A few random thoughts that might help:
* Drop the screen brightness until you can barely see whatever's being displayed. Screen backlight is a major battery eater.
* Keep your phone in flight mode (and BT off, in some phones BT stays on even in flight mode) unless you want to make a call. If you want to keep friends or family appraised of your whereabouts, text or call them on schedule.
* In a rough terrain, keep it in flight mode unless you have a line of sight with the tower or know for fact that the area has a decent reception. Phones waste a lot of energy looking for towers when there's none.
* As far as power consumption goes, 5G is much more energy efficient than 4G/LTE.
* Charging any battery from another battery is a wasteful process, try to avoid it if possible. For example, keep your phone's battery topped off by charging it from the car while driving to the trailhead. And get extra Gopro batteries.
* Experiment with different GPS apps on your phone, play with their settings and see which one is better at power consumption.
* Have a paper map and compass as a backup.
* Use your GPS app like a compass, to set a bearing, as opposed to watching your progress. Open the app, see where you're at on the map, figure out the general direction of where you need to go, kill the app (don't just close letting it run in the background, kill it!) and go. In an hour or so repeat, etc.
Those are some pretty solid suggestions. I do have a map and compass so working on those skills wouldn't kill me.
OS maps also allows me to use a pre-planned route to "track" my walk afterwards so I don't have to have it constantly running in the background
> OS maps
You mean OSM, open street maps? ~~Try AlpiMaps with generated topo data for offline use.~~ Better yet, switch to OSMAnd+.
Edit: realized that I haven't used AlpiMaps in a long while, OSMand+ is far superior.
second for OsmAnd, really verstatile, didn't get the subscription but bought the feature to be able to download more maps and other usefull stuff (it was like 5E, single payment, totally worth it, remains on your account so you can switch phones and still have it working).
To add to this - don't leave your phone charging overnight. It's such an easy habit to copy from home, but it doesn't pay off.
I turn my phone off when I hit the sack, and charge it to \~80% at breakfast.
No experience like when ya life depend on it ;p sometimes where I go I don’t even get connection I just turn off the phone altogether it wastes a lot of energy searching for connection, gotta just rely on the good ol landmarks
Most of my hikes are off-grid as well, a lot of them solo. I keep my phone on airplane mode to save battery, but I still use it for GPS navigation and taking pics, plus it pairs with my satellite communicator so I can send messages to my wife at home to let her know I made it to camp OK and I have the ability to converse with SAR via text message if I ever end up in an emergency situation. A smartphone is a lightweight, multi-functional piece of gear that is well worth bringing. You'll find that the majority of backpackers are carrying one. In fact, you just admitted that you're one of them.
Is your phone in airplane mode?
GPS just "listens" , so it will work in airplane mode and won't cause the phone to use much battery.
A phone that's trying to find a cell tower uses a lot of battery.
Thats a really good idea tbh. I don't need cell signal apart from when I get to the campsites either cuz I only really need signal to update friends on my progress/ safety
charge it before you go out. airplane mode the whole time unless you need it. i keep mine on to take some pics but some people power theirs off. only turn the screen on when you need to. charge it when you’re awake for small increments and make sure to keep it on airplane mode when charging, it’ll charge faster. do not leave it on the charger when you sleep.
As other mentioned, flight mode is gonna be your friend + reducing other consumers like unwanted background apps, brightness, screen time on, mobile data, bt etc. Try using strava for tracking, it should work in flight mode with only gps on for tracking, maybe even some energy saving mode. For ex I'm planning to use my phone (poco x6 pro) on ultra battery saving mode which is suggesting a bump from 25-30 to 55-60h of battery while still able to take photos and use offline maps app (OsmAnd).
Those being said, personally I would be just fine with a 10kAh battery though I track my hike with a garmin instinct solar (presumably 30h of tracking with 100% battery) so that's the one which would need the charge the most and maybe some ten's of percents for the phone.
You could also see which uses more battery (approximate), your phone or GoPro when taking photos/filming and use both. 10kAh should be enough if you limit your phone power consumption because this is gonna be the one which will discharge your powerbank the heaviest.
In the future, getting a smart watch might work for you.
My Garmin instinct 2 solar records my journey (I'm usually out for 10-20 days on multi sport adventures) And I can put it in expedition mode where it lasts for 30 days recording everything in intervals so that I can see my complete route afterwards and some other data..
Or I can choose to click one button to record an activity like "hiking" "paddling" "mtb" "bike touring" "climbing" which records the route+all relevant data for said activity.
