netbook in the backpack

[moytoy]

As some new netbooks are now 2.5-2.9 lb I'm wondering if anyone is carrying one on the trail now. Batt. life is over 6 hours on some and with some frugal use of time online it could last a few days. I know it's not for everybody but some like to journal and stay in touch. The I-phone and blackberry are just to small for my clumsy old hands.

[Maddog]

no way! you'll dump it first chance you get! hyoh!

[Pedaling Fool]

Netbook? You mean like this http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ It even has a compass.

I love technology, but something just doesn't feel right carrying too much of it on the trail, except a camera of course.

[garlic08]

About the greatest joy I get out of hiking is getting away from the office.

[white_russian]

Just get a bluetooth keyboard for the smartphone if you don't like thumb typing. It would be much lighter.

Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Stowaway-Ultra.../dp/B0002OKCXE

[fiddlehead]

I think if i really had to work, (and that means on the "net"), but found out I could be assured of internet signal and could still go hiking, but had to check in twice a day, I would consider it.
I know it can be done with a smart phone but, I could not do what i have to do on one, my work is too complicated for a phone but could be done with a netbook.
That is, if i could get online (which may be possible someday)
But to take one just for journaling, no way! Just too heavy for doing something that I don't really do much of anyway.

[bigcranky]

Yup, a netbook is great -- there is wi-fi access at every shelter. <sarcasm>

Seriously, if you want something with an almost-full-size keyboard for journaling or whatnot, then a netbook isn't a bad idea. But it will add 3+ pounds to your pack with the charger and all.

[modiyooch]

I'm not one to stay connected while hiking, or even on vacation BUT, I do have the Netbook and I think it would be ideal for what you want. It's 8x11 in size and lightweight. I even broke my own rule by taking it with me on my hiking vacation last summer (not on the trail). It's easy to hide in the car (protecting valuables) I bought mine from Best Buy and relied on wirless available. You could always buy one through Verizon and pay for the wireless subscription.

[WalkingStick75]

I guess if depends on where you will be hiking and why your are carrying it. I use pocket composer for my journals then when home back up to my pc and convert the .dat file to a word file. I carried my Aser EEE when hiking in the alps made it easier to communicate back home and get information in English off the net. For hiking on the AT use the pocket composer or a smart phone.

[Snowleopard]

I've got a netbook, an Acer Aspire One. The biggest problem with using it on the trail is not enough battery life. Even if the new ones are 6 hours, that's not much. I think most of the time you'd be carrying a dead weight. The best laptop for backcountry use still remains the old Radio Shack model 100 http://oldcomputers.net/trs100.html 16 hours run time on 4 AA batteries. An ex-girlfriend carried one to the Amazon for her dissertation, and it worked fine. The internet hadn't even really been invented yet.

I have used a laptop while car camping. Sometimes the ability to do some work in the evenings makes it possible to go camping in the first place.

[Desert Reprobate]

I looked at a netbook to journal. The power supply weighed almost as much as the netbook. If you bounce the power supply you may as well bounce the whole thing. Good Luck.

[BrianLe]

Yup, I think battery life and weight would make it a non-starter for most people. I'm with White Russian on the bluetooth keyboard, that's my solution too. The small screen is something that a person can get pretty used to and skilled at working around (the limitations of).

Other benefits of a smartphone over a netbook is that you can keep a smartphone "always handy", and it's (even) more of a multi-purpose device. I suspect my approach is common to have it on a shoulder strap of my backpack. So when I want to snap a picture (I doubt you would use a netbook as your camera??), it's right there. Ditto for use as a GPS (okay, maybe not so much on the AT ...), or as a voice recorder. And a smartphone can also be used as an MP3 player. I suppose you could use a netbook as an MP3 player too but again, battery life, plus just getting access to the thing to skip a track or pause or whatever.

Maybe a chest harness could be rigged up to carry a netbook. And they gave me the trailname of "Gadget" ... with a setup like that I think a person would almost be required to wear a propeller beanie! :-)

[Lone Wolf]

there's a Canadian SOBO in Damascus that started in Cape gaspe and goin' to key west. he's carrying a small laptop

[Spokes]

I always thought wearing a tin foil hat would help with the wi-fi reception in the shelters. Am I wrong?

[g8trh8tr]

About the greatest joy I get out of hiking is getting away from the office.

My thoughts exactly. I want to get as far away from computers/technology as possible while on the trail.

[Miner]

I bounced a 9" netbook with a 6hr battery life so I could copy video footage to and to have in hotels for internet use. It only weighed 2lbs, but there is no way I'd carry that backpacking. It would have to be protected from impact and rain.

My LG Versa phone has a larger keyboard then most blackberries. Some phones will support an external bluetooth keyboard which is a better choice then carry a netbook. You might try looking at the new Apple IPad which I think is 1.5lbs.

[Jack Tarlin]

Funny thing.......whil I personally have absolutely no interest in hiking with a computer, especially one that weighs several pounds, I think it's kind of funny to see so many people making fun of the original poster for considering doing this.

I also wonder how many of these folks would be first in line at a shelter or elsewhere asking to borrow or use the computer to check weather, E-Mail, send off some photos, etc.

This happens with maps all the time and I can't expect it'd be any different with a laptop.

"Useless" stuff and un-needed items somehow manage to become perfectly acceptable when other people are carrying it.

[leaftye]

2.9 lbs for a netbook that only gets 6 hours of battery life? What a joke! I'm carrying a laptop that weighs about half as much, has more resolution, gps, cellular chip, and gets much more battery life. Seriously, netbooks are for suckers. Don't fall for the marketing that has you paying more for a cheap laptop. You can do better.

[moytoy]

2.9 lbs for a netbook that only gets 6 hours of battery life? What a joke! I'm carrying a laptop that weighs about half as much, has more resolution, gps, cellular chip, and gets much more battery life. Seriously, netbooks are for suckers. Don't fall for the marketing that has you paying more for a cheap laptop. You can do better.

I wasn't telling a joke nor was I espousing some expert advice on laptops. I simply ask a question about the current netbooks and their use on the trail. I have got some good answers and ideas so for. I would be very interested to find out what you are carrying that weights half as much and has all the features you mention.

[SurferNerd]

Get a Droid..its a PC in the pocket. Quite literally for some of us. I have Windows 7 Pro on my PC, and with RDP(Remote Desktop Protocol) I can remote into my PC as if I was sitting there. The fingers move the mouse, and its quite fast.