Chargers and Power banks
Keeping all that tech going can be very power hungry. I normally take a battery bank that I can use to charge my phone, head torch (depending on model) and camera. The trick here is to only take the size battery bank that you need for the trip. I have three sizes i) overnight, ii) three days and iii) extended 5-7 days.
Power banks will report mAh - that is how much juice they can hold. For example, a regular Iphone 7 requires about 1,960 mAh to fully charge. So you are able to estimate how many full charges you will get out of a power bank. For example you should be able to get 5 full charges from a battery bank that is about 9,800 mAh (1,960x5=9,800). However, some power banks don’t hold their charge as well as others over extended periods and some manufactures are a little liberal with the mAh they report, so be a little careful.
Power banks can be heavy and you want to make sure what you are paying for is juice to charge your stuff, not heavy casing. When looking for a power bank to take hiking I like to look at the mAh divided by the weight of the device. There can be quite the difference and I prefer to carry actual power. As a rule of thumb I try to get a device that has a mAh to weight ratio above 50.
So workout how many times you want to charge your phone and then get looking for a power bank that will cover your needs, but be sure to the mAh/weight test is above 50. Also be careful of devices with fancy displays that need power to power all the lights and stuff.
The alternative is a small solar panel, technology is rapidly evolving in this field. The concept of charging your device with a panel on your backpack is really appealing to me however I have found them less than satisfactory. I was chatting to a tech head and he said that a real issue is that many panels need to be in uninterrupted sun and this is seldom the case as you hike around trees etc. I've purchased several panels, however I still choose to take my trusty power bank.
Keeping all that tech going can be very power hungry. I normally take a battery bank that I can use to charge my phone, head torch (depending on model) and camera. The trick here is to only take the size battery bank that you need for the trip. I have three sizes i) overnight, ii) three days and iii) extended 5-7 days.
Power banks will report mAh - that is how much juice they can hold. For example, a regular Iphone 7 requires about 1,960 mAh to fully charge. So you are able to estimate how many full charges you will get out of a power bank. For example you should be able to get 5 full charges from a battery bank that is about 9,800 mAh (1,960x5=9,800). However, some power banks don’t hold their charge as well as others over extended periods and some manufactures are a little liberal with the mAh they report, so be a little careful.
Power banks can be heavy and you want to make sure what you are paying for is juice to charge your stuff, not heavy casing. When looking for a power bank to take hiking I like to look at the mAh divided by the weight of the device. There can be quite the difference and I prefer to carry actual power. As a rule of thumb I try to get a device that has a mAh to weight ratio above 50.
So workout how many times you want to charge your phone and then get looking for a power bank that will cover your needs, but be sure to the mAh/weight test is above 50. Also be careful of devices with fancy displays that need power to power all the lights and stuff.
The alternative is a small solar panel, technology is rapidly evolving in this field. The concept of charging your device with a panel on your backpack is really appealing to me however I have found them less than satisfactory. I was chatting to a tech head and he said that a real issue is that many panels need to be in uninterrupted sun and this is seldom the case as you hike around trees etc. I've purchased several panels, however I still choose to take my trusty power bank.