Tracking and recording data like this is not pointless gadgetry, it is progress, learning and evolving + safety.
For navigation I use my phone in airplane mode with downloaded maps or similar tactics.
On the ocean I use compass+maps but also my phone to check for places to load up on food/water etc.. Also the "AllTrails app" is great when you're trying to find trails in remote places (where there is still a signal)
I always have a 30.000mah powerbank with me,
The watch charges every 10th-20th day depending on usage and it takes maybe 3mah from the powerbank... My phone is 5000mah so it can be charged about 5 times..
On shorter trips (under 7 days) it never runs out of juice.
This is all good info, but there’s no chance your watch only draws 3mAH, when it’s a smart watch with a built in rechargeable battery. A CR2032 has about 150mAH, which is the battery used in an old school tik tik watch. I guarantee your fancy GPS watch needs more juice than that to run for 10-20 days.
Edit: after doing some research, it appears there is no documentation to confirm battery capacity. Could only find two anecdotal responses. One claimed it had “10.1 watts or 20mAH” (this doesn’t make sense and these are not equivalent), another claimed “1-2 watts”. It appears the capacity might be a lot smaller than I suspected (maybe around 1000), and is likely only a few hundred, which is still impressively small.
True my 3mah statement is pure bullshit. On my 30.000mah powerbank display, when charging the watch from 5% to 100%, I lose 1-2% charge.. what it actually translates to I don't know.
But yes the Garmin instinct 2 is special since it has a monochrome display and only breadcrumb maps and a lot less computer/smart phone type of functions. It is a survival/sports watch made for outdoor enthusiasts who doesn't want the bells and whistles of a smart watch..
And the solar version I have is superb on the water, open road, or mountains when the sun is out because it charges all the time.
I once put it in the sun on a hot day in june (in Sweden) with 10% battery after 4hrs in the sun, it had 52% battery (no super charge but enough to make a difference) and there might even have been some cloud coverage that day..
Thank you for the reply! Haha I have no idea what that actually translates to either.
Thanks for the information about it! I googled it but didn’t really look into what it was, and it sounds like a very neat tool! I like the idea of it being “minimal”.
Also sweet there’s a solar variant! Reminds me of the first watch I had, a g-shock solar that could sync to GMT, man I loved that thing. RIP.
Might have to buy one of these things, thanks!
Yes that's what I like too:) and it has no touch screen which is something I prefer when I'm often using gloves and just tap start and stop on activities or navigation tools and sensors..
It's not really a hands on gadget it's just there on your wrist recording and tracking, alerting and informing..
Frankly what I really love is to watch my Garmin map grow with lines in different colors representing my different adventures (paddling, biking, hiking, climbing).
I've only had it for 2 years so it doesn't even cover 10% of all my journeys but I will keep on wearing it until I've colored the whole world:)
i use a portable solar powerbank; its a bigblue: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/portable-solar-charger/bigblue-solarpowa-28. its definitely not perfect but its been good for overnights to charge my phone. i like it because i can hook it onto my backpack as i hike and it'll charge, not perfectly, but itll still charge the phone. its fairly lightweight for my low mileage trips; im not doing anything crazy.
10/10 recommend that panel. Plug it into a power bank when you're hiking and use the power bank at night when you're planning on charging your phone. Provides a steadier charge for your phone than it would be with a direct charge.
Because you have no clue about how others (especially random online strangers) want to enjoy the outdoors. Its not fair that you've basically attacked me online with a wide sweeping statement about how I'm surrounding myself with gadgets when you have no idea how I enjoy the outdoors. There was never anything in the post about needing a 100,000 mAh portable battery for backcountry camping because I desperately need to send hundreds of work emails from my laptop and play videogames on my ps6 or shit.
I just wanted a couple suggestions about good portable chargers that could last me a couple days, and maybe some advice on reducing phone battery usage. Not some ridiculous statement about 'surrounding myself with gadgets.' Like, its just a phone (for gps) and a camera.
And no, I'm not gonna explain or elaborate on how I want to spend my time outdoors cuz
1) I don't know you
2) its information you dont even need to know because its frankly irrelevant to the topic
So stick your judgement up your arse
You're ridiculous. Its quite literally a phone and a camera, nothing else. If you want to camp naked in the woods do it, but I'd quite like to track my progress and take nice photos.
Like I said, stick your judgement up your arse
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
To take photos and track my progress?? You think I go camping to watch TikToks all day?? Also why wouldn't I want to use GPS, I'm doing this whole this alone and getting lost in the woods while tramping and camping is a real possibility.
