Experienced tripper, but headed out on my first solo next month and I feel like a noob all over again. It sounds like solo trips are highly tailored to the individual and any advice on 'favorite' gear might not apply to the next paddler, but I'm trying to plan which electronics to bring with.
Renting a Delorme, (with hope that I don't use it!)
I usually don't care much for music and am looking forward to hearing the singing wilderness so I won't bring an iPod.
Comfortable enough with compass navigation that I don't want to look for a gps. Is a gps as backup reccomended?
I have a hand crank weather radio, but it is extra gear that I haven't found useful on most trips.
I'm unsure if I want a watch. Day and night give their own rhythm of time and I don't want to try and maintain an artificial schedule: wake up at a certain time, etc. However it might be nice to be able to estimate paddling speed. Not a huge weight/space penalty to bring the watch anyway so it will most likely come with.

What do you use on solos? Are you techy enough to have a gps monitoring speed and location and marking a trail you can review later at home? Or do you go minimal and voyager-like and forgo tech to have a less-connected experience?

Weather radio only for me

I bring a small weather radio, which is sometimes useful, especially on longer trips. Wind is more problematic for a solo paddler.

I also bring a watch, which I use to time meals and keep an idea on travel time when I desire. It also has uses in certain medical situations.

These things are small, light, and useful enough to me that I bring them, although I don't use them much. I might consider other things in the future.

I also leave a lot of non-tech stuff behind to lighten the load since there's no one to help carry it and I don't really need it, but I wouldn't consider myself a minimalist in that regard, just a realist.

I hope you enjoy your trip. Whatever you decide, you'll ultimately make some changes if you do more solos.

PLB, for my families security.
Watch, only wear on trips never at home.
Small radio, weather and rainy day tunes.
GPS, not for navigation but tracking trips for later reference (they can be helpful on foggy days).
Flashlight/lantern.

All together less than 32 oz. extra weight.

butthead

A gps. I like to save my trip logs and track distance traveled each day. Depending on where you are tripping and your familiarity with the area you can leave it at home. On my short fishing solos it stays home. I take a SPOT as well. I have my iPhone, mostly because I don't want to leave it in the truck and I like a little music in the tent at the end on the day. I don't take a watch and despite having time on my gps I don't like to look at it. Camera gear is a must. I indulge there.

With solos it is your trip so it is really what you want.

Thanks already: I might reconsider a gps for tracking distance and future planning. (And security on an unfamiliar route). Planning 4 days paddling and a fifth for wind/layover day if needed. (Also with delorme I could text home if I am delayed a day).

Of course headlamp is necessary, and I have a small led light that lives on the hammock ridgeline.

I'm also one of those people who will go out of my way to bring an slr camera/light tripod. That has been some of my favorite equipment on past trips and I have often stayed up late taking night photos after everyone is asleep: I am looking forward to uninterrupted time for photographs while solo.

Forgot the camera stuff, thanks hobbydog as I to indulge!

butthead

camera and a watch. flashlite, steripen.

A kindle, a watch, my camera. That's it for electronics besides my head lamp.

SPOT
Small Weather Radio (only really need for storms and wind forecasts)
Small AM/FM radio (for MN and Canadian Public Radio)
Small Camera
Steripen
Headlamp
Portable Depth Finder
Digital Voice Recorder
Extra Lithium Batteries

Totally tech free for years I have started bringing my android phone set to airplane mode. It has a good camera, a clock, a voice recording system I can log my experience, GPS potential that I have not yet activated, and music and games if I get really bored and I haven't yet. I carry a back up power unit but have yet to need it in up to a week's use.
A headlamp and small back up flashlight are also standard gear.
On some trips I am now taking my GoPro with hopes to develop some nice video once I get a little farther along the learning curve and work out the bugs.

Only a luci light, headlamp, and my phone for the camera! Don't bring a watch because I leave when I'm ready, eat when I'm hungry, and go to bed when I'm tired. If I really feel the need to check the time I have my phone.

Camera, are flashlight really electronics considering every body brings one, I do bring a InReach on longer trips (over 7 days) so my wife and dad can track me and get weather updates from Ben (I just need to listen when he says bad weathers coming).

Camera, watch and I'm a recent convert to an e-reader. I'm not much of a fire type guy because I like to star gaze, then afterwards I can read in the dark. Love it.

I was up on the Gunflint a couple of weeks ago and never used my flashlite.

