Smart phone or Kindle

[MommaDuck]

I'm looking at phones vss. Kindles. Any one have suggestions or comments. I need to get one or the other so any suggestions r awesome.
thanx

[MommaDuck]

I guess i should say this is for hiking the AT.
Thanx

[Spokes]

Hmmmm, tough call but I lean toward the smartphone. You'll need it to call the next hostel or a shuttle.....

[MommaDuck]

True that! What about for typing journals?

[SouthMark]

I have a smartphone, an iPad, and a Kindle. I would only take the smartphone. I can read books on it, use it as a GPS, make posts to my journal, etc, as well as use it as a phone.

[Spokes]

True that! What about for typing journals?

Could be hard. Gotta set priorities.

I did an old fashion paper journal and mailed them home when reaching town to a friend who acted as a transcriber. Bought a bunch of cheap camera memory cards on eBay and mailed them too so he could add to trailjournals. He saved everything for me when I returned.

It's been fun looking back at my written word on those stained pages.

Cheers!

[max patch]

I really, really want to take my dumb phone and kindle fire next time around. But I may have to compromise and take only a smart phone instead. But I really want to take the kindle.

[Slo-go'en]

If I had a smart phone with data plan, I think I'd go that route. Smaller, lighter and more consistant conductivity via the cell phone network.

I recently bought the Kindle Fire and haven't decided if it will go on my next trip or not. It's a bit on the heavy side at nearly 16 oz W/ charger and only 8 hours of life at best, but it does have a decent web browser, a word processor program and I can play Mahjongg on it, in addition to reading books. My old e-ink Kindle is lighter and has much better battery life, but about all you can do with it is read books.

[Spokes]

Might be disappointed with data coverage. I had a hard time in Vermont last year. Cell connectivity was fine.

[jeffmeh]

One can also email journal entries to a friend who can proof read, edit, and post them online. Makes typing them on a smart phone easier if you know that someone will fix the basic "fat finger" mistakes.

[Maren]

I'm leaving in two days and still debating whether or not to take my Nook. At 8.3 oz it feels a little heavy. I could read on my smart phone, but that would kill the battery. I might just take it along, and, if I change my mind, mail it home.

[Spokes]

Emailing journal entries are a pain in the arse!

Heres a couple easy workarounds. If you have a free WordPress blog you can call in a "Post by Voice". Just google it.

Or check out the free AudioBoo app that basically does the same thing. You can even link your audio post to a Twitter feed.

http://audioboo.fm/

Easy peazy way to keep friends in the loop. Plus they'll love hearing your voice!

[BrianLe]

Smartphone. My wife has a kindle; I wouldn't consider taking it on a trail. My smartphone screen is smaller, but a really thin/small set of reading glasses can mitigate that if it's an issue for you.

A smartphone is the electronic equivalent of a swiss army knife. Mind you, I don't carry a swiss army knife, but I do carry a smartphone, on any sort of hiking or backpacking trip.

[quilteresq]

I have a Kindle, and no plans to take it on AT. Smartphone all the way. Kindle for android or I-phone works fine.

[Andrewsobo]

Is it really necessary to have a phone? The idea of paying or service when I'm going to use the thing like once a month is strange to me.

I was planning on a phoneless thru hike.

[Wise Old Owl]

Android phones accept the Kindle App - then you can read your favorite book on your phone, adjust brightness and and battery life with another built in app. Surprise very UL and 4 oz. When purchased get the largest memory chip you can afford at the same time....

Add books like the bible, survival skills, or tree identification or bird identification - I am sure the AT guides will be coming soon.

[yellowsirocco]

I carry them both. I use the Kindle on the trail since the battery life is insane and the smartphone mostly around town. A e-ink kindle/nook weighs about as much as a trail guide so any extra reading material makes this a weight savings. I use maps so I don't really need a trail guide during the day when I am hiking.

[BrianLe]

"I carry them both. I use the Kindle on the trail since the battery life is insane and the smartphone mostly around town. A e-ink kindle/nook weighs about as much as a trail guide so any extra reading material makes this a weight savings. I use maps so I don't really need a trail guide during the day when I am hiking."

Another HYOH thing, but I see things differently --- noting that this is in the context of a thru-hiker thread. Dynamics for section hiking or weekend outings might likely be quite different.
On the AT especially, the town stop options come so frequently that I never found battery life to be that big of an issue, and most thru-hikers aren't going to have the time or inclination to do a lot of reading while on the trail.
Guidebook weight comparison: thru-hikers typically carry just part of the guidebook at any one time, and discard or burn the pages as they go along. And IMO, even if you have maps, it is sometimes handy to have the guide book page to look at things like distance to next shelter, next water source, perhaps elevation profile, or where the next pit toilet can be found. I think that sort of information is just easier to obtain from a guidebook page than from a map. Having to keep the kindle available on-trail wouldn't seem as nice to me as just keeping a few guidebook pages in a ziplock in a pocket. And FWIW, on the AT I was content and felt safe with my only maps being on my smartphone; another reason to have guidebook pages available in hard copy.

