BATTERIES: How many items do you carry that require them?

[Litehiker]

My usual list of battery powered gear:


1. Garmin Colorado GPS (2 AA lithium)  plus map & compass


2. Steripen Adventurer (2 CR 123 lithium) plus Katadyn chlorine dioxide tablets


3. Olympus TG 4  (1 proprietary battery)


4. Princeton Tec scout headlamp (four 2032 lithium coin batteries)


5. SPOT rescue beacon (3 AAA lithium batteries)


So I usually carry enough extras for a one-time replacement.


The use of battery powered items for backpacking ("wild camping") has become so "necessary" that now foldable, rollable PV screens are being sold for recharging them. Hmmmm... I remember when my only battery powered item was my headlamp - and I drove a Nissan 510.


Eric B.

[archaeoroutes]

'Phone
Headtorch

[richardh1905]

Phone, fully charged
Headtorch, no spares

[taxino8]

Petzl Actik Headtorch - 3AAA Energizer Lithium
GoPro Hero 4 - Proprietary battery.


All the ones below have rechargeable batteries so I carry a battery pack.
Garmin 64 SX
Goal Zero Micro Lantern
iPhone
Garmin InReach Mini

[Owen]

Petzl headtorch batteries last at least a year so don't carry spares.
Phone generally switch off during the day only use it for viewranger or to couple to my inReach.
inReach, batteries last about a week between charges.
I have a power pack which gives me about four charges for both of the above. For longer trips I have a solar panel weights 300g. Always managed to find enough sun even in Scotland.
Canon EOS 50M camera has its own fancy batteries which weight about 20g each I have five and a UBS charger so I can use the solar panel to recharge them, not actually done so yet.

[gunwharfman]

Phone power pack charges my phone up to 4 times before it needs charging. It's a bit heavy, 12 oz but its better than trying to charge my phone every day in cafes or pubs. I also carry three AAA batteries for my torch.

[vghikers]

Feature phone - switched off 99% of the time, no spares.
Petzl headtorch - batteries last months, no spares.
RX100 M3 camera - lithium battery, one spare.

[alan de enfield]

Garmin GPS Watch
GPS Navigaton (SatMap)
Head Torch

LED Tent Light
Mobile Phone

These are all recharged by USB via a 'power bank' or 7 watt solar panel.
Any new 'electrical equipment' will only be added if it can be USB charged.
Power bank charges above items and can be itself recharged by the Solar Panel or plugged in 'at the pub / café'.


McMurdo Personal Locator Beacon (Batteries only used if activated)


I also have (but rarely carry) small 'poundland' torches that operate off 3 x AAA batteries.

I have made a charger unit & bought rechargeable batteries, the charger unit will charge them (3 at a time) and works via a USB supply.
I also have a hand-held VHF Transceiver (HAM & SAR frequencies) which charges via USB - I rarely carry it unless its necessary due to location and weather.

[ninthace]

Garmin gps. 1 set of batteries will last at least a week of normal hiking.
2 Head Torches, his and hers. Carried but never been used in anger outside the house.
1 phone (on) - only loses around 12% of its charge a day if not running ViewRanger.
2 sets of spare batteries in ziploc bag.

[Forkbeard]

For a day - phone and camera, sometimes not even the camera. For longer I take a Petzl headtorch, extra phone battery (LG G5 takes a removable one), pocket torch and a spare camera battery.


I always travel light and don't drive.

[andyapanel]

My wife bought me a solar array to strap to my pack for Christmas
I have used it in France and Offa's Dyke and it worked a treat.
I took 3 100g, 5000mAh batteries; one to use, one charging and one emergency.
It keeps my mobile fed.
I take one spare cell for my head torch.

[Percy]

'Phone
Headtorch

This.

[Patrick1]

Phone and headtorch only.


I have experimented with a solar battery pack recharger. However, its a significant additional weight and isn't that reliable in typical UK weather. To work well it needs to be setup facing the sun and left for a good few hours - just carrying it strapped to my rucksack and hoping it was in the sun enough was relatively ineffective. And its still necessary to carry a battery pack to store the charge from it.


In practice, even on a long walk, I think I'm better off just with a small battery pack (say, 5000mAh) than a solar recharger. With my phone on aeroplane and battery saver mode it will last about three days, even with intermittent use for mapping and photos, and a battery pack will more than double this. Hence I'll be needing to make contact with civilisation (and hence recharging opportunities) due to running out of food before I'll be running out of power.

[alan de enfield]

In practice, even on a long walk, I think I'm better off just with a small battery pack (say, 5000mAh) than a solar recharger.

But, the solar panel will plug directly into your phone / headlight and charge it whilst you are on the move.
Charge your phone 1-day and the headlight the next, then repeat,


My 7-Watt panel only weighs 220g and will output about 1 amp (at 5v) in good conditions, so it will pretty much charge my headlamp (2.7Ah) in a morning & the phone battery (My Samsung is 4Ah) in an afternoon.

[ninthace]

Point of Information Mr Chairman.  Why do we refer to a 5000mAh battery rather than a 5Ah battery?  I see the previous poster refers to Watts. Far more useful IMHO.  How about Wh?