Getting charged up

BobScarle

I am in the very early stages of planning a tour of Wales next year (3, 4 or maybe 5 days) and one question keeps on occurring. I have a phone, GPS and iPod, all of which have rechargeable batteries. For a day or two, that is not a problem, but for a longer tour one or more of these devices will fail. I realise that you can take chargers but leave the gadgets in the toilet/shower block whilst they charge? How do you do it?

Wooliferkins

There are solar chargers or gizmo's such as Busch & Mullers ewerk or Tout Terrains Plug that provide a usb interface from a hub dynamo. Most phones (CDHofJ aside) have a universal socket so the USB cable and one plug adapter does it for more than one item. Ask at cafes and lunch stops for a quick blitz of wigglies. Many mobile shops have charging towers where you can lock your phone up in a locker on charge for about £1 an hour (last time I used one). As you have at least one CDHoJ device that only talks to other stuff if the i(?) ilk you'll need at least 2 cables

Wooliferkins

*CDHoJ: Cold Dead Hands of Jobs. Shiney, pricey, beloved by media types nil flexibility

simonhead

A mate has a dynamo charger that seems to work pretty well, think he paid about £30 for it

plet

I briefly played with charging from a dynamo hub but found it most unsatifactory.

If it's only for a few days consider an external battery and charge from that. Cheap enough and better to be leaving one of those charging in a shower block than your phone.

Have you considered ditching the ipod and GPS and using the functionality on a smartphone?

marcusjb

A £20 battery pack will certainly keep you going for 3-4 days as long as you are careful with the phone, leave it in airplane mode etc.

That and a crafty "mind if I plug this in?" When in a cafe/pub and job done.

I don't worry about it on short trips. I do have a B&M Luxos U which I can use if needs be.

BobScarle

Thanks for the responses. I am probably worrying a little too much.

plet wrote:

Have you considered ditching the ipod and GPS and using the functionality on a smartphone?

Yes, but two problems. Firstly I haven't got a smartphone with that capability (if I PM you my address you could send me one as a present ) and secondly, I have read on the forum how quickly using the GPS app runs the battery down.

I like the sound of the external battery pack, that may be worth considering. I must do a test to see how long the batteries do last. I just wanted to avoid taking chargers with me.

andymiller

Something like a TeckNet battery pack is worth having.

Most campsites are happy to charge stuff for you - in fact they'd probably rather you did that than leave stuff in the washrooms.

You should also be able to buy an adapter for the three-phase sockets - this will let you use an electrical socket near your tent.

A GPS that uses rechargeable AA batteries is a much better idea than using a smartphone as you can leave the batteries charging in a washroom without worrying too much. And of course, if you have to, you can buy disposables. Expect a pair of 2800 MAh AA batteries to last two days (so 3 pairs would be easily enough).

Chargers weigh next to nothing, but you could/should be able to charge everything from a single charger (with the right charger and cables/tips).

mea00csf

I use a Powermonkey battery pack with their charging tips. They sell the tips seperately and are very quick with stocking new tips for new products on the market.
The Powermonkey can charge from a mains supply or from a solar panel, which i've also got and it performs fairly well, just bungee it to the rack while i'm cycling.
I did 2 weeks cycling in Iceland with a GPS and smartphone and with a combination of battery pack charged before we left, solar charger and charging in cafes, we lasted 2 weeks with no real issues. I did switch my phone off during the day though, checking it in the morning, at lunch and in the evening as i was using it for weather updates and "checking in" with their safety app.