I definitely do not represent my opinions at the "one and only valid approach" (!), I just find it interesting to have looked at the same issue and come up with sort of opposite conclusions.

[yellowsirocco]

Another HYOH thing, but I see things differently --- noting that this is in the context of a thru-hiker thread. Dynamics for section hiking or weekend outings might likely be quite different.
On the AT especially, the town stop options come so frequently that I never found battery life to be that big of an issue, and most thru-hikers aren't going to have the time or inclination to do a lot of reading while on the trail.
Guidebook weight comparison: thru-hikers typically carry just part of the guidebook at any one time, and discard or burn the pages as they go along. And IMO, even if you have maps, it is sometimes handy to have the guide book page to look at things like distance to next shelter, next water source, perhaps elevation profile, or where the next pit toilet can be found. I think that sort of information is just easier to obtain from a guidebook page than from a map. Having to keep the kindle available on-trail wouldn't seem as nice to me as just keeping a few guidebook pages in a ziplock in a pocket. And FWIW, on the AT I was content and felt safe with my only maps being on my smartphone; another reason to have guidebook pages available in hard copy.

I definitely do not represent my opinions at the "one and only valid approach" (!), I just find it interesting to have looked at the same issue and come up with sort of opposite conclusions.
I am talking about this in a long distance hiker context. It does really depend on what you want to do with it. I don't get the kindle out during the day, I just look over the guidebook at night and take note of anything important that is not on the map. There may be a water source or two that is not listed on the map, but most things are listed and some things like locations of pit toilets are pretty easy to remember. I have found that with maps I rarely even use the guidebooks expect for town services. I read for about an hour before bed and that would burn through my smartphone's battery life pretty quickly, plus reading on a smartphone kind of sucks too. I have found myself reading the shelter logs too many times to not bring a book. Another issue I have with using my phone is that if something bad happens and I happen to have service, I don't want to be worrying about battery life. It is not a good idea to use a phone as a lifeline, but if the stars align where you can use it as that then it is nice to have a full battery.

Whatever people choose, as long as they have a well thought out system in place that integrates well with their style of hiking, then it is all good.

[Nooga]

I plan to carry both an iPhone and a Kindle. I have loaded some trail data on the Kindle, plus I like to read at night and won't have to worry about keeping the iPhone charged.

[Deacon]

I concur with the smartphone approach. You've got the phone, posting capabilities, kindle all in one 6 oz. package. Go for it.

[Wise Old Owl]

I am talking about this in a long distance hiker context. ........ I don't want to be worrying about battery life. It is not a good idea to use a phone as a lifeline, but if the stars align where you can use it as that then it is nice to have a full battery.

Whatever people choose, as long as they have a well thought out system in place that integrates well with their style of hiking, then it is all good.

Carry a second charged battery if you can the latest phones will charge a second battery and out of the phone it will have a full charge over a month. And they weigh ounces, swapping is easy, second battery is cheap on the internet. (Some I phones not included)

[SunnyWalker]

I have a smart phone and a Kindle Fire. The Kindle is quite a tool and I can understand why a person would want to bring it on a hike. Myself, I would bring neither. Why? They are both to expensive to be exposed to the dirt, dampness, etc., that they would face on a thru hike. I would purchase a pay-as-you-go phone if I took a cell phone. It would not be a smart phone of course. SO . . . . I guess I am old fashioned on these things. However, I have both and enjoy them quite a bit.My main reason for not taking the Kindle Fire is that it would be a distraction. And distractions can cause one to surrender their commitment to the goal they are trying to achieve.

[QiWiz]

I'm looking at phones vss. Kindles. Any one have suggestions or comments. I need to get one or the other so any suggestions r awesome.
thanx

I use Kindle app on iPhone. Let's me have lots of reading material in my pocket whenever the urge strikes. Suggested download for AT is Winton Porter's Just Passin Through.

[LDog]

I carried a droid with which I could read kindle books, write and upload journal entries, consult a wilderness medical text, take pictures and upload them ... I would not even consider taking a full sized kindle, tablet or ipad along just for the weight penalty much less the possibility it would get damaged.

[WIAPilot]

Kindle app is on iPhone. Backup charger weighs next to nothing, but experimenting with solar charger.

[kidchill]

I feel yah...I really wanted to bring my ipad for journaling and reading, but I just can't justify the 1.5lbs (with case), in addition to the 7oz for my iphone. I still plan to journal/blog, but I bought a bluetooth keyboard from sharper image that weighs like 4oz (it's rubber and rolls up) and allows me to type with a full keyboard on the iphone. Not sure if that would help, but my main concern was trying to type on my tiny little iphone.

[MyName1sMud]

I'm going to buy a pay as go dumb phone and use it for calling ahead.

I'll bring my e ink kindle complete with keyboard for my journal notepad.

Sent from my Milestone X using Tapatalk 2

[SunnyWalker]

One other thought on Kindle Fire-the thing weighs a ton!