Flashlight, Luci light, camera, and watch for me. My watch also has compass and barometer. My watch battery died once midtrip and it drove me nuts. Aside from just wanting to know what time it is, I have several times found the alarm function very handy to help me get very early starts to beat strong winds.

I prefer listening to nature over music on trips, and am happy reading paper books and using old fashioned silva compass. I have considered adding a weather radio and plb, but have not added either yet.

This has evolved over the years for me. For many years the only "electronics" was a flashlight. However, this year I added a SPOT because my wife was voicing more concern about me "wandering about the wilderness at my age." That has been a good addition for family peace of mind.

I also picked up a Garmin GPS. I bought it more to use with my car/motorcycle (no smart phone) but it has a 1/100000 topo map and I used it on my last couple BW trips. I enjoy turning it on for a few minutes to confirm my location then turning it back off. Not a must have item but sort of a fun toy.

Goat

I also take a PLB (never used yet), and a headlamp (rarely used), and a camera, which I do use a lot.

Flashlight [in ditch kit] Luci light, headlamp, camera, GPS on Ontario trips, fishfinder, wristwatch [because it drives me nuts not to have it on. FRED

A watch ... though I seldom use it.

Camera, small weather radio and a watch, (which I never wear at home)
only to time distances between certain points for future reference.
Where are you going? I'm headed up in Sept for a solo also.

All I brought was a rented sat phone and an iPod that my wife loaded with music she thought i would like. It was somewhat needed after 7 nights alone and was a nice sleeping tool

iPhone which I use as my watch and camera
Larger digital camera comes if I can fit it in my pack
Luci lantern and headlamp
Kindle
DeLorme Inreach for tracking and sending "I'm ok" messages to hubby
Small hand held weather radio
Back up power brick for trips longer than 5 days

Sony Lumix camera
Garmin etrex30
Delorme Inreach
Extra battery for Lumix
Extra lithium AAs and AAAs

Optional:
Sony action cam and waterproof cover/remote viewer
Weather radio
Solar charger and USBs

My pacemaker................

Cool thread. I bring a watch that I check only when I'm looking for a campsite and want to make sure I don't get stuck without any options as it gets later in the afternoon (I find it easy to lose track of time fishing, exploring, etc.).

Nothing else...at least yet. For a more adventurous and isolated trip, I might bring a SPOT or similar device.

Well let's see there is:
Headlamp
GPS
Camera
Weather radio & PLB (both new this year)

In-Reach (100 hour battery)
10000 milli Amp Powerbank for recharging In-Reach
Headlamp
GPS

That's it I think?

SunCatcher

GPS
Watch
Headlamp
Camera
Extra Batteries

quote SunCatcher: "In-Reach (100 hour battery)
10000 milli Amp Powerbank for recharging In-Reach
Headlamp
GPS


That's it I think?


SunCatcher


"

+1 for the Powerbank as I use it primarily to recharge my Delorme as well. It's worth the weight on the longer trips. Anything less than 5 days or so, I can get away without the charger as I use the Delorme sparingly to send a message at the end or start of each day.

Just a head lamp on my last trip. Forgot the camera and ditched the keys, phone, and watch right before I hit the water.

I brought a SPOT on my first solo. But I forgot about the "Tracking" feature. I would hit OK at each portage. I do have a record to keep.

Other than that I just brought a couple cameras.

I never bring a watch. I don't own an iPod or a smartphone.

I bring a SPOT. . .largley to let my wife know where I am. I have a GPS handheld I bring to mark the camp site and outfitter. Luci lantern. AS others have said, I like to have a weather radio. I opted for a marine radio that has several weather bands as well as emergency and guard channels. If things got bad I could communicate with ranger stations, emergency and planes if within range. Best of all, it floats. Standard Horizon Marine Radio

SPOT. It is the device that makes my wife comfortable with my solo trips. I do not bring a watch but if I am curious about travel time I will look at it when I get home.

IPod to listen to a book in the evening

Headlamp to alert insects to my precise location.

Camera

SPOT
watch
camera

That's it.
I'm surprised how many people here bring GPS and weather radios. Interesting.

watch,camera and flashlight.

Watch, Spot, headlamp, depthfinder, weather radio.

I brought headlamp, Luci lantern, weather radio and rented Spot. Couldn't tune in weather band, but I did get Ely NPR.

