I have a 5600mah USB battery pack to recharge my phone (GPS/camera). I like it because it's small (same size as phone, can keep in inner jacket pocket in winter). It also seems sufficiently sized for one week based on my usage. I am now thinking of ordering the amazon basics 10000mah, or maybe the anker powercore-plus 10000mah battery. Based on reviews... kid needs one.

I still think this is more convenient for a 1-2 week trip vs a solar panel. But I don't really know. Also, I wish I had a way to recharge my canon DSLR battery via USB. But USB is 5V and I think the DSLR battery is 7.4V, so that seems like a no go for some reason. I thought solar cells put out 12V, so you could start using 12V car adapter stuff if you had a solar panel.

Comments on best solution, DSLR battery charging?

Thanks!

My experience is that a solar panel isn't that efficient in the BWCA. Lot's of tree cover and often cloudy. Also hard to keep up with when portaging. Do you really want to leave a solar panel and your electronic device out in the sun while you are double portaging. Bring both. Use the solar panel to keep your battery pack topped off. If you have sun you are in great shape, if you have clouds you are in good shape.

Far as charging dslr batteries I use 2 Nomad 13 linked together, with built in auto 12 volt plug. Never taken to BWCA yet as spare batteries more efficient for duration. Solar chargers get used in vehicular based camps as at this weekends WeatherTech® International Challenge with Brian Redman presented by HAWK
. 1000's photos will be taken.

For what it's worth, I tend to get 300 to 400 .raw files to a battery, across several different cameras.

butthead

I have a Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar panel and a Guide 10 battery charger and have never had any trouble charging my inReach SE. Mine is not the new one with the built in stand or indicator lights, but just prop it up with some rocks towards the sun.

When needed I can set the panel up at camp and plug the inReach right into the panel and give it a charge. No sun - use the Guide 10.

I have a Nomad 7 and a Jockery 12,000mah battery pack. It is the only power we bring. I try to keep the Battery pack charged up and devices topped off as much as I can. It is less load on the battery pack if electronics are not dead. On the last trip our electronics on a week long trip were, GoPro, Olympus TG-1, a Kodak cam, iPad mini, amazon ereader. We got to a point where the battery pack was almost dead after 3 days of rain but having kept everthing topped off meant that when the sun came out I just needed to worry about the battery pack. It worked well for me, after the start of the trip the Jockery pack never did get back to fully charged. Hope this helps.

For me it depends on how long the trip is. I just got back from a 4 day trip. I have a dual 15,600mah battery back I brought for that trip.

I use it to charge my phone, fish finder, go pro, and tent/camp light. and portable speaker. My headlamp is also charged via micro usb so I never have to worry about that dying. ( i dont have service but use my phone to play music and for my fish finder.) Im also always amazed how great cell phones last in airplane mode. Never ceases to amaze me. I use a deeper portable fish fnder that only weighs 3 ounces and turns my phones screen into a fisher finder. It is charged via micro usb. All of these items are very small and I love having them with, especially the gopro and fish finder.

For longer trips I too have a Goal Zero and guide 10. If there are gonna be 4 or more ppl I also bring the battery pack in addition to the Goal zero. I use the goal zero to charge the battery pack when it gets low. This combination easily powers all 4 ppls gear for the length of the trip and it allows everyone else to save space and not bring their own power. The other nice thing about the guide ten is that you can charge aa and aaa if needed and the guide 10 power pack when it has fully charged aa or aaa batteries in can act as a secondary usb charger bc it has a usb out.

The goal zero/guide 10 weighs a little over a pound and it s a little wide so it takes up more room in the pack. THe battery pack is smaller but weighs more. For longer trips or trips with more ppl it works out great.

Just buying an extra battery or two is the best solution. If you really take a lot of pictures, 3 batteries will be more than enough for a 2 week trip. For my nikon I get between 1000 and 1200 pictures per battery. I wouldn't try to overthink this thing. Solar panels work well if you're out for a month or more.

When it comes to charging camera batteries and how much power you need, it’s going to depend on the camera and the type of photography you’re doing. So let me speak for myself because my situation represents the extreme. I shoot with a Fujifilm Xt-1 camera. It is a totally amazing camera but when it comes to using power it is an absolute pig. That is typical for mirrorless cameras because the viewfinder is electronic. Okay so there’s that. But then I like to do long exposure photography – night shots of the Milky Way and moving water landscapes, which is also going use a lot of power. On top of that I’m out in the bush for a month at a time. So this trip I’ll be taking 9 batteries. Now that might sound like a lot but I doubt that it will be enough on its own. It just so happens that I’m also taking a LiFePo4 battery pack. It will be primarily for my fish finder but I can tell you now that if I have to choose between power for my camera or for my fish finder the camera wins. The point is that a 12V battery will charge camera batteries. But up to a point the logical thing to do is carry more camera batteries. It would only be in extreme situations where additional power might be needed. Again, my situation is the extreme, your mileage will vary. By the way, here’s the 12V battery that I’ll be taking with me, an incredibly lightweight, efficient piece of kit that comes in a variety of weights and sizes and is water proof: 12V LiFePo4

I assume with 9 batteries, you buy the knockoffs then?

