View Full Version : Charging Your Electronics
Hi All,
I've been unable to find a post about this.
What is your regime for charging your electronics in town? I'm assuming this isn't really a problem as I've been unable to find any mention of it specifically. The Anker-type spare batteries take forever to charge so it's not like you sit in a restaurant for three hours while you charge...or do you?
Please don't hijack this thread telling me not to bring my phone with me. Not gonna happen and really isn't a choice the majority choose to make anymore.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Cheers,
KDogg
soumodeler
10-15-2015, 17:20
Most people I saw would charge overnight in a hostel or hotel room and only plug in for a few minutes at a store as needed. Keeping the device off or on airplane mode generally gets you between towns.
If you plan on not staying in town for very long, I would look into a phone with quick charge technology. My phone will go to about 80% in 30 minutes when it is used with a compatible charger.
Another Kevin
10-15-2015, 17:37
I do a lot of GPS mapping, so my phone is on (in airplane mode, but with the GPS receiver, barometer and magnetometer running) all the time I'm on the move.
I have a big 14000 mAh charger with a 2.1 amp output that I use to recharge the phone when I'm on the trail. The phone will charge in a few hours. The charger takes about 12 hours to refill, but I put that on charge immediately when I get home or check into a hotel. The thing is the size, shape and weight of a small brick, but for the mapping activity, I want the juice.
Slo-go'en
10-15-2015, 17:59
Charge when ever possible for how ever long as possible. Even if your not planning on spending the night, sitting at McD's for 3 hours isn't out of the question if you really need to top off the charge. You'll be spending enough nights in town or hostel that keeping the spare power stick charged isn't a problem.
Provided you use good battery management techniques, getting an hour of charging here or there will keep the phone alive. Your not going to be using the phone the same way as you do in daily city life, so you can go between charges longer then you normally do now.
Starchild
10-15-2015, 18:40
Charge when ever possible for how ever long as possible......
Basically this
Also battery management, if you are going to be in a area where you will be at for a short time and can secure your electronics (such as a restaurant lunch stop), try to charge everything together and have the devices in states of charge that they will accept the most power in the shortest amount of time (don't have your phone at 100% and your battery pack at 30%, you would rather leave you phone uncharged from the night before and come in to the restaurant with both at 50%. )
Likewise if you are hitting town and suspect you can leave a device charging while you shuffle around or a few hours, the night before dump all your charge to you phone (and any other device) so your battery pack is the only thing that needs charging, then you can find someone to allow you to leave it there charging while you make town errands - this way you are not leaving a expensive device unattended.
MuddyWaters
10-15-2015, 19:09
Leave off. Turn on only for a few min once or twice per dayand even an i phone with pathetic small battery will last more than a week.
Or be an fool that lugs 2 lbs of chargers and solar cells and batterypacks, so they dont miss a facebook post.
Thanks all. Helped clear a few things up. I have enjoyed not having my cell phone for other backpacking trips. A thru hike is a completely different beast however. I'm hoping to minimize use so that charging doesn't become such a chore but I don't have a firm idea of how much I will be using it.
I carry a Moto G phone and a Sony camera, both of which can be recharged with my Anker Astro Mini which weighs about 3.2 ounces. The Mini can fully recharge my moto G one time or my camera several times (or some combination). I leave my phone off most of the time and in airplane mode whenever I have it on while hiking (usually to listen to an audio book or podcasts which takes minimal battery power). The way I use my phone, I can normally get 5-7 days on a single charge. Prior to getting to a town stop where I won't be staying overnight but might have a recharge opportunity, I fully charge my phone and camera using the Astro Mini and then, with minimal worry, leave the Astro Mini plugged in somewhere even if unattended. It is just a cheap $15 external battery so I don't worry. If I can watch the charging station, I also plug in my phone. I have a two port iClever charger that supports a total of 3.1 amps of recharging which is enough to max out the input for both the Astro mini and my cell phone.
If pay phones were not disappearing almost everywhere I would probably not carry a cell phone on all of my hikes. I have a SPOT for emergency use anyway. But with pay phones disappearing everywhere I feel like carrying a cell phone is no longer optional.
FarmerChef
10-15-2015, 22:11
In between towns, I leave my phone on airplane mode and close all apps to conserve power. If I want to take a picture, I fire it up, take my photo and close the photo app. Same thing for other apps/uses. I also carry an Anker 10,000mAh charger that charges my phone about 4 times. When I'm in town even if it's just for a meal, I plug in the charger and the phone. They both charge for as long as possible. But I also tend to stay in town about once a week and it's easy to charge both devices to full overnight. With this approach I have never run out of battery even for long stretches like the 100mw.
mattjv89
10-15-2015, 22:25
You were correct in guessing that it's not a problem in your first post. Modern phones charge very fast, I seem to get about 1% per minute on my Iphone. There are outlets everywhere inside and outside buildings. I've charged from the coffee pot outlets in gas stations, a public gazebo, a guy at Pen-Mar Park let me use the USB outlet on his Harley, etc... by far the easiest town chore to accomplish.
Leanthree
10-15-2015, 22:41
Get a 7volt charger if you don't have one already like the Aukey 2.0. They charge far more quickly.
I also just tested the 3600mAh Aukey vs the 5200mAh Anker and the 3600 Aukey is superior. They had equal battery life gained (this obviously conflicts with the Anker claimed mAh) and the Aukey is lighter and faster to charge. Limited sample size so YMMV.
Lots of options here. (https://www.powertraveller.com/)
saltysack
10-16-2015, 19:36
Even while using iPhone 6+ for 50+ pics per day and guthook JMT guide often lasted 2.5-3 days...brought Anker 10k gave me almost 3 full charges...takes 6+ hours to recharge...can't imagine would need more and only around 8oz but I'm not a gram weenie...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Traveler
10-17-2015, 07:31
You were correct in guessing that it's not a problem in your first post. Modern phones charge very fast, I seem to get about 1% per minute on my Iphone. There are outlets everywhere inside and outside buildings. I've charged from the coffee pot outlets in gas stations, a public gazebo, a guy at Pen-Mar Park let me use the USB outlet on his Harley, etc... by far the easiest town chore to accomplish.
As a note of etiquette here and I am not inferring you do not do this, but when electronics need charging and we just plug into an outlet, someone is footing that bill. Granted, the phone may not cost more than a few cents to charge up, but there are hundreds of people in front of or behind you looking to do the same thing. A few hundred charges on an electrical bill can add up.
Recently, I was in a store just off a popular backpacking trail and the store owner shooed off a young hiker when he came into the store, plugged his cell phone charger into an open plug, then left in pursuit of who knows what. The merchant was not upset that the boy was using his electricity, it was that he never asked permission. To compound the issue, the boy gave the owner a difficult time when asked to unplug his phone. Seeing this from the local merchant side, the complaint was valid, especially when the merchant said he has no problem in allowing that if someone asks first.
So, to lower the volume on entitled hikers, asking permission anytime you want to plug into a store or other private business/house (presuming there is anyone around) is just good manners. The outlets you see inside or outside privately owned buildings are not there for your convenience and taking electricity is not a lot different than taking a soda or bag of chips.