Better question - why do you keep linking to websites that block visitor from reading the article?
It's not paywalled on my end. What message do you get?
Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
231–240 of 327 posts
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that it's a bad trade-off. A cell phone is a literal lifeline.
Cell phones are a crutch. Us real hikers/backpackers/outdoorians don't need such hand holding as "doing it on easy mode". You look danger in the face and call for help, I look danger in in the face and I say "you ready?". We are not the same.
Why do you need to ask if you're ready? You should always be ready. Not being ready is a sign of weakness. We are not the same.
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#233Sorry for being off-topic, but why with all the advanced technology today I have to manually copy ounces and pounds into Google to learn how much it is? Instead of adding dark themes and material design, it would be better to add a unit converter. Also do you really need a power bank for a 2-day trip? In airplane mode a phone can live like 2 weeks.
On iOS: Highlight text, select convert, see conversion: https://imgur.com/a/tD9H1t9 But the real solution is for Americans to stop using dumb units.
Holy crap, I never knew that was a thing. Thank you!
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have tried my luck with portable solar panels, and my conclusion is that in most cases, they suck. For a solar panel to be useful you need: - At least a few days without access to electricity, otherwise even at max power, you won't get as much charge as a similarly sized power bank - Good sunlight, preferably in the summer (more daylight) - No shade, which is the opposite of what you want in hot and sunny summer da…
We did a five day backpacking trip this summer (in Wyoming, with lots of sun) and the solar was great. Kept my wife's iPhone at 80-100% for the trip (some idiot left the usb-c cable for his phone in the car) with mostly only using it after we reached camp. Decided that with two phones we had enough redundancy to leave the paper maps behind. And we used the phone a -lot- for taking photos in addition to navigation. I'…
To make it clear, I am not saying that solar panels don't work, of course they do. What I was questioning is using a solar panel over a power bank of the same weight.
A 20 Ah (77 Wh) power bank weight about the same as a 15W solar panel. That about 3 full (0-100%) charges on a typical smartphone. I think that would have kept your wife phone up the whole trip no problem, and no need to worry about the sun.
On a 11 day trek in the sun, yes, by all means take a solar panel. However, most people I know who do such long hikes usually have access to electricity at some point. But if it is not your case, well, you are the reason why these solar panels exist ;)
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The only valid battery capacity unit of measure is watt hours. I would also accept Joules. But yes, the unit should be a unit of energy.
I prefer to use British Thermal Units (BTU) for my battery capacity.
I use calories… then I can plan my meals and electronics together.
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#236This is a very poorly researched article. A few things worth considering: - 20,000 mAh is the rated capacity. Anyone who has tested 18650 batteries (which are the cells typically used in these battery packs) knows the rated capacity != tested capacity. - Watthours is more important than amp hours - Tested watt hours as typical loads is more important than amp hours - It's very normal to see tested capacity to be roug…
> Watthours is more important than amp hours I'd go a step further and say that amp hours is meaning less since voltage is not specified. The only valid battery capacity unit of measure is watt hours. While most battery packs use a single 3.7 lithium ion battery, Apple's first gen MagSafe battery pack used two internal batteries in series, throwing off everyone's amp hours only comparison.
The package says 3.85v so certainly this is a lipo.
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#237> Ultralight culture seems a little nuts to the uninitiated. I prefer "Durable, but as light as possible", not the other way around. Most ultralight gear breaks after a few uses or when it is mishandled in anything-less-than-perfect conditions, which, happens a lot outside.
I think people that do long distance hiking are a little nuts but to each their own.
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Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
I prefer to use British Thermal Units (BTU) for my battery capacity.
I use calories… then I can plan my meals and electronics together.
I know it's a matter of taste but personally I prefer to use the Calorie instead of the calorie ;)
(Context: 1 Calorie = 1 kilocalorie = 1000 (gram) calories; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie)
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The only valid battery capacity unit of measure is watt hours. I would also accept Joules. But yes, the unit should be a unit of energy.
We could also talk about lb•AU (pound Astronomical Units), but generally it's best to stick to what's standard so readers don't need to do conversions. Watt hours is great.
It's not terrible... The iPhone 17 has a battery capacity of 63 nano lb·AU. Around 16 million would equal 1 lb·AU.
Another fun one would be milli hundredweight leauge (mcwt·lg). Both hundredweight and league have multiple accepted definitions to make it more "fun". But the range maps quite nicely to everyday things:
AA battery - Around 5 mcwt·lg
Phone battery - Around 20 mcwt·lg
Laptop battery - Around 200 mcwt·lg
Car 12v battery - Around 1,000 mcwt·lg
EV battery - Around 100,000 mcwt·lg
Re: Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you (overnight) camping or only day hiking with all of this kit?
Not op but my backpacking (overnight) kit contains similar. When people talk about "10 lb base loads" I assume they are talking about overnights? 10 lb base loads for day trips would not be impressive.
Definitely overnights, but also long distance. Ultralight only makes sense once you get into long distance trails IMO.
I’ll happily carry 10-15lbs on a casual weekend with some friends, but when I did the PCT my baseweight was down to 6lbs once I passed the Sierra.
Turns out if all you do is hike all day, for months at a time, you really start thinking about pack weight.