View Full Version : Best Mp3 Player ?
Hello!
I am in the market for a new MP3 player. I am looking for something durable,long lasting, and has a lot of storage ( could hold a few audio books, podcasts, music etc.) . What did you use on your hike and would you recommend it ?
Gambit McCrae
11-30-2018, 11:00
I use my iphone, it does all the things I need it to, without having to carry all the batteries. I listen to audiobooks mostly now, but also use it for Pandora offline
While I have my music on my phone, I carry an old Creative Labs MP3 player because it runs off a single AAA battery which I carry spares for flashlight and tent light. That means I dont have to charge my phone more often because of music use, gives me playtime limited only by how many batteries I carry and at $19 years ago, loosing it would not be traumatic. Its the size of a stick of gum so it clips to my shoulder strap and my phone can stay in a buttoned pocket so it cant escape.
I also have a couple of iPod Nano gen 6's and find the play time vs charging requirement make them unsuitable for longer outings...I always go for 7-10 days. If your trips are shorter you have more options and may
Slo-go'en
11-30-2018, 13:21
Go to ebay. Lots of 32G players available for under $10.00. Buy two, their cheap :)
Personally, I'd get one which runs on a AAA battery so you don't need to charge the thing.
Time Zone
11-30-2018, 15:16
Sansa Clip Zip/Jam/whatever it's called now. Has microSD expansion so can carry tons o' audiobooks etc. FM radio, music, podcasts, etc. ~15 hr batt life when new. Rechargeable - no battery swap possible.
iPod shuffle is durable and long-life battery too, but no screen, no expansion slot, no FM radio.
soumodeler
11-30-2018, 16:31
I think I would just use my phone. I looked up battery life for just music playback on the iPhone XR, and it is listed as 65 hours. I would expect most recent phones to be able to provide around 50 hours of audio playback while in airplane mode, or longer.
I personally carry a Pixel 2 XL, mainly for photos and Guthook, and I have never noticed more than about a 25% drain while in airplane mode for a full day. 8 hours of music probably wouldn't noticeably affect it either. So at least 2 full days out of a single charge. Many people also carry a battery pack for their phone, so you could easily keep your phone charged even while listening to music.
Analog_Kidd
12-01-2018, 23:48
With my Samsung S8 on extreme power savings, and airplane mode, I can go all day, taking occasional pictures and listening to music for about 8 hours and use around 25% of battery. On the trail i generally don't make calls or send texts, tho, so that helps.
fastfoxengineering
12-02-2018, 01:54
On my AT hike i carried a really light tiny $20 china made amazon special. Would last a day on one charge and didnt take much juice to charge it.
I honestly rarely used it.
Pros. Its not your phone. So it doesnt use phone battery, you can keep your phone more protected, and if you do smash it, its not your phone.
Cons. Its one more thing to carry. You cant download on the go. Its another thing to buy.
I think if you carry a large capactity battery bank then its probably easier to use your phone.
I only carry an extra 3500mah. So i like using the mp3 player. Ive never killed the battery, but if I were to, id go back to the sounds of nature until the next town.
Podcasts and music are great. But i still don't understand how people spend 6 months hiking with ear buds in. Not saying all do, but ive witnessed it on the AT.
A trend has been developing around thru hiking and more and more people are putting their heads down, zoning out with music, and "crushing" miles just to check it off the list. Its sad to me.
Like everything, moderation is best.
I didnt listen to much music or podcasts out there. And I truly believe I had a deeper, more meaningful experience than some hikers. When the mental game kicks in and the going gets tough, its you against your thoughts, and with no distractions, ie music, you can lose your marbles a bit more but sometimes gain greater clarity in life. Its gonna be emotional, and if you dont distract yourself, its going to be more emotional. Something to consider.
Every now and then i didnt want to live in my head, and some tunes helped the madness. For a little while lol...
Ps. I highly advise not listening to music in high snake and bear areas. I came across to rattlers ON the trail. Both made me aware by rattling. If i had music on, i have no idea what could have happend. The blend in well, and its be easy to end up on top of them if you didnt hear them.
