Tablets anyone? What have you seen others use on the trail?

[Another Kevin]

For my 2014 AT thru hike:
1- A Pay as you Go cellphone ,( 40 dollars)

2- Digital voice recorder(AAA battery ) to record my thinking at the time when I am hiking or after camping for the day and my to do list in a separate file,(60 dollars )

3-MP3 player with radio for music and weather update (AAA Battery),( 30 dollars)

4-Waterproof, shockproof, dust proof, freeze-proof shoot and point camera with lots of SD carts for photography and occasional videos. ( 175 dollars with 8 Gigabyte SD ) 30 dollars extra SD carts .

5-Charger for the camera and Cellphone and one spare battery for the camera. ( 20 dollars )

6-The wrist watch would be a Casio Dual altimeter thermometer and compass enabled watch. ( 70 Dollars)

7- AAA Batteries

Cheap,light, almost old school but mostly reliable electronics is my way to go. Internet connection would be just when in towns.

The overall price is under 450 Dollars worth of electronics.

Hmmm. That seems like a lot of devices. My current kit.

1. Smartphone, with ultralight headset and USB cable. For short trips, a MintyBoost and possibly a tiny wall charger. For longer trips, I'm contemplating getting a NewTrent charger.
2. Camera that runs on AA batteries. I don't want to use just the smartphone, because I really want optical zoom. Sometimes a lightweight tripod.
3. Wristwatch
4. Headlamp, one set of spare AAA batteries.
5. AA batteries as needed. They power both camera and MintyBoost.

I could save further weight - and not use a NewTrent, which at half a pound is a lot to tote - by carrying additional cellphone batteries. But my phone lives in an Otter Box, and needs to: butterfingers here has dropped it on rock multiple times. The OtterBox is tricky to open, and isn't designed for repeated opening, eventually the snap fingers (or the slots that engage them) crack.

A keyboard like Gadget's sounds great for writing on the trail, but I'm not willing to spend another half pound just to be able to type. Otherwise I'd grab the Jorno when it comes out.

The phone does the job of MP3 player, GPS, digital voice recorder, spare camera, ebook reader, and several other things. Once in a great while I even call or text someone.

Anyone know a good solution for transferring pictures from camera to phone? Do Samsung phones recognize SD cards on USB-OTG out of the box?

[Dogwood]

"Best of all, even though I saw him regularly at shelters or campsites where I also was staying he always was polite and respectful of others by asking first if he could set-up his electronics near others or he would do it away from everyone else. He was very considerate! He was very non-intrusive in using his electronic gear. He was easy going as well. As much as I could be judgmental about him carrying these electronics I realized it was his hike and I knew he wasn't intruding on anyone else's hike!"

On the other hand, I experienced a LT section hiker who was from Mass. who was a die hard Red Sox fan. He thought it just dandy to set up, watch, and listen out loud inside a packed shelter a baseball game on his 5" TV that was powered by a small generator(think whirrrrrr) until 12.30.m. while he rooted his team on and drank beer. That was the closest I've come to throwing someone, with their electronics, into a privy. He had little consideration for anyone. Ohhh, how close he came to be buried in the woods.

[Slo-go'en]

I took my Kindle Fire for a long walk this spring and it was handy to have. Used mostly in town to do the email and facebook thing, but read for about an hour most days on the trail. I got to plug it in often enough that I never ran the battery down too low. I am however thinking of getting a more generic Andriod tablet with SD slot and GPS, which I think will be even more handy to have.

[icdaywee]

I am debating on either a tablet or a kindle to take along on my thru. In my mind I will be writing and reading a lot. But I'm sure the reality is once I get out I will be too tired by the end of the day to write out complete blog posts or to read a bunch. The other option I am thinking about is to just get a bluetooth keyboard to pair with my smartphone to make typing out notes a lot easier.

I typically always hike with my smartphone/music player with me.

This will be an interesting thread to follow!

[Marmaduke]

I always bring my 3ds with me....... yeah I'm a nerd, but it's cool to play a mario game perched up on a 5,000 foot peak.

[quasarr]

On the PCT I saw several hikers with 3G ipad minis. They worked on their blogs each day, then posted when they got service (which isn't often after Southern California!) But IMO a smartphone saves a lot of weight and can do the same things, just maybe a little less convenient.

I eventually asked my mom to mail my kindle out. I was hiking solo and often got bored. Sometimes I might pass a great camp spot at 7pm, but I thought, what the heck am I going to do for the next 2 hours? So I just hiked until dark every day. The kindle gave me a little more flexibility to hang out in camp. But I think on the AT it wouldn't be necessary for me, since there are always people at the shelters I wouldn't feel bored in camp.

One cool new thing I saw is an SD memory card with wifi! This way, you can transfer pics from your camera to a smartphone without any extra cords or connectors. Very convenient.

http://www.eye.fi

[Hot Flash]

I carry only my smartphone, since it does everything I need -- music player, e-reader, note keeper, phone, etc. Sometimes I carry just a battery pack, other times a solar panel; it depends on how long I'll be out.

[Theosus]

The iPad Mini would be perfect I think. big enough to get the job done, but small and light enough it shouldnt be a problem in the pack. I just worry about breaking it. Two ziplock bags should save it from water...

[max patch]

I'd use an Otter Box or something similar rather than trust ziplocks.

[BigHodag]

I crowd funded an Earl Android tablet which is specifically designed for outdoor use. The tablet uses Kindle-like epaper and is loaded with some uncommon capabilities used by SAR, foresters, etc.

http://meetearl.com

Plan to use it to play chess on the bus to/from trail, check weather via FM and built in wx station, and keep a few ebooks on a Kindle app.

