[pct-l] Charger

[Kevin Cook]

Hi Brandon,

Is it just a cell phone for calls, or are you bringing a smart phone? If
it's just for the occasional phone call, you can probably get away without
charging along the way.

I'm bringing my iPhone, and plan to use it pretty heavily along the whole
hike. There are plenty of folks on this list that use solar chargers, but
I've pretty much ruled them out for my hike. The best ones I found would,
optimistically, provide about enough electrical energy(1460mAh) to charge my
phone the entire battery once a day.

The product I'm most interested in is the nPower PEG. Burnie was given one
this year to take on her hike, but she said she could not get it to work.
She kept trying though and didn't send it back to them until she was in
Oregon. It turned out to be something with the battery, and the company is
waiting for part from their vendor. A couple others on this list have
already ordered one and are waiting for them. As far as I know, we haven't
heard from anyone that has tested one in the field. The specs are
encouraging though. If it provides the kind of electrical energy they claim,
it should charge the entire battery in about 3 hours. That's amazing! It
weighs 12oz though :(

Since I can run the GPS all day and only use about 50% of the battery, solar
might be able to keep the phone charged enough to perform this task, but
I'll also be using it as my video camera, databook reference, journal
device, and of course, my music player. I'm concerned solar won't be able to
provide enough power on the days there isn't enough direct sun, such as
clouds, trees, or pack orientation. The PEG is the only thing I've found
that might satisfy my needs.

On Nov 13th, Dan K posted about solar and recommended this link:
http://www.solarjoos.com/tech-specs/

I'm still convinced solar won't meet my needs, but maybe I'm wrong.


~ Kevin
Soon To Be PCT Thru Hiker!
"The indoor life is the next best thing to premature burial." Edward Abbey