I also watched my friend walk 15 yards past a massive black bear in jersey with ear buds in. I looked at this bear in amazement as we both cautiously just walked past each other. I heard him crunching sticks as he walked. My friend was oblivious she was that close to a pretty large black bear.
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Go to ebay. Lots of 32G players available for under $10.00. Buy two, their cheap :)
Personally, I'd get one which runs on a AAA battery so you don't need to charge the thing.
I want music and audio books and language learning books on trail not on any Smartphone(which is actually a mobile computer with Intertwad disconnectivity that I can get easily overly infatuated with distracting too significantly from the hike). The Mp3 player definitely has less addictive behavior associated with it for me. I don't want one so much critical need to be associated with one device. I too still like very inexpensive $20 and less one AAA battery operated Mp3 players. For myself I have more need for music on trail than phone calling or Intertwad connectivity. We're still able to go Smartphoneless and thrive and survive on trail! I use the longest lasting AAA Energizer Lithium Batteries anyway for a head lamp. These are old school harder and harder devices to locate though. Using various sites I can still down load 4000 songs and 2-4 audio books on a $20 Mp3 player for free, more than enough for a 1500-2000 mile trek since I'm not listening all the time to it but primarily the wider environment. BTW, using earbuds or similar in a narrower awareness has almost cost me my life stepping on venomous snakes, not hearing brown and black bears with cubs, almost being washed down a canyon in a flash flood, crossing remote roads that unexpectedly had a zooming vehicle almost hitting me, not hearing packs of huge disgruntled wild hogs, several times almost being bit by dogs, ...
fastfoxengineering
12-02-2018, 02:22
When I was walking thru Massachusetts, I was walking a tight section of trail on bog bridges. Abruptly to my right, about 20 yards out, i heard something skirmish up a tree as fast as it could. It was a small cub. That thing locked eyes on me and I felt like it was telling mom exactly where i was with precise laser focusing lol. Unfortunately, the tall growth impeded my vision in all directions.
My heart rate went crazy. My awareness off the charts. I walked away and nothing happened.
If i had earbuds in, i never would of saw that little cub. Or known i scared the crap out of a cub. And when I tell people this story it goes...
They always tell you to be worried when you get between a mother bear and her cubs.
Well what if you dont see mom around! Now what. As heart thumps
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Time Zone
12-02-2018, 10:34
I think I would just use my phone. I looked up battery life for just music playback on the iPhone XR, and it is listed as 65 hours. I would expect most recent phones to be able to provide around 50 hours of audio playback while in airplane mode, or longer.
I personally carry a Pixel 2 XL, mainly for photos and Guthook, and I have never noticed more than about a 25% drain while in airplane mode for a full day. 8 hours of music probably wouldn't noticeably affect it either. So at least 2 full days out of a single charge. Many people also carry a battery pack for their phone, so you could easily keep your phone charged even while listening to music.
That's hard to argue against. Smartphones are a big multi-purpose tool for most hikers and even people who are fairly described as gram-weenies often carry upwards of what, 200-300g in smart phone and power bricks? My only argument for a dedicated MP3 player like the Sansa Clip Jam is this: it's 22g.
I don't carry it (or a phone) though; I was just answering the OP's question.
Puddlefish
12-02-2018, 10:38
When I was walking thru Massachusetts, I was walking a tight section of trail on bog bridges. Abruptly to my right, about 20 yards out, i heard something skirmish up a tree as fast as it could. It was a small cub. That thing locked eyes on me and I felt like it was telling mom exactly where i was with precise laser focusing lol. Unfortunately, the tall growth impeded my vision in all directions.
My heart rate went crazy. My awareness off the charts. I walked away and nothing happened.
If i had earbuds in, i never would of saw that little cub. Or known i scared the crap out of a cub. And when I tell people this story it goes...
They always tell you to be worried when you get between a mother bear and her cubs.
