need to store it in emergency bag as it won’t take up much storage.

The radio is loud, and the light is very nice for a small radio in my opinion.

I’m happy with my purchase I find it so cute ! 😊

Perfect!

Right out of the box the radio sound quality was crisp and loud. I found my channels immediately without having to read through the users manual. I then charged it completely and listened to the radio for an hour before bed. In the morning at 7:17am my cell phone battery was at 67%. I put it on charge using the emergency radio for an hour and it increased it to 89%. Thats a 22% increase in an hour! I then placed it on my windowsill to recharge which is where it'll probably spend most of its time between brief uses and full charges in preparation for emergencies. I can't speak to the battery life but right out of the box it's better then most I've used in the past. I'll be buying more to keep in cars for possible emergencies on the road. I included a picture of it next to a regular canned food item for size reference.

It not the size it's how you use it.f

This small radio, flashlight power source is great in new condition the only thing it is missing would be to turn on if a storm comes along. But I will turn it on if we have a chance of bad weather.

Popular Reviews 4 U

April 9, 2019

Emergency Hand Crank Radio with 3 LED Flashlight, Esky AM/FM/NOAA Review 2023

Great product and works really good!

5:13

Jessica S

September 14, 2018

DEFECTIVE charging port, Stations are ALL STATIC

I just received this Esky solar radio... I got it & PAID FOR EXPEDITED SHIPPING EVEN THOUGH I AM A PRIMER MEMBER because Hurricane Florence is almost here where we live & my elderly father really wanted to have one. The 1st issue I have with it is the USB charging function (and YES I actually hand cranked this thing for a steady 5 minutes before trying to test this thing out and then charge it for him) - the internal port is defective because while trying to charge it the red light will at first come on, then goes off, and stays off, then will flicker on & off when I pick it up or wiggle the USB cord several times, then it comes back on and starts charging again, then stops again, so it is surely defective! Also, the radio has so much static in it we cannot make out anything on the weather station, WITH ANTENNA UP, SO WHAT'S THE USE IN THIS?? The volume is so low, too, all the way up. So now I'm going to have to return it and be out my extra shipping fees, and we will just have to ride this hurricane out with nothing which is NOT GOOD and I AM NOT HAPPY!! HOW DISAPPOINTING!! Seriously!! I added a video to show this thing is a piece of junk...

0:37

I Like Stuff

August 30, 2018

Great Little Radio/Light/Charger for Emergencies

Very neat little emergency jack of all trades. Recently Hawaii had a powerful hurricane come very close to hitting and although it didn’t greatly affect the majority of the islands, it was a serious threat. These kinds of things make you check your disaster preparedness kits and this was the one thing we didn’t have and couldn’t get before the storm.

A radio is very important to have around and I liked that this had a variety of ways to have power including a hand crank, a small solar panel, and a rechargeable 1000mAh battery. It also has a decent light and the ability to charge your devices via USB port on the back.

The device feels pretty durable for a cheaper plastic build. I think it should hold up with proper care but it isn’t necessarily built to throw around. I think the build is reasonable for the price.

The radio works as well as I’d hope. It is easy enough to dial into the stations and with the telescoping antenna it can pick up a signal very well. The speaker is cheap and nothing to write home about but it is more than functional for its intended use.

I think a problem with these type of handcrank radios is that due to not using them very much between potential disasters, the batteries lose their capacity and become nearly useless outside of hand cranking it the entire time you’re using it. I imagine that this can be an issue for this radio and so it is probably important to store it with about a half a charge and occasionally check and recharge as needed to maintain the battery health.

Overall I think it’s great and important to have and hopefully I’ll never have to truly test its importance but I think it is a good deal for the price and I can recommend it.

Jordan

February 24, 2018

Great little emergency radio.

Very handy little radio. Love this radio. Gotta see how it holds up during a real storm though. It seems perfect but I haven’t put it thru any real test yet. I think the solar charging part might take a bit long though.

0:43

Last long on one charge...

Really small and cute radio.

I have yet to test the following:

WB and AM settings

Solar charging option

Wind up option

I will be back to adjust this review.

So far...

Fm Radio is great, still have to try AM and WB (I think that stands for Weather Band, for the NOAA option).

I really enjoy the old fashioned tuning to the radio, something nostalgic in this digital world we’ve become.

I charged it using the USB cable. I’ve been using it so far it’s been 4 days straight at 8-8.5 ha per day at a low volume setting since I’m at work. Light works well also.

Radio is light and compact. Hand a wrist strap as well.

See last photo with rule for visual size idea

Missy2be

January 30, 2018

Compact neccessity

Havent used yet but purchased for emergencies. Shocked by how small it is but it has a lot of features. We did try the flashlight, its super bright which was a plus. Easy to crank when he tested it. Love the bright color

Great item to have around, just in case!

This is one of those items that's just good to have on hand, in case of an emergency. I decided to buy it as a hurricane was approaching, but I knew it would be a good thing to keep in the house for any situation. Our power stayed on and we didn't end up needing it, but I'm still glad that I bought it. I even purchased a second one for my father a day after receiving this one!

It's small and easy to store. It's actually a little smaller than I had imagined, but that's because I wasn't paying attention to the measurements. It would, however, be good if you kept the cords with it.

One of the best things about this item though is its ability to self-charge via the hand-crank or solar power. The hand-crank could be a lot more ergonomic when you twist it, but I can deal with it if it means that I'm able to charge this thing in a pinch. I'd say that was my only complaint.

As described, it has a decent flashlight and you can even plug your phone into it for charging. I had no trouble reaching the NOAA Weather, FM, and AM stations via the antenna.

I highly recommend this item for any emergency situation.

Nice multi function tool for emergency preparedness

My initial impression of the Esky solar hand crank radio - nice fit and finish with soft touch plastics. Handy size and weight, just right. The flashlight is very bright right out of the box. All radio functions work well, AM, FM and NOAA weather band. I am listening to my local forecast now. The speaker is what you would expect from a tiny, mono radio. Consider it perfectly adequate for staying informed in an emergency. Charging it up now by solar power. Included instructions say it will take 10-12 hours for full charge. There is a handy charge indicator LED on front. I'm pleased with this purchase.