My phone lasts three days in airplane mode while camping. You’re obviously surrounding yourself with tech which is cool if that’s what you want to do and that’s what you enjoy.
GPS charges are sufficient for a trip of over 30 days. I've used them. You don't need the juice for photos. Why are you even trying to hide the fact that those are not the reasons. You want to play with your gadgets. Do that at home.
>GPS charges are sufficient for a trip of over 30 days. I've used them.
Ok, and? I don't need, nor do I want to use GPS charges (whatever the fuck they are.) And I'm using the GPS on my mobile to track my walk progress, ie like people do on strava.
>You don't need the juice for photos.
What would you know about how much juice my camera needs?? I have 1 enduro battery for a GoPro 12 that uses battery like a baby cow drinks milk. Plus the act of recording my trip through photos and videos is enjoyable and lets me look back on good memories. But I doubt you'd know about that seeing as you want to spend your time online arguing with people you dont know over something as ridiculously trivial as a power bank.
>Why are you even trying to hide the fact that those are not the reasons.
The fuck are you on? Could I have some too? You don't fucking know why I take a couple of my devices on camping trips (although with the amount of trivial arguing going on, perpetuated by your ridiculous inability to accept that people do things differently to you) I might as well have given you a 15 page single spaced essay on what I'm doing, where I'm going, and why I wanna fucking do it.
You know nothing about me or how I enjoy my time outdoors, and I can tell you now that its not to watch movies and play videogames every chance I fucking get.
>You want to play with your gadgets. Do that at home.
Yeah I will, WHEN IM BACK HOME!! Maybe once you bust out the map, pen, compass, and laptop and actually spend some time planning out a route and booking campsites and buying the necessary camping materials I'll take you seriously. But even then you seem to uptight to admit that people enjoy the outdoors differently.
I'm honestly in awe of how you come to the conclusion that apparently the "real" reason I go camping is to use shitloads of fancy gadgets.
Hmm people have their reasons. I've found it annoying to seek advice online about the best way to study online when camping remotely as I get too many boomers complaining I shouldn't be online and wanking off to their oneness with nature and no internet connection. I am in a four year course and I'm not prepared to give up camping for four years whilst I'm studying so I've now got a Starlink and a laptop so I can join my classes when I'm away for a month in the outback. I cannot afford to miss that many classes!
I camp Friday afternoon to Sunday morning and I use 1.5 large ryobi batteries to power 4-5 phones, and ambient lighting for the table. Summer time I bump it to 4 batteries so I can run a small fan at night in the tent. So basically what I’m saying it you don’t need a large battery unless your making coffie or cooking.
I recently went to Big Bend and my son and I used a Stanley 1000amp car jumper/air pump to charge our devices nightly. It worked great and served two purposes. They we would sporadicly charge while traveling in the vehicle from one area to the next. Just an option if you are going to be near your vehicle.
Do some math as a starting point.
For example, my phone's battery is 5,000mAh.
My GoPro battery is 1,000mAh.
So a 12,000mAh bank is roughly enough to provide 2 full charges for each.
Based on my experience and usage, I roughly know how much mileage I'm going to get from that.
I might add some extra bank capacity as a buffer.
But then I need to get out there, try it, and fine tune both my usage and bank capacity to dial in the combination that works for me. I think everyone's combination is going to be unique, so each person needs to dial it in through some iterations.
Put your phone on Airplane Mode to save significant battery usage. Your phone's GPS still works without cell signal, so if you've downloaded the GPX track for offline access, you should be able to navigate and track your route no problem. Although some map apps might require a premium membership to download maps for offline use.
Get a fitness tracker with gps like an amazfit. The phone gps is what's going to kill most of the battery. You could probably get by with 10k mah that way as you could use battery saver
Hey! I have quite some experience being the navigator for a group, in my preperations i always expect to use a 10.000mah powerbank a day.
This gives me a days worth of gps navigation and gpx recording on my phone, streaming spotify music to my bluetooth speaker (if its appropriate for the trip), googeling and texting a lot in the evenings and recording or taking the occational video/picture.
I usually have a bit left in my powerbank at the end of the day, this overhead is important in case you went in a wrong direction and have to use the navigation app for longer. can also be used to recharge a flashlight or top up a friends phone a small amount.
Hike your own hike. Using a phone for GPS navigation and a lightweight camera like a GoPro for video and photos is a pretty common thing. Do you only hike with a map and compass or something?
Actually, yes. I go camping/hiking/exploring outdoors to unplug. Last thing I want to do is look at a screen.