Well what if you dont see mom around! Now what. As heart thumps
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The mama bear and her cubs concept is pure fiction, despite what "they" might tell you. The cubs go up the nearest tree, and the mother runs away. There's a tendency to attribute human characteristics to animals, but in this case it's just not how bears are wired, despite what feelings you might have had.
I probably spend half my time listening to nature, and half my time listening to music and viewing nature to the glorious backdrop of my favorite music. I've also hiked without music and been extremely frustrated when I got a song stuck in my head. I walked through most of Georgia with the song "Build me up Buttercup" stuck in my brain. When I'd finally clear my head, I'd pass another patch of buttercups and repeat the process.
I use my fairly cheap phone for music, and have a small charger. Previously I used a Sansa/Zune. The trick was to get all my music ripped from CD, into proper sized compatible files, and download them onto the phone. Even with some 3,000 songs available to me, I got sick of my library quickly.
It is not pure fiction sows will aggressively defend their cubs from larger male bears, humans, other wildlife,....if they feel their cubs are threatened! There're plenty of documented cases of sows defending their cubs.
In Yosemite and Great Smokey Mountain NP's on the Pinhoti in Alabama got between black bear cubs and their mother. The cubs did go up trees but the mother in these cases became aggressive towards me as a solo hiker and when hiking with someone else - charging, approaching, growling, paw swatting, and following down the trail as we're attempting to slowly back up while facing the sows. At least I think I got that part right at that stage. THEN, these black bear sows eventually broke it off.
In Glacier and Denali NP's got between Brown bear sows and their cubs. The cubs did not go up trees. The large mothers turned and came at me with the cubs behind. In all these cases the mother didn't run off. These incidences all occurred because I had my mind turned off in my own little world of music with earbuds in. If I had not had those earbuds in there was much higher odds I would have heard them been aware of the situation taking action BEFORE those events escalated. Not only was I surprised by the bears presence but in all those cases the bears were surprised by me. That ignorance leads to escalation of negative bear/human interactions.
Puddlefish
12-02-2018, 14:43
It is not pure fiction sows will aggressively defend their cubs from larger male bears, humans, other wildlife,....if they feel their cubs are threatened! There're plenty of documented cases of sows defending their cubs.
In Yosemite and Great Smokey Mountain NP's on the Pinhoti in Alabama got between black bear cubs and their mother. The cubs did go up trees but the mother in these cases became aggressive towards me as a solo hiker and when hiking with someone else - charging, approaching, growling, paw swatting, and following down the trail as we're attempting to slowly back up while facing the sows. At least I think I got that part right at that stage. THEN, these black bear sows eventually broke it off.
In Glacier and Denali NP's got between Brown bear sows and their cubs. The cubs did not go up trees. The large mothers turned and came at me with the cubs behind. In all these cases the mother didn't run off. These incidences all occurred because I had my mind turned off in my own little world of music with earbuds in. If I had not had those earbuds in there was much higher odds I would have heard them been aware of the situation taking action BEFORE those events escalated. Not only was I surprised by the bears presence but in all those cases the bears were surprised by me. That ignorance leads to escalation of negative bear/human interactions.
Well, it's an AT forum, so I'll limit it to black bears.
https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/bears-a-humans/39-what-if-i-get-between-a-black-bear-mother-and-her-cubs.html
Edit: It's a post about music players, not a place to spread weak information as a scare tactic of "earbuds are a danger" when it's just your social preference.
fastfoxengineering
12-02-2018, 14:50
Honestly, just having another hiker sneak up on me cause I had my head phones induces enough of my paranoia that I dont like it lol..
Ive also scared the living crap out of people who head music on themselves. You can only clack your poles so loud and try it make yourself visual.
I feel bad when i see the fear in their eyes but what do you want me to do?
All in all lets just agree headphones can cause some problems.
My vote is for a separate mp3 player. And try to resist.
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Puddlefish
12-02-2018, 14:59
Honestly, just having another hiker sneak up on me cause I had my head phones induces enough of my paranoia that I dont like it lol..
