Experience with phones, connectivity, and satellite connections on AT?

[wwbriggs]

I am planning for my thru hike and am curious about bring my iPhone, iPad, or similar lightweight device to use a a multipurpose source of information, entertainment, and communications. I know from my own experience it has been spotty here in Georgia depending on elevation and location.

Have any of you found any of these type devices useful, or just dead weight?

Any experience with a phone and Spot Tracker using satellite to send email and connect in the backcountry? ...

Any other thoughts or strategies other than public places in town?

[rjhouser]

My friend just carried his iphone for 110 miles through part of VA and TN last week. He was able to call home, update his online journal, use his GPS application, take pictures, and record video interviews with himself. I would say it's definitely NOT dead weight, but I can't speak for GA. I have heard that Verizon gets fair service at almost all points along the AT however. If that's your service provider.

[Chaco Taco]

coverage in the south is fine. When you get into New England, its gets spotty. I have seen alot of people using iphones.

[Jeff]

iPhones were very common at Green Mountain House the past couple of years. Saw maybe 3 or 4 iPads at the hostel in 2011. WiFi is becoming available at more hostels along the trail too.

[Spokes]

Verizon seems to get the most votes for best cell coverage. I recently switched over to an iPhone and was disappointed with the lousy data connectivity along the Vermont section of the trail. Not sure about other sections and data coverage.

Oh, my 2 cents on the SPOT device- worthless. Carrying an equal weight in Snicker bars would be better.

[KingKrawler]

AT&T service is poor between Georgia and Virginia, and then improves. I carried an Android OS cell with Verizon service on my thru last year. Service was surprisingly good along the trail. I generally could connect almost every day until I got to Maine where things got spotty.

One disadvantage of the iPhone, which is a great phone, is that the battery is not replaceable. I carried two batteries for my HTC Eris last year and, depending on how many days between towns, managed quite well. Either phone is good for music, preparing and sending emails and journal updates, GPS, internet connection to find services in towns, etc. I used mine extensively.

If I was going to do it again, I'd probably stay with a phone that I could switch batteries out, but an iPhone with Verizon service would be a good second choice.

Good luck with your choice and your adventure.

[wwbriggs]

"If I was going to do it again, I'd probably stay with a phone that I could switch batteries out, but an iPhone with Verizon service would be a good second choice. " Thank you. Good advice.

NewTrent makes some really nice external battery packs with extensive uptime. 12 hours additional battery life. If I were to take any kind of PDA I would probably opt for something like this that can source other devices. I like to standardize on batteries as much as possible to keep things simple and minimize the load I have to carry. However, there is not a "AA" powered PDA, but the NewTrent offers that same type of standardization if you carry any other powered devices during your adventures and exploring. For me, I try to keep it down to a phone and camera.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Verizon seems to get the most votes for best cell coverage. I recently switched over to an iPhone and was disappointed with the lousy data connectivity along the Vermont section of the trail. Not sure about other sections and data coverage.

Oh, my 2 cents on the SPOT device- worthless. Carrying an equal weight in Snicker bars would be better.
VT, NH and ME have pretty poor coverage in many areas, mostly due to simply not having enough towers to maintain line of sight from a phone to a tower, or if you do have line of sight, too great a distance. I usually power up my phone and try to get a signal when half way up, on top, half way down, at the bottom, etc, but otherwise keep it off to save the battery. The terrain and overall lack of towers up here just doesn't lend itself to good cell performance.

[mmorgan]

What precautions to you take to keep your phone dry?

[4eyedbuzzard]

Ziplock works for me.

[wwbriggs]

I have used ziplocks too. Though this summer when it was humid and rainy in Georgia I did get some moisture seeping through the creases that form when the ziplock is in your pocket and getting a lot of use. I have since switched to a small cuben bag and make sure it is in a pocket in my pack that is easy to access and less likely to get wet. I also found that the cuben helped protect it from sweat on nice days when placed in my belt holster. I am still looking for a great clip holster that is both water proof and has easy access.

