Best Phone For Backpacking

[Tipi Walter]

The idiots at Tracfone have decided I can't use my perfectly good 18 year old Nokia 2126 phone anymore and I must therefore purchase a new phone. It sucks because I have 2 spare batteries with the thing and it works great as a basic call/text only phone.

Trip 192 (82)-XL.jpg

So I'm looking for a call/text only phone with a easily removable battery---OR a simple smartphone that can go 21 days on how many battery charges? Will I need to carry the extra weight of a Anker-style phone charger?? Or carry several extra phone batteries???

What's the best solution for someone who needs a backpacking phone just for calling and not online surfing????

[CalebJ]

Assuming you want to stay with Tracfone, they have a couple of basic phones on their website. For $20 you can get the Alkatel TCL Flip 2 or the Nokia 2760 Flip. Both have removable batteries.

[Tipi Walter]

Assuming you want to stay with Tracfone, they have a couple of basic phones on their website. For $20 you can get the Alkatel TCL Flip 2 or the Nokia 2760 Flip. Both have removable batteries.

Thanks. Nokia's 2760 is on my short list.

[chknfngrs]

Jitterbug is a flip phone with call and text. I bought one for my 14 year old son. I think it’s marketed towards seniors.

https://www.lively.com/phones/jitterbug-flip2/

My son loves it bc he’s the only one who has it. I’ll ask about battery life, but I do know his *was* the only one that worked after a week at camp last summer.

[Lone Wolf]

i have this. $100 a year for text and calls https://www.tracfone.com/phone/alcat...-reconditioned

[NY HIKER 50]

The idiots at Tracfone have decided I can't use my perfectly good 18 year old Nokia 2126 phone anymore and I must therefore purchase a new phone. It sucks because I have 2 spare batteries with the thing and it works great as a basic call/text only phone.



Trip 192 (82)-XL.jpg

So I'm looking for a call/text only phone with a easily removable battery---OR a simple smartphone that can go 21 days on how many battery charges? Will I need to carry the extra weight of a Anker-style phone charger?? Or carry several extra phone batteries???

What's the best solution for someone who needs a backpacking phone just for calling and not online surfing????

I had that phone and I loved it. They moved from 3G to 4Gand 3G was shut down so that's why you had to get a new phone. I had problems and found that out. I had to get a new one myself
I had that phone and I loved it. They moved from 3G to 4Gand 3G was shut down so that's why you had to get a new phone. I had problems and found that out. I had to get a new one myself

[chknfngrs]

BTW tipi in no way was “marketed to seniors” aimed at you.

[HankIV]

Will I need to carry the extra weight…..

Now that is not a line I would have expected from Tipi.

I would have expected something like: “Now I get to carry….”

Haha.

[Leo L.]

Walter,
I have been the same route like you.

Initially, I belived to never need a phone at all.
Then somebody handed me over his old Nokia (lightly newer model than yours) and I found some use in it, so started carrying it on my hikes.
I eventually cracked in my thigh pocket while rockclimbing, and I didnt find any adaequate replacement. Nokia was not in business any more, and any older/used Nokia I could get had its flaws, like, using to much battery even when idling, cracked display, poor battery, etc.
I go a Chinese fake-Nokia, that seems to do exactly what I wanted - but it was just poor crap.
Then I got an Emporia "senior people" phone, but found it big, clumsy and not what I would like to use.

I finally (2014) got a Sony smartphone and it was love at first glimpse, and am still using the same model since. It does what I need, is small and waterproof, and does provide a reasonable camera as well.
There are two downside issues: It has loads of bloatware installed you can't get rid of, and it consumes battery.
To overcome those issues I put it on LienageOS instead of Sonys version of Android, plus I'm carrying a powerbank.

The Smartphone changed my hiking style:
I'm not carrying maps any more, but use some Apps to navigate.
I stopped carrying a dedicated camera, because I found out that all I'm doing is private snapshots only which the smartphone does even better than the camera did.
Then add in the phone capability, torch, and digital books - I calculated that at the end I'm carrying less weight but having more benefit if I'm comparing all the old-style stuff (phone + sparebatteries + books + maps + camera) against smartphone + powerbank.
What might not apply to your case, but does in my case:
I can do some online banking, handling email traffic, plus, most important, get public transport timetables plus buy online tickets for it, while being out on a hike.

[Dan Roper]

Leo, those are the advantages that tempt me badly to break down and get a phone. It would be lighter than the Nikon D3200 camera I carry on hiking and backpacking trip. But even more significant is the convenience of being able to call for a ride, to reserve a room in a hostel, to check in with family, etc. Huge advantage.

But I took a vow of "cell-ibacy" many years ago. I've never owned a phone. It got me my trail name in 2021 - Paper Map. I'm still carrying the old-fashioned maps and love them. I still carry a small book to read on each trip. I want to make it through life without a phone, if possible. Don't know if I can hold out or not.

