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"We will need to head West to get around the top of the mountain and get downwind of that big buck!" I was telling my hunting partner in excitement as I looked at my phone for my mapping software. In that moment, I realized I had 22% battery life and it was only 4pm. I was using my phone throughout the day for videoing a giant buck through my spotting scope. I was also mapping along the borders of some BLM and national forest. I immediately had that sinking feeling in my stomach as I thought "Oh shit" to myself about having that low of a battery for that time of the day. The worst part about it was that the cold temperatures had already wiped out my small external battery pack that I had. It was a cheap little "one hit wonder" of a battery pack that would probably charge my phone 50% and then die off.
If you were not aware, the cold weather will take power away from your batteries in pretty much everything tech related. It certainly sucks when it kills your headlamp battery, phone battery, phone chargers, etc. Well, needless to say, I ended up turning my phone off and using it only for the way back to camp as I knew I would have enough battery to survive the 3 mile trek back. I also made sure to keep my phone in my jacket pocket that was closest to my body for warmth. I told myself that would never happen again as I would be getting home and trying out a few different products to see what will work best.
I first purchased a Solar Charging Panel called "Big Blue" off Amazon to try and see how fast this would charge my iPhone at the time. This is a simple panel style solar charging panel that weighs roughly 1.5lbs and it could be what recharges my phone as well as my external battery pack at camp. I got it to my house within a couple days and immediately started testing out how long it would take to charge my phone from 20% to 100%. I put it on the porch on a chair (in direct sunlight) and let it roll! After a couple hours, my phone was at 77%! Wow, this means that I would realistically be using this as I am glassing or if I was at camp but that was not what I expected. It worked better than my expectations. One of the other options was to attach a caribiner to my pack and let the panel hang while my phone is in my backpack. It certainly was an option if I was hiking in for miles and I can tell you that I did end up doing that on a hike into the wilderness in Nevada for an elk hunt. I spent 5 days there, 5.5 miles deep.
Next up was the battery pack. I have had nothing but great experiences with charging cables and other chargers from Anker so I decided to try one of their 20k battery packs and test it out by only using the battery pack to charge my phone for the week. I would consistently bring the phone down to 19%-20% and then recharge fully to 100%. I have to tell you I was very impressed that I got a full 6 charges on my iPhone at the time. As we all know, technology comes a long way every year and even with my newest phone (iPhone 13 Pro), I am still getting 5+ charges with the 20k Anker Battery Pack.
I decided I would compare some higher priced items from a company called Goal Zero.
I ordered similar products with a 2 panel solar charger that is called the Nomad 10. I immediately figured out that this was a quality product and I really liked that it was a bit smaller and lighter than the 3 or 4 panel style solar chargers. I would save roughly half a pound with this charger and it would be thinner in my pack. Now, the real test would be based on how well it would charge my phone in a couple hours compared to the other products I was using. I did the exact same test with my phone on the chair outside and my phone for a couple hours which began at 20% battery life. In a couple hours, I was at 68% charged on my phone! Well, to my surprise, the less expensive charger worked better than this goal zero. Now, I do have to be honest when I say that this is a total toss up in between a couple different pro/con scenarios. Do you want something that gives you a little more of a boost in charge ability but it will be slightly thicker, more panels and a little more weight? Or will you keep the weight benefits and suffer on the time of charging. Is 10% less charge on your phone worth the weight penalty? That is for you to decide. I have both and I use them depending on the hunt. I also have them in my inventory for client rentals when needed because some folks just don't need to add to a stockpile of items if they are only using it 1x a year.
Lastly, I ordered the Goal Zero Sherpa 100PD Power Bank. This thing was a beast! At 1.4lbs and 25k mAh, I was excited to see how this compared to the Anker charger. I went ahead and did the same week of charging daily for my phone to see how many charges I would get out if it. I went from Monday to Saturday with just using this battery pack for my phone. I had 8 charges on my phone before it was deemed dead. Wow again! Impressive. 8 charges!
Now, again, there is a pricing proposition here as the weight is roughly .3lbs more than the other powerbank I have but it was a little larger. It also gave me more charging ability throughout the week. Finally, the cost is way more for the Goal Zero. If you can tell, I use my phone quite a bit as I need multiple charges on some days to keep my phone afloat. The goal zero is a game changer for what it can do and it's a reputable company that produces the product. With that said, the Anker 20k bank will do the job well and I can always recharge it throughout the day if needed with the solar charger.
Another thought for all the backcountry guys. I've done quite a few backcountry hunts. However, very rarely am I back in an area for more than 5 days. If that was the case for you, you likely wouldn't even need the solar charger with either of those battery packs. The difference maker will be if you are videoing a ton or you have camera quipment. If that was the case, you'll likely be packing more than 1 charger and the solar charger as well.
Overall, I was damn impressed with all of the products and what they can do if they are in direct sunlight (solar) and fully charged before you get out in the backcountry.
Hope you have a great season out there being fully charged :)
Scout, Hunt, Repeat
Alex
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