Contributors to this thread:
I’m going to be backpacking in for 8 or so days with a buddy, need a way to charge our phones and my camera (Sony RX100).
What’s your go to?
Solar pad deal, rechargeable battery pack?
Complete noob regarding this type of stuff
Solar panel, several battery packs. I have one manual crank one as well that works very well.
Cell phone is my camera these days. Leave the cell on airplane mode most of the time. Carry an Anker portable charger ( 4 charges) and it easily keeps the phone charged for a week minimum.
I use my phone as a camera,and gps and have found anker battery packs to be the best. Can't comment on ot charging cameras. I use solar panels at base camp but don't have a backpacking model. Interested in grabbing one as well will be watching for recommendations.
I can't imagine a little point and shoot camera going through much battery. Bring an extra battery for camera if you think you might drain ine and a couple Anker type battery bank and you should be good to go.
I have one battery pack and a solar panel. The pack will last a week on light usage, just GPS, or a long weekend if I have any signal and use the phone a bit. The solar panel is great on 2 week hunts. It has limitations, such as cloudy days are worthless, but I've always been able to stay fully charged.
If you keep your phone on airplane mode and don’t use Onx or other apps very much a couple battery packs will easily last a week. I can squeeze a week easy, and I like to read my kindle app on my phone at downtimes
Unless you need the phone for OnX/Gaia, leave it in the truck. Take a digital camera. You’ll do a lot less effing around with it than a phone.
Plus, you’re going with a buddy. Do you really need 2 phones?
Brad I'd go naked before leaving my phone. Gives me anxiety just thinking about it. ;)
We’ll use the phones for OnX for sure.
I’m going to order a topo map as well, need to get better versed on reading it effectively but I think it would be neat to have.
Which solar panel have you all liked?
Remember that Brad's honey holes are 200 yards from the truck :-) Or maybe now 200 yards from his Wyo cabin.
^^^ Haha! While that may be true, when I go to Alaska moose hunting its a completely different story.
Up for the afternoon. Getting down to crunch time where I need to order the battery pack & solar panel this week
I can easily get 7-8 days from my phone taking pics and checking GPS with a 10k Anker battery. I sometimes bring 2 JIC.
Now if you keep your phone on....and not in Airplane mode...or run GPS tracks for long hikes- no way it goes that long
I have a Sony RX100 that I once took on a 14 day Stone Sheep hunt. Even though I took an extra battery and hundreds of pictures I never used the extra battery.
As others have said, leave your phone on airplane mode, take one Anker battery and you should be covered.
If both die, it’ll be as if you’re hunting 30 years ago!
I’ve learned that “airplane mode” isn’t necessary to conserve battery. The 3 things that burn the most battery are WI-FI, Bluetooth, and Hotspot, because they constantly search for a signal/ connection. Turn those 3 off individually and your battery will last as long as it will in airplane mode, but you will still be able to make calls, or texts, if you have service.
Matt
Thanks gents, I’ll grab an Anker & not worry about the solar charger!
Tilz-thanks for the heads up about the camera I appreciate it!
Solar panel is a joke- yeah, I got suckered on a Nomad.
The Anker battery is great for phones and Zoleo, ( more than enough) but may not have the right charge rate for yo ur camera- check it first.
Ditto anker battery. Keep phone on airplane mode, turn off at night. When on run in low power mode (all phones have this) and several times a day close all apps. Anker should easily provide 2 guys with enough recharges for 10 days minimum. Just use phone wisely.
Solar panels, when used correctly, work well. You have to realize what they can charge and what they cant.
I've done a 24 day sheep hunt with just one solar powered battery charger for my phone (for Gaia only and no breadcrumbs) InReach (also kept off except when using to send/receive texts once daily), and my headlamp, which is also rechargeable.
If you do it right, a single power bank can last you indefinitely with solar. It's a lot easier in August, but I've done it in late September too for 9 days hunting moose.
Helps to have a newer battery in your phone and as noted above, you turn everything off and keep it on airplane mode. It also helps to have a spike camp where you can leave the battery/solar panel - it doesn't work so well if you're bivy camping and don't have a place for it to sit all day.
You can't leave stuff on all day and you are moving the panel to facing the sunrise in the AM, pointing it south before you leave for the day, and then pointing it towards the sunset in the evening if you're getting back to camp early enough.
I've used a single solar panel battery to charge my devices for a total of several months of cumulative hunting and I've never had a problem.
And here I was gonna say about 4,000 calories a day….
Pav, what size Anker Portable charger you use?
This looks like the Anker Power Bank I use, this one is 20,000 mAh but I thought mine was more like 24,000-26,000. Think I could charge my phone 10 times with it but have never done so. spent 2 weeks in Alaska and still had 1/2 charge when I got back.
https://www.anker.com/products/a1268?variant=37438338695318&collections_power-banks=undefined&Sort_by=Recommended
I use a Patriot battery pack works great also comes with the solar on it.
Planning for an 8-day backpacking adventure with a friend is exciting, and keeping your essential devices charged is crucial. Considering your need to charge your phones and your Sony RX100 camera, a rechargeable battery pack is my go-to recommendation. One of the advantages of a rechargeable battery pack is its reliability, especially when you can't guarantee constant sunlight for a solar pad. It allows you to store power and charge your devices at your convenience. Now, let's delve into the
500ma to amp conversion, as it's handy for understanding the capacity of your battery pack. 500 milliamps (mA) is equivalent to 0.5 amps (A). This conversion is essential when selecting a battery pack because it helps you estimate how many times you can charge your devices.