Ive also scared the living crap out of people who head music on themselves. You can only clack your poles so loud and try it make yourself visual.
I feel bad when i see the fear in their eyes but what do you want me to do?
All in all lets just agree headphones can cause some problems.
My vote is for a separate mp3 player. And try to resist.
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The biggest danger for me is that I might sing along, and subject some poor innocent to my singing voice. I do try to look around before singing, just as a public service.
Greenlight
12-02-2018, 15:11
When I'm hiking, I don't listen to music or books or other extraneous crap. With the hiking I'm doing now, I take my iPhone with me, primarily for taking pictures, but also for the ability to make a call if I have to. When I do my thru-hike, I may downgrade my phone to an old school flip phone for emergencies (or maybe a locator beacon) and a good quality, light camera. I don't want to have to carry a heavy phone and charging unit! I'll figure it out as I go. But... at the end of the day, I'll be out there to disconnect with the world and reconnect with nature, not the Beatles or Foo Fighters. If I wanted music, I'd be like you - just looking for a small, high capacity mp3 player. Can't recommend a brand.
carouselambra
12-02-2018, 16:29
I used the Sansa Clip Sport and I am very happy with it. I like the fact it has an FM tuner as well.
https://www.sandisk.com/home/mp3-players/clip-sport
The mama bear and her cubs concept is pure fiction, despite what "they" might tell you. The cubs go up the nearest tree, and the mother runs away. There's a tendency to attribute human characteristics to animals, but in this case it's just not how bears are wired, despite what feelings you might have had.
I probably spend half my time listening to nature, and half my time listening to music and viewing nature to the glorious backdrop of my favorite music. I've also hiked without music and been extremely frustrated when I got a song stuck in my head. I walked through most of Georgia with the song "Build me up Buttercup" stuck in my brain. When I'd finally clear my head, I'd pass another patch of buttercups and repeat the process.
I use my fairly cheap phone for music, and have a small charger. Previously I used a Sansa/Zune. The trick was to get all my music ripped from CD, into proper sized compatible files, and download them onto the phone. Even with some 3,000 songs available to me, I got sick of my library quickly.
East coast. Black bears. Maybe.
Grizzlies have been documented differently. Fatally different.
Be safe Y’all!
Wayne
mclaught
12-02-2018, 21:46
I use a Sandisk Sansa m240, it's super old and I doubt they make them anymore, but you could find a used one cheap. It weighs 1.4 ounces with the AAA battery inside. It doesn't have a ton of storage, maybe 1 or 2 GB, but that was always plenty for a few albums and audiobooks.
GankenBerry
12-06-2018, 17:57
i use a ipod nano.
Silverking
12-06-2018, 23:50
sansa clip is a very good mp3 player. I will get 7 or more books loaded on it. Will play for days before needing a charge.
MuddyWaters
12-07-2018, 01:45
If you have a smart phone, it would be nearly ridiculous to bring another device.
Bring some bluetooth headphones.
For 5 ounces, you got phone, camera, gps, maps, guide, books, movies,tv shows, music, games, etc.
StubbleJumper
12-07-2018, 12:47
If you have a smart phone, it would be nearly ridiculous to bring another device.
Bring some bluetooth headphones.
For 5 ounces, you got phone, camera, gps, maps, guide, books, movies,tv shows, music, games, etc.
Well, I'd say that advice is situation specific. If you are on a trail with short re-supply intervals which enables you to frequently recharge your phone, then I would agree that there's not much to be gained by carrying a whole bunch of redundant devices. Last summer, I hiked that sort of trail in the French Alps, so I was able to recharge my phone nearly every day and really had no need for a separate MP3 player or camera.
