I get the lightweight thing, but there're going to cremate me with these...

[NerdyJohn]

Some hikers take a luxury item or two regardless of the weight penalty. For me, a tiny ham radio, my phone (Droid X) and my iPod are always with me. They’re non-negotiable. Reread my trail name if you have any questions.

Why do I consider these as essentials? I hardly ever listen to music during the day, but when the desire for music hits, you just can't beat the real thing. And the iPod has excellent battery life. As for the Droid, its multipurpose role is for 1) FM radio (built in) 2) eBooks & Bibles, 3) navigation if needed, 4) weather radar and finally, 5) emergency phone call if needed. Battery life is terrible, so I take the battery completely out of it. Some people place it in airplane mode, but it still uses a fair amount of power in that mode. The ham radio? I find it entertaining to listen to the park rangers, fire crews, hunters, boy scout troops, etc. Occasionally another ham. Its like a teddy bear. I NEVER, EVER leave home without it. Never!

Finally, how about powering all this stuff? I have adaptors that will take 1 set of 4 AA's and use them to power the ham radio, the phone or the iPod until I am able to recharge. I run the internal battery until its low, and then plug the power pack in to recharge or just to provide immediate power. It can be used to power almost anything with a little forethought. And when the AA’s are low, just replace them in the next town. If you really want to push the weight issue, remember that the power pack can replace the AC adaptor(s) for any rechargeable that you might be carrying already.

The power pack can also be to used to extort money or supplies from other hikers with dead electronics... A definite weight advantage for me I think.

Well, this is what I can't do without. I'll skimp on food before I leave these behind. How about you?

[sbhikes]

For the real real thing, I whip out a real musical instrument and play it.

[Camping Dave]

And ... you can use them to hammer your tent stakes into frozen winter soil!

[Snowleopard]

The power pack can also be to used to extort money or supplies from other hikers with dead electronics... A definite weight advantage for me I think.

You can even use your excess DC power to get them to carry your pack.
I carry the ham radio if I'm on a little traveled trail where there's no cell service. It's too bad you can't use the Droid phone for music too and eliminate the ipod.

[Ashevillian]

I’m also planning on carrying my Droid and iPod. I use Duracell’s USB instant chargers for my iPod for extended periods away from electricity. My Droid I turn off and use for emergencies only (i.e. weather updates, a phone call or text) and of course a quick game of Angry Birds before bed.

[NerdyJohn]

I think there's nothing cooler than a live instrument in the middle of nowhere. What I would give if I could play something...anything! I've tried, but it's just not in my skill set.

A couple of years ago, my daughter and I were wrapping up the day at a lake at the base of Mt Cheaha (highest point in Alabama). Shortly after dark someone across the lake (small, only 10 acres or so) started playing a Native American Flute. He/she played for a couple of hours. We sat in silence the whole time, just starring across the lake, kind of stunned at how amazing the sound blended with the lake scene. For a teenage girl that strongly favors R&R, it was pretty cool see her jaw drop. I remember that night like it was yesterday.

Good times on the trail.

[mweinstone]

my phone has a loud speaker and endless stored songs and 2 batts and a 2 oz solar charger and an opp that gets me any ham anything. any police radio in the world. any transmission of any kind. from shuttle astronauts to hunter frequencys. i have scanlife and googlemaps with street veiw and my phone may be used by anyone at anytime for no charge. and if i met a hiker selling battery power, i would buy it all just to leave him with dead batterys. then of course i would stalk the hiker at night untill he was sure he was being followed by a bear and he would use all his power up and when i got him scared and with a dead battery , in just the right place,...id sell him a 911 call!lol.

[NerdyJohn]

Sounds like a good plan Mattie.

And don't forget that you can look up med interactions and things like that too.

Didn't you start a thread about clubbing animals for food? You could stream some dying critter sounds and play them back with that speaker of yours. The big predators would come in, and then you could feed us all! Think of the weight savings! You would have a following of ultra light hikers longer than Forrest Gump did out west.

Genus Mattie, pure genus.

[Spokes]

.............. (speaking into a soup can): Hello Progresso Soups?

[mweinstone]

spokes,..lmao......


what could i feed the vegans?

[Rick500]

I always take my iPhone (/iPod/compass/GPS/eBook reader/notepad/light/camera/video camera/internet access).

Come to think of it, I should have definitely responded to that other recent thread about favorite multipurpose items with "iPhone."

[Odd Man Out]

I think there's nothing cooler than a live instrument in the middle of nowhere.

But I'm a cello player, alas.

[scooterdogma]

There was a guy who carried a tuba on the AT. I would love to camp with a playing cello player, sweet music by the campfire.

[MedicineMan]

ocarina 1.4 ounces and will drive mice mad

[BrianLe]

"Battery life is terrible, so I take the battery completely out of it. Some people place it in airplane mode, but it still uses a fair amount of power in that mode."

I too have a Droid X, and plan to use it as my new multi-function device starting this year, so I'm interested in this topic.

Removing the battery isn't a viable option for me as the Droid X is also my camera. And I blog daily with it on trail, so putting the battery in and taking it out --- I'd be a bit worried about mechanical wear and tear of that doing so daily (or more) for months. And apart from this year I expect I'll occasionally want to fire up the GPS on it. I also like to infrequently use a voice recorder app. Bottom line is that part of having the device for me is having it available for use-on-demand.

My understanding is that if a person is careful to turn off automatic updating of apps, and/or just flat uninstall apps that want to sync all the time, that will help a lot. And of course keep various wireless services off, etc, that it's manageable. I don't even have actual cell service on mine yet (don't need it at home), so this is all theoretical for me at this point, but I plan to work through suggestions such as this set to hopefully maximize my battery useage on trail later this year.

[DLANOIE]

I often carry a mouth harp. Light weight and fun to play. I am definately not tech savy! No iphones or ipods or doodads or hoohaas.

[mykl]

My brass Proto Pipe. Heavy, but functional.

[TNjed]

I wonder what the Crazy One or Mr. Avery or Benton MacKaye would say about all these gadgets people use now, seems like everyday life is spilling over to the trail, it just keeps getting farther away from an escape from everyday things it seems, won't be long before there's a reality show about doing a northbound thru

[TNjed]

the big drama will be when a person decides to leave a group to flip flop, its going to be awesome

[Smile]

I pick grass, use it as a whistle then chop it up on my ultralight cutting board and use it for a garnish for my canless ultralight waterfree soup.




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