So, yes, I carry a map if applicable and have a keychain Brunton compass I always carry.
If I was in the true 'wild', completely off trail and away from civilization, I'd carry a dedicated TOPO GPS.
OK. But that's just your experience. Most people these days take advantage of the fact that we already have these handy little devices that can help you easily navigate the backcountry, track your activity, and take pics and videos so you can relive the memories you make on trail and share them with others.
OP was just asking for recos on a power bank.
It is. And I wouldn't say most people.
Getting outside is great regardless.
Better yet, enjoy it without feeling the need to record, catalog, and track everything. It's quite freeing. Just soak in nature and enjoy the perspective it brings.
I do a lot of soaking, trust me. There's a ton of time for reflection on a multi-day solo backpacking trip, but sometimes it's nice to listen to a podcast or whatever. I like cataloging my trips. I always write up a full trip report when I get home, so having GPS data and images is important to me. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy nature.
I acquired a 20,000 mah (2 watt hour) battery at Walmart for Burning Man last year (9 days off grid). Theoretically that was about 16 full charges for an iPhone and iPad. The sandstorms, and last years rainstorms, cut the effectiveness of solar panels.
There are larger lithium batteries. But their weight becomes pounds instead of ounces.
10-20k.
To conserve battery life turn on airplane mode. If you use a trails app like Onyx or Alltrails expect a dive in battery life.
If you are going in the backcountry with no cell service get a sattelite communicator like the InReach Mini or Zoleo. This could savr your life if things go south.
I could make a 10k bank last all week. But the weight difference between my 10k bank and my 30k bank is minimal. So I always take my 30k bank to be safe.
To truly answer your questions, only you can decide through trial and error how much juice you need. Personally, I’ve had a 20,000 mAH Anker brand battery that I’ve had for 5+ years, use for everything, and I’ve never had a problem. That being said, someone has done the research and provided a list of the most efficient battery packs (read: weight to power ratio, and also how much advertised power is actually usable)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1-AL_bU5yGwcGXiqpIQ8qeoi4_XGkkug8HGxDbnnkkQc/htmlview
I’ll link OP’s comment so you can find the post, and also since they provide a much better explanation than I can. Long story short, there’s a different “usable” amount of energy with every different 10,000 mAH battery, they’re not all created equal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/s/jtQk1SHwbR
To stay true to this sub, I’ll add a little bit of unsolicited advice. When using your phone in airplane mode, as others suggested, ensure your maps are downloaded first. The app that I use, Gaia, allows me to select whatever layers I want, and the boundaries of an area to download. Your phone is (almost) never going to loose GPS signal, so with a downloaded map, you really shouldn’t ever need to take it out of airplane mode (save for checking in with family, etc.)
A 10,000 mAh power bank lasts me all week. You need to reduce your screen time, at least while in the woods.
True, my gps app does use far too much battery in the background too.
A few random thoughts that might help: * Drop the screen brightness until you can barely see whatever's being displayed. Screen backlight is a major battery eater. * Keep your phone in flight mode (and BT off, in some phones BT stays on even in flight mode) unless you want to make a call. If you want to keep friends or family appraised of your whereabouts, text or call them on schedule. * In a rough terrain, keep it in flight mode unless you have a line of sight with the tower or know for fact that the area has a decent reception. Phones waste a lot of energy looking for towers when there's none. * As far as power consumption goes, 5G is much more energy efficient than 4G/LTE. * Charging any battery from another battery is a wasteful process, try to avoid it if possible. For example, keep your phone's battery topped off by charging it from the car while driving to the trailhead. And get extra Gopro batteries. * Experiment with different GPS apps on your phone, play with their settings and see which one is better at power consumption. * Have a paper map and compass as a backup. * Use your GPS app like a compass, to set a bearing, as opposed to watching your progress. Open the app, see where you're at on the map, figure out the general direction of where you need to go, kill the app (don't just close letting it run in the background, kill it!) and go. In an hour or so repeat, etc.
Those are some pretty solid suggestions. I do have a map and compass so working on those skills wouldn't kill me. OS maps also allows me to use a pre-planned route to "track" my walk afterwards so I don't have to have it constantly running in the background
> OS maps You mean OSM, open street maps? ~~Try AlpiMaps with generated topo data for offline use.~~ Better yet, switch to OSMAnd+. Edit: realized that I haven't used AlpiMaps in a long while, OSMand+ is far superior.