On the other hand, there are trails which are more remote and have longer re-supply intervals. In particular both times I hiked the Colorado Trail, I used two 7-day resupply intervals plus a few shorter intervals. When you need to manage your charge for 7 days, you think a little bit more about whether to take a powerbank to recharge your phone or whether to take a separate camera, e-reader and MP3 player, or perhaps take both a powerbank and the other devices. When I hiked the Arizona Trail, I had similarly long re-supply intervals, but my phone was even more important because its GPS capabilities were my back-up if I made a navigation error and got lost in the desert. On the High Pyrenees Route, I had a couple of 5-day resupply intervals, but there were sections of the trail that were unmarked, overgrown, or poorly marked, which again made it essential that I reserve some portion of the battery for GPS navigation.
If you are on the sort of trail where you face a realistic risk of making a navigation error using your map and compass, the last thing you want to do is to fall asleep in your tent with your phone playing MP3s all night. In those cases, I much prefer to carry a separate lightweight MP3 player and a separate camera which enables me to shut my phone off altogether, ensuring that it'll definitely have juice if I happen to need in 5 or 6 days.
Time Zone
12-07-2018, 15:55
I use a Sandisk Sansa m240, it's super old and I doubt they make them anymore, but you could find a used one cheap. It weighs 1.4 ounces with the AAA battery inside. It doesn't have a ton of storage, maybe 1 or 2 GB, but that was always plenty for a few albums and audiobooks.
We had a couple of those for our kids long ago. They're good, nice to be able to swap in a new AAA when needed ... but they eventually just stopped working. So it wasn't one of those devices that worked indefinitely so long as you had a good supply of batteries.
Bearded_Shrek
12-09-2018, 23:22
I'm in the market for one like the OP, but with FM radio.
Watching this thread...
Time Zone
12-10-2018, 08:35
I'm in the market for one like the OP, but with FM radio.
Watching this thread...
The Sansa Clip models have FM radio, as well as an expansion slot for more storage.
https://www.amazon.com/AGPTEK-Supports-Replaceable-Recording-Expandable/dp/B07FVT9J15/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1544490730&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=sansa+240+AAA+Mp3+player&psc=1
https://www.target.com/p/rca-4-gb-mp3-player-with-built-in-usb-and-removable-sport-clip/-/A-16185730?sid=1394S&ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=bing_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Electronics_Priority%2BShopping&adgroup=Electronics_Priority+TCINs&LID=700000001230728pbs&network=s&device=c&querystring=rca%20AAA%20Mp3%20player&msclkid=cc3259a15fd816eb43c505ae4f816fe8&gclid=CMCq6dnNlt8CFYubgQodXBYFWg&gclsrc=ds
https://www.ebay.com/p/RCA-4gb-Mp3-Player-With-Flipout-USB-and-Display/1201605681?iid=254014102056
For a separate AAA battery powered music, audio book and FM access Mp3 device they work fine. They are becoming harder to find new at retail.
At least with these devices I can convert any YouTube or Vimeo music vid to a song to be added to a trail music genre without additional song downloading costs. So often when upgrading electronics we have to repurchase songs, movies, books etc. Personally, I get tired of that but maybe that's just me being ignorant of current tech.
Many thanks for all your responses ! I have much to consider.
Why would you want to take a phone into the woods? If you like music, take the DAP. Agreed that daytime sounds - and silence - really need to be heard, but hanging out at night doesn't have to be boring. I'm typically too tired to be bored, but to each their own.
Oh, and its a rhetorical question, I take my phone of course. Just that as I spend more and rely more on my phone for everyday use, I'm more aware than ever than I can't have it ruined on a hiking trip. That means I have it out less, and I think that's where the DAP comes in.
ZiggySours
12-23-2018, 22:40
my kids got me a JBL clip got my pack while hiking its not that heavy and and it really puts out some sound I usually bump that think when no one is really around to be respectful but also its a great bear or animal deterrent i mean im like the whitest kid alive but i get in moods where i wanna hear some gangster rap lol and if i pumping up a mt bumping some old 36 maffia or some **** i doubt or dare a bear to come f with me lol with my luck he will only get me when im blasting fleet foxes or some mellow hipster stuff haha
44324
I saw this guy on the trail just north of the Curley Maple Gap shelter. He just gave a low buzz not the ominous rattle of the cowboy movies. If I had earphones in I might not have heard him.