[Sensei]

In my experience, Sprint and Verizon worked better on the southern half of the trail and AT&T worked better on the northern half.

[Wise Old Owl]

This device is small and compact - but very power hungry when features are turned on... You need to have a fresh battery and understand how many hours it lasts - go into power management and exstend the overnght soft power down to 8 hours then take a look at an old thread

Solar Power Goose - single panel - 12v and connect a 12v socket to it, or PM ne

[bigcranky]

A cell phone of any sort is pretty handy on the trail. Keeping it turned off in a ziploc bag buried deep in one's pack is the best way to maximize battery life and minimize annoying other hikers. An iPhone with Verizon service works well, though if you want to use it as your phone/camera/gps/email/weather/commo device, you'll have serious battery issues (as in, you'll get maybe two days per charge.)

I have an iPad, and it's tempting to consider taking it on a long distance hike. With 3G service from Verizon, it can be a phone (using Skype), a journaling device with a much better keyboard than any phone, a GPS, and still do the usual email and communications chores as needed. The battery in my original iPad gives me more than 10 hours of heavy use, which should easily last 5-7 days on the trail, with moderate use in my tent at night. The iPad 2 is lighter by a few ounces, and available with Verizon 3G service. I've seen several thru-hikers trying to carry a netbook or other small laptop, and I suspect an iPad would be a better choice in terms of weight and functionality.

[MorninDu]

We had plenty of coverage in MA, upper goose pond area.

[dornstar]

"If I was going to do it again, I'd probably stay with a phone that I could switch batteries out, but an iPhone with Verizon service would be a good second choice. " Thank you. Good advice.

NewTrent makes some really nice external battery packs with extensive uptime. 12 hours additional battery life. If I were to take any kind of PDA I would probably opt for something like this that can source other devices. I like to standardize on batteries as much as possible to keep things simple and minimize the load I have to carry. However, there is not a "AA" powered PDA, but the NewTrent offers that same type of standardization if you carry any other powered devices during your adventures and exploring. For me, I try to keep it down to a phone and camera.
Extra batteries are $5 on Amazon for my Droid X and weigh less than an ounce. I took 5 extra on my last week long trip and was able to use my phone nonstop.

[-Ghost-]

I carried my iPhone on my 2011 hike and it was absolutely not dead weight. I would simply charge it in towns (carried the charger with me...pretty freaking light) and just turn it on at night to type up my journal and check Facebook etc. when I had service. I also used it very successfully to update my TrailJournal extremely often. I would simply copy and paste from my notes section into the TrailJournal page and update when I had solid service. Allowed my friends/family to have almost a day to date update of what I was up to and where I was. For me, with ATT, coverage was good except for central VA where I probably went a week with no service and Maine where it was about the same. The rest of the trail I had service at least every other day as far as I can remember. Also...www.trailjournals.com/tbedick for my journal if you are curious =)

[Bucherm]

Extra batteries are $5 on Amazon for my Droid X and weigh less than an ounce. I took 5 extra on my last week long trip and was able to use my phone nonstop.

Yeah, it honestly baffles the hell out of me that someone seriously argues for external battery packs being just as good as internal batteries you can change out. I'd rather just get a larger internal battery(which I have for my Droid Bionic) and a spare to carry.

[SCRUB HIKER]

I carried my iPhone on my 2011 hike and it was absolutely not dead weight. I would simply charge it in towns (carried the charger with me...pretty freaking light) and just turn it on at night to type up my journal and check Facebook etc. when I had service. I also used it very successfully to update my TrailJournal extremely often. I would simply copy and paste from my notes section into the TrailJournal page and update when I had solid service. Allowed my friends/family to have almost a day to date update of what I was up to and where I was. For me, with ATT, coverage was good except for central VA where I probably went a week with no service and Maine where it was about the same. The rest of the trail I had service at least every other day as far as I can remember. Also...www.trailjournals.com/tbedick (http://www.trailjournals.com/tbedick) for my journal if you are curious =)

Spot on. About 95% of hikers I knew this year were carrying cell phones with a basic wall charger. It's just not that hard to find outlets in town. As for service--I have a dumbphone with Verizon that occasionally got service where my ATT and Sprint friends couldn't find it, but above Harpers Ferry and below Maine, service was essentially everywhere, for everybody. My friends with smartphones relished the 3G access, the camera, the ability to play a little Deana Carter out loud when we had the shelters to ourselves in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast ... basically, I didn't know anyone who found their smartphone to be dead weight.