Last year on the AT nearly broke my resolve. I reached the Jennings Creek Road near Buchanan, VA. Roadside sign gave telephone number to call campground - they'd come get me, take me back to their cheeseburger stand, and then tote me back to the trail. Since I don't have a phone but do have a Garmin, I sent a text message. No answer. Another text 20 minutes later. No answer. So I walked 1.5 miles uphill to that hamburger joint. Enjoyed it. Learned that their old phone doesn't get texts. But the nice lady gave me a ride back to the trailhead, and I carried on to Bryant Ridge Shelter. Would've been easier if I'd had a phone.

[Tipi Walter]

Thanks for all the comments. It looks like I'll be going to walmart for another Nokia flip phone and have to decide on a plan. Simple enough.

[Leo L.]

So your task at hand is, to get a Nokia thats just advanced enough to have G4 signal reception (assuming that your provider stopped servicing G3 - and yes, we have the same problem here in Austria)?
Might be a bit hard to find one, it seems that the real Nokias from Finland never provided 4G phones, that was only later when Chinese(?) bought the brand name Nokia and built phones branding it.
Propably the most simple thing would be to contact your provider (Tracfone?) and see what they can give you. You might end up with an Android smartphone, though.

(I'm not a specialist on phones, just tried to google it).

[Time Zone]

Tipi, if it's not too late, check HSN and QVC for pre-paid phone specials. You can often get a year's service and a phone for well under $100 shipped. Historically, I've been able to roll my unused minutes and texts (and almost entirely unused data).

Lately, I've noticed them offering 2 flip phones and a year's service for well under $100 also.

None of the phones get very good reviews, but I've never had an issue (3 yr customer). i suspect happy customers tend not to post reviews.

[perrymk]

I have an old ATT Samsung sgh-a847 flip phone sitting on the shelf. This was THE outdoor flip phone in its day. It uses a micro-USB cable for charging (available everywhere) and has a removable battery. It worked when I put it on the shelf years ago (I use an iPhone now). If its compatible with your network, I'm happy to send it to you.

[Traveler]

Hands down, the best phone

Shoe Phone.png

[gpburdelljr]

Hands down, the best phone

Shoe Phone.png

But you have to replace it about every 500 miles.

[JNI64]

Hands down, the best phone

Shoe Phone.png

Yeah Get Smart phone !

[Tipi Walter]

Okay, I upgraded to a Nokia 2760 with Tracfone service and I have several questions---which probably can't be answered here.

First, it comes with a battery marked "HE402 1450mAh 3.85V 5.58Wh" but pulling 21 day backpacking trips I need to carry a couple such batteries but can find no replacements except for batteries like with lower mAh's and volts at 3 etc. (Possibly made for the older style 2760). Any solution?

Second, can I charge this phone in the field with a solar charger without damaging it??

Third, is it okay to remove phone battery for weeks until phone is needed???

[TwoSpirits]

I think I had one of these once upon a time. You might be able to find an OEM replacement battery on Ebay. I have no idea about the solar charging question, but one thing I can advise regarding having the battery removed & unused for long periods of time -- it will likely need to be recharged, even if you removed it at 100%. It can be kind of quirky, but if you connect it to the charger, disconnect it, and then connect it again, it should accept the recharging without any problems. Don't ask me why, I don't make the rules.

[Leo L.]

Obviously you got a "Nokia 2620 Flip".
Simply using Google, I could not find a replacement battery for exactly this model.
According to the Nokia website, this specific model should be good for "up to 28 days of standby", so if you are using your phone for your pickup contact on the end of your trip, or emergency calls only, you should be fine with just the original battery.

Normally, it is safe to remove the battery and store it separately, and just insert it into the phone in case you need it.
But then, batteries tend to leak a tiny bit and lose some charge even if stored outside the phone, especially if stored in "outdoor conditions" (like, variying temperatures, dust/dirt and damp conditions).
Another bad effect is, that modern phones (running on Android) need a serious amount of battery to just boot.
So usually its more safe to keep the battery inside the phone, and just put the device in flightmode.

Given you are carrying a good quality solar charger, it should work to charge the phone via USB plug.
Again, this provides some issues: Charging the device while hiking (which you're doing normally during the day) would need you to connect the phone and the solar device the whole time, and this may set the fragile devices, cables and plugs at risk of damage. Charging the phone while resting only might not give you enough charging time to keep the device in a good state of charge.
You may get a solar charger that includes a (if small) powerbank, which would save you the hassle of taking care of this fragile stuff while hiking.

My advice is to carry a powerbank of a decent size and charge the phone overnight, if need arises. No solar charger. Powerbanks are designed to keep the charge and work under outdoor conditions.
My Anker 20.000 never failed me so far. You may get about 6-8 charges of you phone out of a 20.000 powerbank.
This works just fine, only drawback is, charging might not work in really severe cold. During winter trips, you might need to put powerbank+phone inside your sleepingbag to get it working.

Have fun with your new phone!