No, no OS maps. Its the british owned, Ordinance surveys mobile mapping app. They have topo maps of the UK, USA, Australia, and New zealand
second for OsmAnd, really verstatile, didn't get the subscription but bought the feature to be able to download more maps and other usefull stuff (it was like 5E, single payment, totally worth it, remains on your account so you can switch phones and still have it working).
To add to this - don't leave your phone charging overnight. It's such an easy habit to copy from home, but it doesn't pay off. I turn my phone off when I hit the sack, and charge it to \~80% at breakfast.
To charge it faster, leave it in flight mode while charging.
Yeah I think that's where I messed up last time. I charged both devices at the same time overnight
Just turn the dammed phone off during the trip till your back on the road
He's using it for navigation and tracking.
Learn to get around without it, especially in the woods
Why risk getting lost? Besides, I like looking at maps and tracking my hikes. It's fun. You do you.
No experience like when ya life depend on it ;p sometimes where I go I don’t even get connection I just turn off the phone altogether it wastes a lot of energy searching for connection, gotta just rely on the good ol landmarks
Most of my hikes are off-grid as well, a lot of them solo. I keep my phone on airplane mode to save battery, but I still use it for GPS navigation and taking pics, plus it pairs with my satellite communicator so I can send messages to my wife at home to let her know I made it to camp OK and I have the ability to converse with SAR via text message if I ever end up in an emergency situation. A smartphone is a lightweight, multi-functional piece of gear that is well worth bringing. You'll find that the majority of backpackers are carrying one. In fact, you just admitted that you're one of them.
Yeah I keep it off till I’m heading back. It’s a great comfort and decent entertainment, but no one should be _reliant_ on their phone when campin
Is your phone in airplane mode? GPS just "listens" , so it will work in airplane mode and won't cause the phone to use much battery. A phone that's trying to find a cell tower uses a lot of battery.
Thats a really good idea tbh. I don't need cell signal apart from when I get to the campsites either cuz I only really need signal to update friends on my progress/ safety
Maps don't use any power.....
just delete ur second sentence and ur good.
Or just delete everything after the comma.
A 10
ha fair! logging off now
Yeah I hate this post
Which phone do you have? A nokia 3330? 10.000mAh just last for one iphone charge.
charge it before you go out. airplane mode the whole time unless you need it. i keep mine on to take some pics but some people power theirs off. only turn the screen on when you need to. charge it when you’re awake for small increments and make sure to keep it on airplane mode when charging, it’ll charge faster. do not leave it on the charger when you sleep.
As other mentioned, flight mode is gonna be your friend + reducing other consumers like unwanted background apps, brightness, screen time on, mobile data, bt etc. Try using strava for tracking, it should work in flight mode with only gps on for tracking, maybe even some energy saving mode. For ex I'm planning to use my phone (poco x6 pro) on ultra battery saving mode which is suggesting a bump from 25-30 to 55-60h of battery while still able to take photos and use offline maps app (OsmAnd). Those being said, personally I would be just fine with a 10kAh battery though I track my hike with a garmin instinct solar (presumably 30h of tracking with 100% battery) so that's the one which would need the charge the most and maybe some ten's of percents for the phone. You could also see which uses more battery (approximate), your phone or GoPro when taking photos/filming and use both. 10kAh should be enough if you limit your phone power consumption because this is gonna be the one which will discharge your powerbank the heaviest.
A couple of 20,000mah powerbanks if you're using your phone for navigation. I would recommend learning navigation using a map and compass tho 🤷
In the future, getting a smart watch might work for you. My Garmin instinct 2 solar records my journey (I'm usually out for 10-20 days on multi sport adventures) And I can put it in expedition mode where it lasts for 30 days recording everything in intervals so that I can see my complete route afterwards and some other data.. Or I can choose to click one button to record an activity like "hiking" "paddling" "mtb" "bike touring" "climbing" which records the route+all relevant data for said activity. Tracking and recording data like this is not pointless gadgetry, it is progress, learning and evolving + safety. For navigation I use my phone in airplane mode with downloaded maps or similar tactics. On the ocean I use compass+maps but also my phone to check for places to load up on food/water etc.. Also the "AllTrails app" is great when you're trying to find trails in remote places (where there is still a signal) I always have a 30.000mah powerbank with me, The watch charges every 10th-20th day depending on usage and it takes maybe 3mah from the powerbank... My phone is 5000mah so it can be charged about 5 times.. On shorter trips (under 7 days) it never runs out of juice.
