I always carry a small journal & pen. But I do carry my Note II phone, which is almost the size of my IPad mini I do this primarily because it had all of my Kindle books on it. I like to read at night. The places we hike almost never have phone service.
I'm interested in getting a pad in the lower price ranges such as the 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Anyone out there use one?
Not an adverb here. Don't even get me started.
Because you can't write a blog on pencil and paper (or maybe you could, but you'd have to send the manuscripts home for someone to transcribe onto a computer and post, and that seems unnecessarily time-consuming and reliant on third parties).
The OP's original question was: Any suggestions on tablets one might use for blogging while thru-hiking? Yours and Jesse's responses--RAH RAH YOU DON'T NEED THEM ELECTRIC THINGERMAJIGS--does not help answer the question. All you're really saying is, "I don't need those." No one cares if you need those, that wasn't the question. I personally don't think I need a double-wall tent to thru-hike, but every time someone posts a question about double-wall tents, I don't intrude on the thread and say, "DUDE YOU DON'T NEED A TENT JUST USE A TARP." Because that would be obnoxious, and it wouldn't help the OP with his problem.
For some reason, any question about modern electronic devices (phones, iPods, tablets, Kindles) inspires at least one--and usually more than that--WB users to announce that no one needs them. Wow, bold statement! And also completely unhelpful. I'm not disagreeing with anyone because I know quite well that you can thru-hike without electronics. It's just an opinion that I wish all you non-electronics-users just keep to yourselves. Some people are going to be using those devices on hikes now and for the rest of time. Deal.
"Hahk your own hahk." - Ron Haven
"The world is a book, of which those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine
http://www.scrubhiker.com/
So Apple released the new iPad lineup today and I'm disappointed. The mini now has retina, a prerequisite for my use of the device. However, it has gained weight and is now 12 ounces. The prior version of the iPad mini was an ounce lighter. It probably needs to get down to the 8 ounce range to be considered a viable trail device. Of course, Apple is not designing these products with the ultra niche market of lightweight backpackers in mind.
Looks like I'll finally bite the bullet and join the smart phone revolution next year, probably with the IPhone 5s.
Wish I could get a pocket mail even if there is no service for them.
I like the 4g connectivity. Will come in handy if there is no wifi available.
I will be looking into this. Thanks.
I'm taking my iPad Mini on the PCT this year so I can journal. I'm sorely tempted to scan the guidebook as a PDF and transfer that to the iPad as well but I'm too impatient to sit there for hours doing it.
I swapped the Otterbox for a Lifeproof case and it's under a pound (I'm pretty sure it's right at 16 oz with case - I'd have to double check, but that's close.).
Scrubhiker, thanks for posting the link for your blog. Impressive!
As someone said earlier: "If I was just using it for blogging, I would take my iphone and one of apple's keyboards."
This is what I do, though in my case with an Android phone and folding blutooth keyboard.
Apart from the weight and packing it safely, my issue with a tablet is that my phone is also my only camera on trail. Even the smallest tablet would be too heavy and bulky to hang from a packstrap, and a camera that's not ready to hand might as well be left at home.
Indeed as someone else suggested, some phones are getting pretty big, blurring the lines between phone and tablet. While a bigger screen is certainly nice, my rule of thumb would be "no bigger than can hang comfortably in a case on a packstrap".
The blutooth folding keyboard does indeed make it a lot easier for me to blog, writing decent sized entries every day on trail and not hating the experience. I've done this on three thru-hikes in the U.S. and again on the Camino in Spain this past September. I find the added weight of the keyboard pays off for me in terms of a much more complete recording of the experience, written on-the-spot while the experience of the day is still fresh. Rather than, say, scratching out a few hieroglyphics on scratch paper to try to decipher later. Or using voice recordings that are tedious to transcribe later, and inevitably written from a "post" point of view rather than a "this is happening now" perspective. Or any other blogging option that I can think of.
I'm kind of surprised that so few people go this route, but each to their own!
Gadget
PCT: 2008 NOBO, AT: 2010 NOBO, CDT: 2011 SOBO, PNT: 2014+2016
Why not just keep it in a ziploc bag instead of the Otterbox or Lifeproof? Capacitive touch screens still work through a ziploc. I made a lightweight case for my kindle with a cloth pocket and cardboard, weighs less than 1oz.
I still don't understand why someone would take a 7" tablet or larger on a thru-hike IF you have a smart phone already. Sure the smartphone isn't as comfortable to type on than a 7" but backpacking is all about compromises and having 2 devices, 1 with less functionality but just a bit larger is redundant in my eyes. But to each their own. I have a Nexus 5 and have considered selling it for a Note 3 to have the best of both worlds.
BTW: I'm hitting the PCT this year as well and this weekend I'm absolutely scanning Yogi's book (trail guide sections only of course) into PDF and putting it on my phone and kindle. I paid $45 for the damn thing and I want it available to me digitally as well as on paper.
I'm thinking about trying something a bit different on my thru hike of the Colorado Trail this year. I plan to use a bounce box and will likely include one of the cheaper small tablets in the box along with other things I plan to use only in town. I'll have the box in Denver, send it to Breckenridge, then to Creede, and then to Durango. While I will not have access to the tablet all the time, the upside is that I won't have to carry it while hiking and I will be able to catch up on email and world events on a couple of town stops as well as have it from my travel to Colorado in both directions. I don't carry a smart phone being too cheap for the voice/data plans but I have been looking at Republic Wireless as a possible option. If I go that route, I'll have to think about carrying it vs. having it in my bounce box. This is all experimentation prior to the PCT next year as there is no way I can be totally out of the loop for five months without access to email, news, etc. I do journal but I don't maintain a blog. Not sure if I even want to do that or not.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
Heh, true, but there are a lot of people on WB and the FB PCT group planning on taking a tablet whom are in their 20s and 30s. Now that I think of it.
I carry a kindle which is 7.5oz and has much less functionality than a tablet, but I love reading on it. At only 2.5oz lighter than an iPad Mini or an Android 7" I guess I should shut my big mouth
So if you take a full iPad Air (16oz) or Kindle HDX (13oz), that's not too much more than my kindle (7.5oz) and phone(4.6oz). Yup, I'll shut up now.
So 10-k, since you'll have that nice big iPad, I nominate you to host Game of Thrones parties every Monday all along the Mojave and High Sierra's. I'll bring the Snickers.