Headlamp, powerbank, android cell for camera and gps if I decide to bushwhack. I might bring a windup weather radio with a usb charger this year instead of my powerbank. I'll be the long-haired weirdo on Cherry Lake in 4 days cranking away at my campsite... on the weather radio that is.

Headlamp, Snow Peak mini hozuki lantern, weather radio, camera(s). I do find the weather radio comforting to have to be aware of wind and storms. I can also use that to tell time if needed, but I try not to pay attention to the time.

Totally depends on how remote I go. The list varies.


PLB is on PFD. Always
Marine radio for large lakes and ocean with weather radio
Headlamp
Uco Flip lantern maybe... definitely when the days get short. or candle lantern ( non electronic for short days cold nights)
Kindle maybe. If I remember to load a good book or six. Or a real book for short trips with long days.
Camera
Bigger camera
SPOT ( except I threw it out) Wont use anything like it for next four day trip
GPS. Maybe . In the fog or on the sea . or in the mangroves. yes.. For basic tripping ecch not so much.


Got a little four dayer coming up on a 11 mile long lake with many campsites. So my electronica will be Kindle. Headlamp. PLB. Lantern. Camera batteries to the max.

And more camera batteries. I feel an aurora coming.

In this area I phones best use is a brick.

I've taken many of the items listed, but the one not listed that I tend to take on solo trips is a satellite phone ... but then, I go into more remote places on many of my trips (I don't typically travel where cell phone comm is even a remote possibility.)

I'd say that it is a useful device having used it (on different trips) to get information on an emergency situation back home, arrange for an alternate fly-in pick up point when portage conditions to my designated exit point proved to be impassable after a snow-down event, and arrange for an early fly-in pick up for medical reasons.

dd

Thanks for all the replies. Fun to see the common items and diversity here.
Now that I have a solo trip under my belt, I can say:

watch, Camera, DeLorme(rented), headlamp, iPhone (for backup gps only)

I would have liked to have brought a weather radio. Maybe if I find one small enough.

Of course iPhone can't be expected to get a signal in the wilderness, but the GPS will work just fine provided you have the maps already downloaded. I use the TopoMaps+ app(free), and it works well as a backup. In case you get turned around or stuck in the fog, flick on the iPhone for just a minute and find your location on the paper map. I think if I had a solar charger, I might want to leave it on for the route tracking too. Not enough that I'd want to buy a standalone gps unit, though.

TopoMaps+screenshot: (note the "no service" in the upper left)

Thanks for the info on TopoMaps.

This might be the weather radio you are looking for.

I went to North Bay in Quetico with my brother and his 2 teenage sons in august. They all had cell phones and a solar charger to get through the boredom playing games. But then I find out my brother is getting return texts from his wife. In Quetico!

Then something very bizarre happened. One night at the far northern end at a site on North Bay he calls his wife. She answers on speaker phone. In Quetico. I was slightly unnerved by this as they passed the phone around.

My belief is that these trips are somewhat sacred. They should not be interrupted by calls from the outside to chit chat about things we're missing back home. Call me hard core, whatever. I'm fine with a spot or sat phone for emergencies but checking in on a cell phone everyday? No thanks. The unspoken magic "feeling" of wilderness was gone when that happened.

My 2 cents.

quote TomT: "I went to North Bay in Quetico with my brother and his 2 teenage sons in august. They all had cell phones and a solar charger to get through the boredom playing games. But then I find out my brother is getting return texts from his wife. In Quetico!

Then something very bizarre happened. One night at the far northern end at a site on North Bay he calls his wife. She answers on speaker phone. In Quetico. I was slightly unnerved by this as they passed the phone around.

My belief is that these trips are somewhat sacred. They should not be interrupted by calls from the outside to chit chat about things we're missing back home. Call me hard core, whatever. I'm fine with a spot or sat phone for emergencies but checking in on a cell phone everyday? No thanks. The unspoken magic "feeling" of wilderness was gone when that happened.

My 2 cents.
"

Agreed Tom,
Even the thought of a phone conversation in the wilderness makes me feel...odd. I bring a watch, (the alarm is set at 8:12 am and I can't figure how to shut it off but then again I find it fun to learn what I am doing at that time of day, every day), a crank weather radio, luci, camera and head lamp. Next season I plan to do an extended solo so I will likely beg, borrow or buy an in reach or similar.