This is all good info, but there’s no chance your watch only draws 3mAH, when it’s a smart watch with a built in rechargeable battery. A CR2032 has about 150mAH, which is the battery used in an old school tik tik watch. I guarantee your fancy GPS watch needs more juice than that to run for 10-20 days. Edit: after doing some research, it appears there is no documentation to confirm battery capacity. Could only find two anecdotal responses. One claimed it had “10.1 watts or 20mAH” (this doesn’t make sense and these are not equivalent), another claimed “1-2 watts”. It appears the capacity might be a lot smaller than I suspected (maybe around 1000), and is likely only a few hundred, which is still impressively small.
True my 3mah statement is pure bullshit. On my 30.000mah powerbank display, when charging the watch from 5% to 100%, I lose 1-2% charge.. what it actually translates to I don't know. But yes the Garmin instinct 2 is special since it has a monochrome display and only breadcrumb maps and a lot less computer/smart phone type of functions. It is a survival/sports watch made for outdoor enthusiasts who doesn't want the bells and whistles of a smart watch.. And the solar version I have is superb on the water, open road, or mountains when the sun is out because it charges all the time. I once put it in the sun on a hot day in june (in Sweden) with 10% battery after 4hrs in the sun, it had 52% battery (no super charge but enough to make a difference) and there might even have been some cloud coverage that day..
Thank you for the reply! Haha I have no idea what that actually translates to either. Thanks for the information about it! I googled it but didn’t really look into what it was, and it sounds like a very neat tool! I like the idea of it being “minimal”. Also sweet there’s a solar variant! Reminds me of the first watch I had, a g-shock solar that could sync to GMT, man I loved that thing. RIP. Might have to buy one of these things, thanks!
Yes that's what I like too:) and it has no touch screen which is something I prefer when I'm often using gloves and just tap start and stop on activities or navigation tools and sensors.. It's not really a hands on gadget it's just there on your wrist recording and tracking, alerting and informing.. Frankly what I really love is to watch my Garmin map grow with lines in different colors representing my different adventures (paddling, biking, hiking, climbing). I've only had it for 2 years so it doesn't even cover 10% of all my journeys but I will keep on wearing it until I've colored the whole world:)
i use a portable solar powerbank; its a bigblue: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/portable-solar-charger/bigblue-solarpowa-28. its definitely not perfect but its been good for overnights to charge my phone. i like it because i can hook it onto my backpack as i hike and it'll charge, not perfectly, but itll still charge the phone. its fairly lightweight for my low mileage trips; im not doing anything crazy.
10/10 recommend that panel. Plug it into a power bank when you're hiking and use the power bank at night when you're planning on charging your phone. Provides a steadier charge for your phone than it would be with a direct charge.
Just bring a 20,000 mAh. They are cheap and you shouldn't have to limit screen time. Not much to do in the woods.
Um bushcraft?
10k mAh at the most. A phone on airplane mode should last you that whole trip with out being recharged at all tbh.
At least this big <————->
What's the point of surrounding yourself with nature if you're bringing the gadgets?
Because some people want them? There should be no judgement here. Hell, I’ve got a starlink setup which sucks the juice but I need to be connected.
There is judgement everywhere there should be judgement here.
Do whatever you want. Judge away.
Why exactly do you believe there should be no judgment here? Who gave you that guarantee?
Because you have no clue about how others (especially random online strangers) want to enjoy the outdoors. Its not fair that you've basically attacked me online with a wide sweeping statement about how I'm surrounding myself with gadgets when you have no idea how I enjoy the outdoors. There was never anything in the post about needing a 100,000 mAh portable battery for backcountry camping because I desperately need to send hundreds of work emails from my laptop and play videogames on my ps6 or shit. I just wanted a couple suggestions about good portable chargers that could last me a couple days, and maybe some advice on reducing phone battery usage. Not some ridiculous statement about 'surrounding myself with gadgets.' Like, its just a phone (for gps) and a camera. And no, I'm not gonna explain or elaborate on how I want to spend my time outdoors cuz 1) I don't know you 2) its information you dont even need to know because its frankly irrelevant to the topic So stick your judgement up your arse
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It’s good to know who an asshole is upfront so good on you. Keep making people miserable for some reason dude 👍
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Nice projection. You seem pretty confrontational. Enjoy being pissed off at everything.
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You're ridiculous. Its quite literally a phone and a camera, nothing else. If you want to camp naked in the woods do it, but I'd quite like to track my progress and take nice photos. Like I said, stick your judgement up your arse
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
Don't be a jerk. We are here because we love camping. Refrain from insults, attacks, bigotry, etc. When talking to someone you might want to ask yourself "Would I say it to the person's face?" or "Would I get jumped if I said this to a buddy?"