I also store a backup copy of my hiking plan and maps on whatever phone I carry, plus emergency contacts.

[McFly]

I use an LG Optimus G Pro, which is a mini-tablet/phone similar to the Samsung Note. It would be the only device I would need as it has decent battery life and the battery is actually easily removable/replaceable. But I'm sure the options will be much different when I get the chance to attempt my SOBO thru hike in ~19 years.

[RCBear]

I use the galaxy note 2. It is at the absolute threshold size for me as a phone (i am finally used to it tho), but for media watching/reading it works fantastic. I have no issues with reading using my kindle app on it and the battery gets me about 15 hours with heavy power usage. I have gone 3 days on one charge using it EXTREMELY sparingly on my last hike.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2

[kayak karl]

I use the galaxy note 2. It is at the absolute threshold size for me as a phone (i am finally used to it tho), but for media watching/reading it works fantastic. I have no issues with reading using my kindle app on it and the battery gets me about 15 hours with heavy power usage. I have gone 3 days on one charge using it EXTREMELY sparingly on my last hike.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2

that's the same phone i have. lg screen makes reading easy. my grandkids are teaching me other ting it can do. apps and stuff, but only one a month so they don't overload my Tandy brain been kayaking with it, but not hiking yet. solar does well on kayak. will test hiking.

Not sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2

[Another Kevin]

I crowd funded an Earl Android tablet which is specifically designed for outdoor use. The tablet uses Kindle-like epaper and is loaded with some uncommon capabilities used by SAR, foresters, etc.

http://meetearl.com

Plan to use it to play chess on the bus to/from trail, check weather via FM and built in wx station, and keep a few ebooks on a Kindle app.

I also store a backup copy of my hiking plan and maps on whatever phone I carry, plus emergency contacts.

Wow, that's a cool feature set. I presume that the barometric altimeter autocorrects from GPS? Can the user put the GPS into "position hold" mode during stops so as to get a better altitude fix?

And wow again, the RFI problems look daunting. I can see where most of the receivers could be a single SDR, but keeping the FM transceiver out of everything else has got to be a nightmare.

I've been working on doing my own trail maps for my smartphone from open source data (see http://kbk.is-a-geek.net/catskills/test2.html for a sample). Now I'm going to have to start thinking about how to do one that will stay readable on an e-paper panel. I suspect that the coloring and shading on the map I have will just turn to mud.

[RCBear]

that's the same phone i have. lg screen makes reading easy. my grandkids are teaching me other ting it can do. apps and stuff, but only one a month so they don't overload my Tandy brain been kayaking with it, but not hiking yet. solar does well on kayak. will test hiking.

Not sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2

Lol! I love your signature. I haven't heard the word Tandy in at least 23 years. Still remember my TRS 80 with a whopping 16k.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 2

[dmax]

For next weeks hike I'm taking the IPhone and the wife likes to take the IPad.

[dirtypaws]

An eye-fi card in your camera can send the pictures over wi-fi to the phone if you have the phone set up as a wireless access point. It will do the job, but be aware, it will also slurp battery life. Also definitely takes a few minutes to set up before you go (has to be plugged into a computer to do the setup). Am not going on my thru-hike for a few years yet, but right now am planning on the following gear:

Nook w/ glowlight for reading books and trail guide
whatever current smartphone I have
bluetooth keyboard & headphones for smartphone (I know that means an extra set of batteries to charge, but I hate headphone cables)
GPS enabled water-resistant camera with eye-fi card or built-in wifi (may leave this behind, to be honest - most smartphone cameras are quite good these days, and will only be better by then)
largest li-ion battery pack I can reasonably carry
Delorme inreach SE or similar (may consider just a PLB)
solar panel or kinetic charger.

My current phone is a galaxy note 2, which is almost as big as a 7" tablet, so I think a tablet would be redundant. Samsung currently has the Galaxy active, which is a water resistant version of the Galaxy S IV. Am hoping that by the time I go (2017 or 2018) they'll have a waterproof version of the Note out. That would be my preference.

[jcheil]

Anyone know a good solution for transferring pictures from camera to phone? Do Samsung phones recognize SD cards on USB-OTG out of the box?

This past year when I hiked, I used an "eye-fi" SD card in my camera. It has wireless built into the SD card. You pair it with your phone/tablet/pc and whenever your camera and phone are both turned on, it sends all the pictures on your camera to your phone.

I opted to pay the $49/year to have it also send a copy to their cloud servers. Figured $50 was worth the once in a lifetime memories. But either way you don't need to pay for anything to use the service and you don't need to have cell service either. Just need WiFi on your phone turned on for the few minutes it takes to copy the pictures from the camera.

[owl]

Electronics on the trail do have a place but politeness is also important, today at hemlock hollow Greeneville, TN off the AT I witnessed a most rude individual, with the last name of Plummer, for some reason he could not connect to the free WiFi at Hemlock hollw and was rude to the owners about the problem , while other hikers were there to witness such, no one else had a problem with the connection so obviously it was his device

[Theosus]

The eye-fi looked nice a few years ago when I looked at it, but their pricing seemed like a scam. For a little money it would transfer pictures, for more money it would transfer videos too. ***? The same circuits transfer both, they are charging extra for convenience. They may be different now, I never looked at them again after that one. I have a $9 SD card reader in my camera bag, and my computer has a built in card slot, so eye-fi can keep their overpriced gadgetry. I'm waiting on the camera companies (especially the SLRs and the higher end point and shoots) to build this into their products and tell eye-fi to go suck an egg.