Portable cell phone charger for outdoor use

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Portable cell phone charger for outdoor use

Posted: 11/6/2014 5:09:09 PM EDT

I'm going to be hunting some public land this year for a few days as part of a managed hunt. We were only allowed one day to scout, and since I don't currently own a stand alone GPS I made do with dropping pins via Google maps on my iPhone. I think this "poor man's GPS" is going to work well enough for me to find my way back to the spots I scouted, but I noticed that using my iPhone for a lot of GPS mapping and pathfinding ate up the battery. I don't want to risk running my phone down and then being forced back to my vehicle for a recharge, so I thought carrying a portable recharger would be the ticket.

I'm starting from scratch searching for a portable charger, so I thought to query the Outdoors forum to see what other people might be using. So, anyone else carrying a phone charger with them on outdoor excursions?

Posted: 11/6/2014 5:32:11 PM EDT

[#1]

I would get a big external battery with the correct USB cable. Like this.

Posted: 11/6/2014 5:53:11 PM EDT

[#2]

I got the Anker Astro E5 15000mAh Portable Charger for$40. I get 6 complete charges on my HTC Thunderbolt phone. I carry the battery pack in my backpack and it loses about 20% of it's charge every couple of months. It's quite a sizable portable battery pack and you might want to go with a smaller one but I am very happy with mine. It came with a micro USB cable and a soft carry pouch.

Posted: 11/6/2014 5:53:47 PM EDT

[#3]

Quote History

Quoted:
I would get a big external battery with the correct USB cable. Like this.

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Basically it's a giant rechargable battery you plug into the wall, and then plug your electronics into it as needed?

Posted: 11/6/2014 6:22:39 PM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:

Basically it's a giant rechargable battery you plug into the wall, and then plug your electronics into it as needed?

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I would get a big external battery with the correct USB cable. Like this.

Basically it's a giant rechargable battery you plug into the wall, and then plug your electronics into it as needed?

Yes that's exactly what it is.

Posted: 11/6/2014 6:41:03 PM EDT

[#5]

Also Google power saving tips when using your phone as a GPS

I do it all the time and can stretch my Iphone charge for 4-5 days when using it as a GPS in the backwoods and only having the phone and GPS on. You basically turn off every function that uses data and make sure apps are turned off from background refreshing. Its also important to close any apps you open after using them, not just hit the home button, because they will run in the background.

See the bottom, same principals apply but setting areas may be slightly different.
http://adventurealan.com/iphone4gps.htm

I use the Galileo Pro App which is like $5. You can download full usgs topo maps and many other maps.

Ive also got three 2600 mah battery packs laying around. i get them at conferences. its the new thing to hand out. Send me your address and I will mail you one.

Posted: 11/6/2014 7:08:35 PM EDT

[#6]

+1 for the ANKER. Love mine.

Quote History

Quoted:
I got the Anker Astro E5 15000mAh Portable Charger for$40. I get 6 complete charges on my HTC Thunderbolt phone. I carry the battery pack in my backpack and it loses about 20% of it's charge every couple of months. It's quite a sizable portable battery pack and you might want to go with a smaller one but I am very happy with mine. It came with a micro USB cable and a soft carry pouch.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/315fEgFDkxL.jpg

View Quote

Posted: 11/6/2014 7:10:36 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
Also Google power saving tips when using your phone as a GPS

I do it all the time and can stretch my Iphone charge for 4-5 days when using it as a GPS in the backwoods and only having the phone and GPS on. You basically turn off every function that uses data and make sure apps are turned off from background refreshing. Its also important to close any apps you open after using them, not just hit the home button, because they will run in the background.

See the bottom, same principals apply but setting areas may be slightly different.
http://adventurealan.com/iphone4gps.htm

I use the Galileo Pro App which is like $5. You can download full usgs topo maps and many other maps.

Ive also got three 2600 mah battery packs laying around. i get them at conferences. its the new thing to hand out. Send me your address and I will mail you one.

View Quote

Good information on how to stretch a charge. Thanks for the offer, PM sent.

Posted: 11/6/2014 7:35:52 PM EDT

[#8]

There are some chargers that take AA batteries - I got one from Radio Shack that takes 2 AAs, and outputs 5V through a standard USB port.

Posted: 11/6/2014 9:04:00 PM EDT

[#9]

OP,
Have you considered just carrying a spare backup battery? You can find them cheap....

edit, never mind....you are talking about a IPHONE, cant get to the battery in those easily.

Posted: 11/7/2014 11:24:08 PM EDT

[#10]

How about something like this. Charge your phone from it, recharge it via solar or crank.

http://www.goalzero.com/p/239/torch-250-flashlight

Posted: 11/9/2014 8:24:39 AM EDT

[#11]

I do a lot of backpacking and have been using a 6000mAh Anker charger which (with judicious phone/application use) gets me 4-5 days. If using as a GPS, as mentioned, shutdown as many application functions as you can to save juice. I also have a heavier, 18,000 mAh charger that can feed a few electronic devices 6-10 days...it goes on road trips, but not too often as a backpacking option.

Avoid the AA/AAA battery packs as they just aren't as efficient for the size/weight. They are good options for a base camp setup or running a camp from a vehicle, but not a backpack. My only caveat would be where a solar charger is part of your system. Still, even when I use a solar charger (Suntactics 8W, dual port charger), I just charge my Anker charger.

ROCK6

Posted: 11/15/2014 4:05:36 AM EDT

[#12]

Check out the Bio Lite camp stove, you can cook your dinner and charge your phone at the same time. That is of course if you are planning on being there overnight or something like that.

Posted: 11/15/2014 1:33:08 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Check out the Bio Lite camp stove, you can cook your dinner and charge your phone at the same time. That is of course if you are planning on being there overnight or something like that.

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Those things are bulky, heavy and don't charge very fast. You're better off with an external battery, unless you are going for a week long base camp. I love the idea behind thermoelectric generators, but I don't think it's small enough yet.

Posted: 11/21/2014 8:25:29 AM EDT

[#14]

Goal zero 10

Posted: 11/21/2014 1:37:02 PM EDT

[#15]

Check out Amazon or DX for a pack you can carry.

I had one that was basically the size of an iphone, came with mulitple USB adaters and could charge off the wall or off a solar panel on the top.

Handy little thing, I lost it though.

When the unit was on a full charge it was enough to top off a phone about 3 times, and it could be supplemented with sun so 4 times wasn't unreasonable. Cost me about 20 bucks.

Posted: 11/21/2014 1:39:08 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
Check out the Bio Lite camp stove, you can cook your dinner and charge your phone at the same time. That is of course if you are planning on being there overnight or something like that.

View Quote

Don't you have to burn like a cord of firewood in one of those suckers to actually charge a phone?

Not terribly practical for doing a hunt.

Posted: 11/22/2014 3:51:17 AM EDT

[#17]

I got this one works great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N1LKV54/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Posted: 11/23/2014 9:30:17 AM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:
I got this one works great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N1LKV54/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

View Quote

I didn't see the actual weight...do you have scales to weigh? The slimmer Anker (6000mAh) has been my backpacking staple. I do have an 18,000mAh Limeade charger, but it's a heavy brute (13.2 oz) and better suited to transportation other than backpacking on foot.

It doesn't look too overly large, but if the weight isn't too much, it would be a good rugged charger for field use and backpacking. 9000mAh is a pretty decent capacity as well.

ROCK6

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Portable cell phone charger for outdoor use

Outdoors » General Outdoor Discussions

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