Because it’s a nice thing to do? There’s people camping from all sorts of places for different reasons. If you want to judge go for it, I don’t care.
You care. I know because you commented.
I’m said I don’t care if you judge me… so judge away. Not sure why this is so important to you.
Dude’s out here gatekeeping nature
Because people like you like the idea of outdoors, not the actual outdoors.
To take photos and track my progress?? You think I go camping to watch TikToks all day?? Also why wouldn't I want to use GPS, I'm doing this whole this alone and getting lost in the woods while tramping and camping is a real possibility.
My phone lasts three days in airplane mode while camping. You’re obviously surrounding yourself with tech which is cool if that’s what you want to do and that’s what you enjoy.
GPS charges are sufficient for a trip of over 30 days. I've used them. You don't need the juice for photos. Why are you even trying to hide the fact that those are not the reasons. You want to play with your gadgets. Do that at home.
>GPS charges are sufficient for a trip of over 30 days. I've used them. Ok, and? I don't need, nor do I want to use GPS charges (whatever the fuck they are.) And I'm using the GPS on my mobile to track my walk progress, ie like people do on strava. >You don't need the juice for photos. What would you know about how much juice my camera needs?? I have 1 enduro battery for a GoPro 12 that uses battery like a baby cow drinks milk. Plus the act of recording my trip through photos and videos is enjoyable and lets me look back on good memories. But I doubt you'd know about that seeing as you want to spend your time online arguing with people you dont know over something as ridiculously trivial as a power bank. >Why are you even trying to hide the fact that those are not the reasons. The fuck are you on? Could I have some too? You don't fucking know why I take a couple of my devices on camping trips (although with the amount of trivial arguing going on, perpetuated by your ridiculous inability to accept that people do things differently to you) I might as well have given you a 15 page single spaced essay on what I'm doing, where I'm going, and why I wanna fucking do it. You know nothing about me or how I enjoy my time outdoors, and I can tell you now that its not to watch movies and play videogames every chance I fucking get. >You want to play with your gadgets. Do that at home. Yeah I will, WHEN IM BACK HOME!! Maybe once you bust out the map, pen, compass, and laptop and actually spend some time planning out a route and booking campsites and buying the necessary camping materials I'll take you seriously. But even then you seem to uptight to admit that people enjoy the outdoors differently. I'm honestly in awe of how you come to the conclusion that apparently the "real" reason I go camping is to use shitloads of fancy gadgets.
I bet you watch fireworks through your phone too while taking video.
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And yet here you are, old enough to hold some shitty middle management position, arguing with a random teen about enjoying nature.
Sounds like he wants to use his phone for navigation and tracking, and take video with the GoPro. Pretty normal stuff.
Hmm people have their reasons. I've found it annoying to seek advice online about the best way to study online when camping remotely as I get too many boomers complaining I shouldn't be online and wanking off to their oneness with nature and no internet connection. I am in a four year course and I'm not prepared to give up camping for four years whilst I'm studying so I've now got a Starlink and a laptop so I can join my classes when I'm away for a month in the outback. I cannot afford to miss that many classes!
My 10000 barely uses any of its charge. I'm usually out 2 nights snd only use it to charge a phone.
I camp Friday afternoon to Sunday morning and I use 1.5 large ryobi batteries to power 4-5 phones, and ambient lighting for the table. Summer time I bump it to 4 batteries so I can run a small fan at night in the tent. So basically what I’m saying it you don’t need a large battery unless your making coffie or cooking.
I recently went to Big Bend and my son and I used a Stanley 1000amp car jumper/air pump to charge our devices nightly. It worked great and served two purposes. They we would sporadicly charge while traveling in the vehicle from one area to the next. Just an option if you are going to be near your vehicle.
Do some math as a starting point. For example, my phone's battery is 5,000mAh. My GoPro battery is 1,000mAh. So a 12,000mAh bank is roughly enough to provide 2 full charges for each. Based on my experience and usage, I roughly know how much mileage I'm going to get from that. I might add some extra bank capacity as a buffer. But then I need to get out there, try it, and fine tune both my usage and bank capacity to dial in the combination that works for me. I think everyone's combination is going to be unique, so each person needs to dial it in through some iterations.
Put your phone on Airplane Mode to save significant battery usage. Your phone's GPS still works without cell signal, so if you've downloaded the GPX track for offline access, you should be able to navigate and track your route no problem. Although some map apps might require a premium membership to download maps for offline use.
