Geek, do you know if that backpack you have can charge a MacAir?
Geek, do you know if that backpack you have can charge a MacAir?
I'm not a Mac user, but if you can charge the MacAir off a USB charger, you could set it up like I have, i.e. charge a seperate battery and charge the USB device off of that. Absent the battery I suspect you would find the charge rate way too slow. I suspect the same would be true of the other manufacturers.
That is SO true!Originally Posted by sgtdraino
I have Six books on my Droid Phone which is like 5". While the two print books I have The forager's Harvest and the SAS Survival guide take a huge amount of space in my B.O.B. I really need one of those solar strips like RICK has, I'm going to have to sneak it past the wife though :P
Don't run, you'll only die tired!
My first eReader was an iTouch. It's got both Kindle and Nook apps, plus a bunch of Google Books, etc. You could hold an absurdly large library on it. I've got a variety of "How To" books as well as pleasure reading on mine.
I've since upgraded to a Kindle for reading. It seems to need to sync with Amazon much more than the iTouch, so I think the iTouch is a more secure device, albeit not as good as paper, but a lot more portable.
My intent in the short term is to keep the iTouch in a Mylar bag, and store that in my BOB. I'll use the Kindle for day to day reading.
I thought about getting one of those but bought a fiddle instead. Almost as portable but a lot more fun.
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
Everyone has their own individual needs. BTW: the iTouch also has a lot of music on it. :-)
Ah well yes, there is that. Lol. But I don't see many people dancing around a bonfire to iTouch music.
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
Of course, they don't to my fiddle playing yet either. But they will. They will!
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
My wife also has an iTouch and speakers to play the music. It's what she uses whenever she throws a party and people want to dance. :-)
Ah darn it. Ok ok, you win that one.
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
Keep the fiddle. I wish I had the talent to play a musical instrument. Just don't plan on it replacing a library of "How To" books or a solar panel. :-)
Don't forget spare rechargeable batteries for your devices. I have a spare battery for my cell phone and I alternate batteries keeping both at full charge. That way no matter what I have a fall back.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Apple devices don't permit that, but what I have been using of late is an external battery that you can charge from a USB charger. In this case the solar panel is the USB charger. The device then charges off that battery. Seems to work.
Another issue to consider, especially for 1stimeststar would be the effects of -35 degrees F on the batteries of a device. Smaller battery operated devices can be carried close to the body to keep the battery warm, but the cold will take it's toll on them after exposure to those temperatures. Of course, in the milder weather (I think she gets about 34 days of that a year) its electronics and fiddles all the way around.
I would also imagine that the solar chargers would be lacking for those months where the sun barely creeps above the horizon.
Yep and yep. When we do multi day dog mushing trips with tourist, we take radios to communicate between teams and the support snow machine if we have one, and we usually do for these. We keep the radios and batteries in chest packs worn under clothing. It's a pain in the rear. I think the solar sheets would work well for backpacking because I only do that in the summer, when we have 24 hours of daylight. It'd be nice to charge up the camera batteries. Then again, when backpacking, I weigh things out by the ounce. So how does the weight of these and an inverter compare to AAs?
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
Temperature is definitely a factor. I don't think you want an inverter as you would primarily be charging USB devices off of these.
Personally, I consider the solar backpack to be a bit of an experiment at this point. The library on an iTouch may not work, but I'm not going to carry around a shelf full of books, so what have I got to lose? If I find that over time this sort of gear is very reliable, then I'll become a bit more committed.
We all recommend trying stuff before having to rely on it in an emergency and I see this period as just my initial test. The backpack I have now is okay for hauling a laptop to the office, but I would not use it as a BOB. On the other hand if I find this works well electronically, then I'd start to look for a more rugged pack with the solar panel feature.
There are a few folks here that have used some of the Brunton solar chargers with good results.
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