- Scrub

[two isles]

power monkey and power monkey extreme are great for re-charges when one can't find an outlet.

http://www.earthtechproducts.com/p2588.html

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/d0bc/?pfm=Search&t=solar%20power%20monkey#tabs (http://www.earthtechproducts.com/p2588.html)

[Lion King]

without reading anyone elses thoughts, here are mine.
Cell phones/ipads/laptops/DVD players etc...at shelters and campsites unless it is a feed or party of some sort are a NUISANCE to others and really are incredibly rude to whip out and use, especially if people are on top of a mtn and you pull it out to check for service and have a twenty minute cell call with a loved one in front of people who are trying to getaway from that crap.

I know things have changed and everyone and their brother has a cell phone, but that dont mean you need to use it when you are in the wilderness....

Camp in your tent far from others if you choose to use electronic devices such as those, really....just be considerate, yes, they are dead weght and yes, they can get ruined especially in the high humidity of the AT which you get from Springer to the Big K.

I hate all those things in wilderness,. ever last one of them....

good luck though

[Lion King]

PS

a cell isnt dead weight, just annoying...I carry one, but the thing is to many people are using them now to get out of situations that dont call for searc ad rescue...too many.

again, this whole country is cell phone/text crazy and that is something I just cant stand on the trail. If you use it, avoid others....my .04 cent

[Fredt4]

I used a Virgin Mobile Droid 2.2.1 on my Thru-hike this year. Back Country NavigatorIs the best map app, Google maps for town.Had two extra batteries wished I had five.Batteries always lasted till next recharge Because I cut back use according to distance till Next recharge. Only humidity problem I had Was the 4th of July when phone acted up due To excessive sweat from climbing up a ridge.Had to put the phone in my pocket with my pack towel to dry out when I arrived at camp. Used a clear dry bag to keep my phone in almost 24/7 kept the phone in my hiking shorts pocketBecause I was afraid I would lose it otherwise.It was nice knowing where it was. Used Picasa & DropboxFor downloads, upgraded my 2 GB sd card to a 32 GBsd card. Map tiles took up 300 mb, waypoints 30+ mbHad great service most of the time except on the Wrong side of the mountain. Usually recoveredService within a mile or two. Usually kept phone on Airplane mode, used less than 300 minutes per Month talk time. Had Skype $3/mo for longer conversationWhen wifi was available. Never started a fire using The batteries, my Bic lighter was better suited for the job.Kept my notes, pic, maps, sun moon tables, trail guide on the phoneGps, weather reports, email, text and more. Many timesr Had wifi but no cell coverage.

[Senor Jalapeno]

Have a couple of phones. lol. Where AT&T doesnt work, Verizon does. Where Verizon doesnt work, AT&T does. Where neither of them work, Sprint does. haha

[Fredt4]

First the to understand about connectivity is That the most of new phone's gps work without cell towers. Cell service can be spotty and in valleysOr on the wrong side of the mountain nonexistent.The absolute best feature is Back Country Navigator With pre downloaded tiles (maps). Everything after thatIs secondary and other than additional batteries optional.

[bamboo bob]

Wow all this geek talk is way too much for me.

[Hairball]

First the to understand about connectivity is That the most of new phone's gps work without cell towers. Cell service can be spotty and in valleysOr on the wrong side of the mountain nonexistent.The absolute best feature is Back Country Navigator With pre downloaded tiles (maps). Everything after thatIs secondary and other than additional batteries optional.