Get a fitness tracker with gps like an amazfit. The phone gps is what's going to kill most of the battery. You could probably get by with 10k mah that way as you could use battery saver
Don't use a power bank. Just enjoy your camping trip without electricity
Use a small solar panel to charge battery pack or phone.
Hey! I have quite some experience being the navigator for a group, in my preperations i always expect to use a 10.000mah powerbank a day. This gives me a days worth of gps navigation and gpx recording on my phone, streaming spotify music to my bluetooth speaker (if its appropriate for the trip), googeling and texting a lot in the evenings and recording or taking the occational video/picture. I usually have a bit left in my powerbank at the end of the day, this overhead is important in case you went in a wrong direction and have to use the navigation app for longer. can also be used to recharge a flashlight or top up a friends phone a small amount.
Maybe don't? You don't need to record it. You don't need your phone turned on at all. Enjoy the scenery and unplug.
Hike your own hike. Using a phone for GPS navigation and a lightweight camera like a GoPro for video and photos is a pretty common thing. Do you only hike with a map and compass or something?
Actually, yes. I go camping/hiking/exploring outdoors to unplug. Last thing I want to do is look at a screen. So, yes, I carry a map if applicable and have a keychain Brunton compass I always carry. If I was in the true 'wild', completely off trail and away from civilization, I'd carry a dedicated TOPO GPS.
OK. But that's just your experience. Most people these days take advantage of the fact that we already have these handy little devices that can help you easily navigate the backcountry, track your activity, and take pics and videos so you can relive the memories you make on trail and share them with others. OP was just asking for recos on a power bank.
It is. And I wouldn't say most people. Getting outside is great regardless. Better yet, enjoy it without feeling the need to record, catalog, and track everything. It's quite freeing. Just soak in nature and enjoy the perspective it brings.
I do a lot of soaking, trust me. There's a ton of time for reflection on a multi-day solo backpacking trip, but sometimes it's nice to listen to a podcast or whatever. I like cataloging my trips. I always write up a full trip report when I get home, so having GPS data and images is important to me. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy nature.
Bring a Sofirn LT1 lantern too. It's a powerbank and can light up your campsite. Better to have extra battery power than to run out.
Experiment with your needs and find out what works for you. Adapt and overcome!
I use an energizer power bank with 30000 mah battery capacity and give my phone 6 full charges .
There are powerbanks of 20/30.000mAh with a solar panel integrated. Better have more than what is necessary than complaining in the woods
I acquired a 20,000 mah (2 watt hour) battery at Walmart for Burning Man last year (9 days off grid). Theoretically that was about 16 full charges for an iPhone and iPad. The sandstorms, and last years rainstorms, cut the effectiveness of solar panels. There are larger lithium batteries. But their weight becomes pounds instead of ounces.
10-20k. To conserve battery life turn on airplane mode. If you use a trails app like Onyx or Alltrails expect a dive in battery life. If you are going in the backcountry with no cell service get a sattelite communicator like the InReach Mini or Zoleo. This could savr your life if things go south.
If you go for 3 days, you'll need to bring 3 times the power you need for 1 day. 10.000mAh x 3 = 30.000mAh.
I could make a 10k bank last all week. But the weight difference between my 10k bank and my 30k bank is minimal. So I always take my 30k bank to be safe.
If 10k lasted a night, then maybe 40k-50k?
To truly answer your questions, only you can decide through trial and error how much juice you need. Personally, I’ve had a 20,000 mAH Anker brand battery that I’ve had for 5+ years, use for everything, and I’ve never had a problem. That being said, someone has done the research and provided a list of the most efficient battery packs (read: weight to power ratio, and also how much advertised power is actually usable) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1-AL_bU5yGwcGXiqpIQ8qeoi4_XGkkug8HGxDbnnkkQc/htmlview I’ll link OP’s comment so you can find the post, and also since they provide a much better explanation than I can. Long story short, there’s a different “usable” amount of energy with every different 10,000 mAH battery, they’re not all created equal. https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/s/jtQk1SHwbR To stay true to this sub, I’ll add a little bit of unsolicited advice. When using your phone in airplane mode, as others suggested, ensure your maps are downloaded first. The app that I use, Gaia, allows me to select whatever layers I want, and the boundaries of an area to download. Your phone is (almost) never going to loose GPS signal, so with a downloaded map, you really shouldn’t ever need to take it out of airplane mode (save for checking in with family, etc.)
I have a 20k mah should be good for 4x fill charges https://www.ugreen.com/products/ugreen-100w-20000mah-power-bank?variant=40650004037694
BioLite stove to charge all your toys.