High Sierra Topix

You can find tons of info on backpackinglight, but the short story is that outside of long stretches of thru-hiking, UL sentiment has turned against solar and more towards dependable powerbanks. A couple of overcast days and some tree time can mean no charging at all.

All of this is helpful and yes, I am trying to assess the matching of the gear to the trip. Some shorter trips, for example, permit me to bring more fishing gear than I really need .... But not to change the subject, I am planning a multi-day trip that has me leaning towards a solar unit. I will be in a position that should receive ample sun. All said, I like the idea of also seeing what my team will be bringing so as to mix and match. I'll do my best to circle back with a report over the days/weeks to come. Thanks again!
- Bernard

For a typical backpacker with typical electronic devices (headlamp, etc.), there is little to be gained by carrying a solar panel. The issue is weight, cost, and the degree of effort it takes to keep the panel oriented toward the sun. If you were headed up to Mount Everest Base Camp to stay for three weeks, then the answer would be very different.

There is more to be gained by power conservation in the devices. Some headlamps are much more efficient than others. Some accept slide-in replacement batteries. My GPS receiver will run just about forever on one pair of batteries. Of course I do not stay up late at night in the tent reading novels by headlamp.

I don’t really consider a headlamp an electronic device, however strange that sounds. I’m thinking more of more smart devices like phones, watches, PLB/GPS devices, etc. These are things that I’m typically using nearly non-stop during the day, but hardly at all at night. Which is another reason I prefer the no-muss no-fuss Anker brick approach.

As a reference point, I took a 24000 mAH battery for an 8-day backpacking trip last month, and kept my iPhone and Garmin watch charged for the whole trip, and still came back with about a one-third charge left in the Anker.

ironmike wrote: ↑Sun Oct 04, 2020 7:57 pm I don’t really consider a headlamp an electronic device, however strange that sounds.

Modern headlamps are much more than a light bulb and a switch. There is an LED which must be switched on and off with a specific duty cycle at a specific rapid rate. All of that is controlled by a tiny electronic chip. That's just a start. Some of mine have two or three levels of complexity beyond that in order to get maximum light with the minimum battery usage.

I am still exploring devices but I do really appreciate this thread. I hope to circle back over time. Thus far I have very much enjoyed the suggestion of the Anker brand battery pack. For me - Relying on the sun in some instances (I love the trickle-charge while you hike idea) is a tad dicey in fall - even with clear skies. Finding one's self in the shade for much of the day can be a possibility. I crawl river gorges a lot so sometimes I am in the shade even in summer. Interestingly enough, on my most recent trip, I was reminded of the simple art(?) or philosophy(?) or question: "I am out in nature, why the heck do I need to futz with my devices?" - and I am not a hard core photographer nor do I spend time in camp playing Tetris. All said, for now, I think all would agree that having a good charge as one exits to contact family or use in an emergency is smart. You do not want to have a phone at 5%. My recent trek had us going off the grid literally moments after finding out that some family had developed Covid symptoms so we were insanely anxious to get updates upon exiting. *Everyone is ok. Being well-charged did help.
B.

The last 2 times we hiked the JMT we brought the Suntactics S5. I used it to charge our 3 Steripens, my iPhone, and camera battery. The trip took about 22 days and we charged the SteriPens about every 4-5 days, iPhone every day and camera battery a couple of times. I think next time one of us will carry the solar panel and another a power brick. It is more efficient to charge the power brick all day in the sun and plug in the iPhone at night.

I have my solar panel rigged to sit on the top of my pack with velcro attached to my pack lid and bottom of solar panel. I have the newer lighter version and gave the old one to my son. He used it in China for a month long climbing trip.

For trips less than a week I would probably just bring the power brick. I have been using Gaia GPS app periodically on the phone. I mostly use it when we are going off trail or just to confirm out present location and review options.

I've been using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0746F2BKJ/ with a 6600mah anker battery, using the beefy 3m double sided tape to secure the battery pack to the back (not ideal for heat generation, but convenient).

For ~8.4oz iirc I kept two iPhones up for 10 days, one heavily used for gps & photos (and ~2h of netflix in the tent in the evening due to it being mid-sept and longer nights - don't judge me please), the other for occasional photos and gps. Even with it just sitting on my pack (then properly angled during short breaks), I usually got ~1/3 of it recharged, so say 2000mah a day give or take on a sunny day. If I left it out at camp I could get a nearly drained one up to full, so around 5000-6000mah (hard to tell). It depends how much you expect to draw down in a day and if you're below treeline a lot, but I find it useful (in the PNW I don't bother and just carry a bank). A 6600mah battery is enough to get you through a few days with thoughtful use (airplane mode, dimmer screen) and you'll recharge it enough to make up for the weight of a 20000mah bank or whatever the equivalant would be for longer trips.

The Sierra is great for solar due to general lack of cloud/tree cover and lowish lattitude - for shorter trips you can just use a bank but I prefer the combination, especially if you basecamp / drop your pack and wander for a bit occasionally and can leave it out angled up.

Nitecore supposedly has slightly better banks, but mine works and I don't toss gear that's a few grams heavier if it still works fine.

Not the best angle, but an idea of the setup here: http://highsierratopix.com/community/do ... &mode=view