Thru Hiking With A radio?

[mountainboogey]

Does anyone have any good radio suggestions? Is it even worth the effort and weight? I have an ipod, but dont really use it. Id rather listen to the radio (npr) or something similar.

[general]

i use a zune. it does radio as well as mp3 and video. works well.

[Ender]

For sure worth the weight... radio on the trail can be a blast, especially when you pick up some really local radio stations.

Sadly, I don't have any specific suggestions for you though as to what make/model to get.

[johnnyjohnson2043]

If you have a smartphone you could just download Pandora. Battery power is the only thing I'd worry about in that case.

[C Seeker]

Can I also add a question to this post to...mp3 player speakers? Any good sugestions?

I would like to carry my mp3 player to listen to my cd's and the radio. But would also like to share the music with my hiking partner so we both don't have to carry 2 mps players and head phones.

[general]

phillips amplified speakers. they take 4AA batteries and are plenty loud enough www.amazon.com/Philips-Portable-Speaker-System-1503/dp/B0047Q0G70

[maybe clem]

I sometimes hike with this AM/FM radio, 2.1 oz.:

http://www.amazon.com/Sangean-SR-2Y-...=1VK843TPSW1W6

This MP3 player weighs just 1 ounce:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-...=1VK843TPSW1W6

[Dances with Mice]

phillips amplified speakers. they take 4AA batteries and are plenty loud enough www.amazon.com/Philips-Portable-Speaker-System-1503/dp/B0047Q0G70

Thanks for that. I wouldn't carry them hiking but there's been many times I wished I had a decent (but cheap) set of speakers for my ipod.

[The Cleaner]

The Sangean DT400W is an AM/FM with a weather radio too.Only weighs 4-5 ozs.It has a nice small speaker or you can use supplied ear buds.I found that other hikers enjoyed getting a real time weather update.The speaker is handy to listen to some NPR news with the evening meal.It costs about 40-50$ but its great when I'm alone.I think Tipi Walter has one too....

[BigHodag]

I bought an unlocked LG Incite smartphone which includes an FM radio. Earbuds are the antennae and the FM app will NOT work without buds or headset plugged in. I'm not planning on music, but to get weather updates. I find weather information sorely lacking along the trail. The LG Incite also has wifi and I have bookmarked several weather sites for quick access when I get a public wifi signal.

Since all mobile phones are essentially radios, I can't understand why FM and weather alert capabilities aren't built in to all mobile phones. Seems a no brainer.

[DapperD]

Does anyone have any good radio suggestions? Is it even worth the effort and weight? I have an ipod, but dont really use it. Id rather listen to the radio (npr) or something similar.

I have a tiny little radio that takes a single battery, has a wire with earpiece, and only weighs like a couple of ounces. I figured it would be great to use for weather alerts/emergencies. Think I found it at a dollar store

[FarmRookie 2015]

I hope I'n not subject to having to listen to someone's radio on the trail. Most folks go there to get away from noise. JMHO

[The Cleaner]

I hope I'n not subject to having to listen to someone's radio on the trail. Most folks go there to get away from noise. JMHO

If you stay at a shelter, there may be a whole bunch of things going on you are trying to "get away" from.....

[JaxHiker]

If you have a smartphone you could just download Pandora. Battery power is the only thing I'd worry about in that case.

This assumes you have an internet connection over which to stream. You'd be better off having music downloaded to the phone instead. But I do love Pandora.

[johnnyjohnson2043]

This assumes you have an internet connection over which to stream. You'd be better off having music downloaded to the phone instead. But I do love Pandora.

I thought of that right after I posted it. Oh well. Pandora is the bomb, though.

[mountainboogey]

I do agree with RARMrookie...I deff dont want to hear someone elses radio, but I was more interested in weather/news. I have an uber small sandisk, but it just has FM not AM...not sure how much FM signal you can get though? how does the weather thing work anyway?

[johnnyjohnson2043]

Diddo on the not wanting to hear someone elses music. I'm very picky about my music (rock, rock, rock, and more rock). I remember reading a story about a guy who set up camp in a very remote area only to hear obvious music echoing across the landscape. Noise can travel a long distance in the right conditions. Enough about that, though. I'm sure you'll be courteous toward the other hikers. What about those wind up weather radios. Are they too heavy or too much of a pain in the ass?

[pcasebere]

I've been looking at this little guy for a while now.. http://www.amazon.com/FR160B-Microli...=38S2APEKQTMA7 ..had something similar, though larger and heavier when living in a mud hut, thought the crank broke; the ability to listen to the radio, get weather updates, have a flashlight, charge up a cell phone, and not have to worry about batteries was very nice.

[The Cleaner]

I do agree with RARMrookie...I deff dont want to hear someone elses radio, but I was more interested in weather/news. I have an uber small sandisk, but it just has FM not AM...not sure how much FM signal you can get though? how does the weather thing work anyway?

On the Sangean radio it has the NOAA weather feature which gets reports from several local offical sites.It can be set to sound an alarm if conditions turn nasty.This is helpful if the sun is out where you are and some bad weather is on it's way...

[10-K]

I think Tipi Walter has one too....

I think he has the 2 lb winterized model....