I just downloaded Back Country Navigator. Thank you for the information, I'd have never found this app on my own. I do plan on taking my smartphone with me in the spring. Glad to know about the batteries too.

[prain4u]

I am planning for my thru hike and am curious about bring my iPhone, iPad, or similar lightweight device to use a a multipurpose source of information, entertainment, and communications. I know from my own experience it has been spotty here in Georgia depending on elevation and location.

Have any of you found any of these type devices useful, or just dead weight?

1) One of my biggest concerns is best summed up in the old saying: "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket". Some people rely on their smart phones and iPads for everything--including navigation, communication, a camera, trail guide, keeping notes and recording names and addresses of people they meet etc.. However, if the device becomes lost, has a malfunction or develops a dead battery--the wonderful multi-purpose tool quickly becomes an expensive paperweight (and you are now without all of the "tools" that you relied upon it to do. You may have also lost some "important" pictures and data "forever"). If you take it with you--and plan to use it as a "multi-purpose tool"--what is your backup plan if something happens to the device?

2) Some people use their "smart phones" to take the place of common sense, adequate preparation for their hike, and as an all-too-easy "back-up-plan" (i.e. calling 9-1-1 to have authorities come and take them home because they "became too cold" or because "they were getting hungry for pizza"). In my (never humble) opinion, that type of behavior is just plain "wrong" and is a tremendous waste of emergency response resources. You are probably not one of those people. However, it is amazing how many of those people exist!

3) I concur with one or more other writers who have stated that they would really rather not see or hear people's electronic devices out in the wilderness. They go into the woods in order to get away from those things. I sort of fall into that category (but I am also addicted to my smart phone). Thus, I would invite people to be considerate of others when using electronic devices. Try to go off alone (away from other people) and use the devices. If talking on a phone--try to talk quietly. (Did you ever notice that people talk into a cell phone much more loudly than they talk when they are having a conversation with a real person standing right next to them?). Be mindful of others who are trying to sleep or rest. People's voices and the light from the electronic devices can travel a long distance outdoors. (I once was hiking with some middle-aged people who brought a young--"twenty-something" male family friend with them. He missed his girlfriend and he talked to her--or texted her--for several hours each night--into the early morning hours. It was downright annoying and it cut into the sleep of us "old folks". (As the old saying goes: You have a right to throw punches. However, your right to swing your fist ends at my nose!).

[BrianLe]

What's worked best for me is a smartphone --- I would find something like an iPad to be an awkward form factor to use on a thru-hike. And IMO it's definitely not 'dead weight' even where there's no cell coverage. Key, however, is picking out something reasonably in advance of your trip and having some time to get it set up and practice with it so you can really get the benefit of what you're carrying. Even with a lot of practice, things can bite you in the butt; for example, the first few days of photos I shot this past year all had the wrong date as I didn't know that when I replaced the battery in my phone and was out of cell tower range, the internal date/time reset to some arbitrary point in the past.

I wrote up some thoughts on using a smartphone for thru-hiking (http://postholer.com/smartPhone.html) a while back; this is somewhat dated now but a lot of the ideas and warnings are still valid. A lot more people use iPhone's now but my Android phone worked well for me this past year and I appreciated being able to carry spare batteries, but I did find it buggier than the iPhone one of my trail partners carried.

One thing to consider in going this route is what your camera requirements are. If you're happy with the camera on a smartphone being your only camera, that's a substantial win, both in terms of weight carried as well as just having the single device readily available and also having your photos on a device from which you can more readily upload along the way.

If you're really keen on the GPS functionality (Gaia GPS or Backcountry Navigator), do test this out some at a point where you're out of cell tower range. My limited experience is that with aGPS now a part of all of these phones, in some cases it can take an inordinate amount of time to lock on it you didn't manage to get your GPS locked on to something reasonably nearby before you left cell tower range. But indeed my experience is limited, to just three different smartphones, and for most of the time (this year) that I've used a GPS I've used a standalone GPS and not my smartphone.