New battery technology?

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oldranger
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New battery technology?

Post by oldranger »

Reading the previous thread about smartphones got me to thinking (usually not a good idea for me).
We have had this discussion in the past but I want to bring it up again. The key issue with electronic devices is battery life. Is there anything new that works well? Here is my delimma: On several occasions in the past when confronted with continuous stormy weather I have cut my trips short, not because of weather per se, but because I ran out of book! When this happens being tentbound sucks. This september I took about 2 lbs of used paperbackbooks because I knew weather was going to be an issue.

That got me to seriously think about electronic readers. So I am at least open to the possibility of adding to My Spot and cell (when I think it might work, if needed). On the other hand the e-device and battery doesn't get any lighter during the trip. The books helped to start fires in wet conditions and were down to a couple of oz by my last day.

Any thoughts?

Mike
Mike

Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
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Flux
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Re: New battery technology?

Post by Flux »

I found the Kindle to be very very good on battery life. It is not backlit though, so you will need a headlamp at night. But then you have the new headlamps which are dimmable to preserve battery life.

The thing that you really must do is turn off the wifi or wireless on all your devices when you hit the backcountry. this will extend the charge a long long way.

My kindle has a simple setting to turn off wifi which is only needed when downloading books anyway.

My iPhone has a setting called "airplane mode" which disables the wireless. Not sure about wifi though, but there is another setting in there to turn that off as well. I turn my phone off at the trailhead though and may only check service here and there. Sometimes you get it though up high. We got signal on Mount Huntington above Hilton Lakes on my buddies Iphone 4G

There are also a couple solar battery chargers that have built in batteries too so you have charging power at night and can leave it in the sun during the day. not too heavy really. There are some Kits for them too, I had considered making one. They use USB charging which most devices use (3-5 volts dc)

Here's some diy kits:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... aka-Might/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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gary c.
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Re: New battery technology?

Post by gary c. »

My wife bought a kindle this year loves it. I'm not sure how long the batties hold up but it has not been an issue and that includes an almost week long trip this summer. It's not one of my toys so I'm too familiar with how it all works but I know it will hold more books than you would ever need and each book each books adds no more wieght to your pack.
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paul
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Re: New battery technology?

Post by paul »

I've taken to audio books to save weight, and I found an MP3 player that takes a AAA battery. So battery life is not an issue, since I can bring extras. Each lasts about 15 hours. I can load way more books on there than I would ever have time to listen to on a trip.
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Re: New battery technology?

Post by Shawn »

Ditto what Paul said. I got hooked on audio books a few years back, It's amazing how many hours and how many books can be put onto a little iPod shuffle. And, more to the point, the battery seems to last forever before needing a charge.

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oldranger
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Re: New battery technology?

Post by oldranger »

Audio books don't work for me in the backcountry because I fall asleep and then can't get back to where I was in the book! On the other hand a mindless adventure book works great to keep me awake when I drive down to the sierra.

Mike
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Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
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