Do the Sony mirrorless cameras charge by USB?

quote NotLight: "I assume with 9 batteries, you buy the knockoffs then?


Do the Sony mirrorless cameras charge by USB?
"

Yeah, knockoffs. The Wasabi batteries seem quite good and come highly recommended. I've personally noticed no difference. As for charging a Sony mirrorless with USB. I do know that any of the A7 series can be. USB battery packs for Sony

When I went in for 40 days I thought I needed a solar charger. I looked into batteries at radio shack and they were expensive. So first I thought I'd get the charger. In the search I found batteries on line were cheap. So I got several. I think I had five total on the trip and it worked perfect. Much lighter than the solar panels. My weather radio lasted the whole 40 days.

quote Birdknowsbest: "For me it depends on how long the trip is. I just got back from a 4 day trip. I have a dual 15,600mah battery back I brought for that trip.


I use it to charge my phone, fish finder, go pro, and tent/camp light. and portable speaker. My headlamp is also charged via micro usb so I never have to worry about that dying. ( i dont have service but use my phone to play music and for my fish finder.) Im also always amazed how great cell phones last in airplane mode. Never ceases to amaze me. I use a deeper portable fish fnder that only weighs 3 ounces and turns my phones screen into a fisher finder. It is charged via micro usb. All of these items are very small and I love having them with, especially the gopro and fish finder.


For longer trips I too have a Goal Zero and guide 10. If there are gonna be 4 or more ppl I also bring the battery pack in addition to the Goal zero. I use the goal zero to charge the battery pack when it gets low. This combination easily powers all 4 ppls gear for the length of the trip and it allows everyone else to save space and not bring their own power. The other nice thing about the guide ten is that you can charge aa and aaa if needed and the guide 10 power pack when it has fully charged aa or aaa batteries in can act as a secondary usb charger bc it has a usb out.


The goal zero/guide 10 weighs a little over a pound and it s a little wide so it takes up more room in the pack. THe battery pack is smaller but weighs more. For longer trips or trips with more ppl it works out great. "

What is the fish finder that you use?

quote CanoeKev: "

quote Birdknowsbest: "For me it depends on how long the trip is. I just got back from a 4 day trip. I have a dual 15,600mah battery back I brought for that trip.



I use it to charge my phone, fish finder, go pro, and tent/camp light. and portable speaker. My headlamp is also charged via micro usb so I never have to worry about that dying. ( i dont have service but use my phone to play music and for my fish finder.) Im also always amazed how great cell phones last in airplane mode. Never ceases to amaze me. I use a deeper portable fish fnder that only weighs 3 ounces and turns my phones screen into a fisher finder. It is charged via micro usb. All of these items are very small and I love having them with, especially the gopro and fish finder.



For longer trips I too have a Goal Zero and guide 10. If there are gonna be 4 or more ppl I also bring the battery pack in addition to the Goal zero. I use the goal zero to charge the battery pack when it gets low. This combination easily powers all 4 ppls gear for the length of the trip and it allows everyone else to save space and not bring their own power. The other nice thing about the guide ten is that you can charge aa and aaa if needed and the guide 10 power pack when it has fully charged aa or aaa batteries in can act as a secondary usb charger bc it has a usb out.



The goal zero/guide 10 weighs a little over a pound and it s a little wide so it takes up more room in the pack. THe battery pack is smaller but weighs more. For longer trips or trips with more ppl it works out great. "

What is the fish finder that you use?"

Deeper portable fish finder. Highly recommend for bwca. Check it out on amazon. Turns ur phone screen into a fish finder.

Went to Gabbro in May and for the first time ever in the bWCA, had cell signal. Sent some texts to assure folks we were ok and a few pictures of the scenery. Think we checked with Google a few times too. But airplane mode kept both of our phones in good charging shape.
We both brought backup chargers but neither of us had to use them.

A word of caution, backup chargers do not work as well as advertised in general. If yours is advertised to charge your phone 3 times and the math adds up to that...well be prepared to get 2 charges out of it. Most are overrated. Still a handy thing to have.

Don't bring a depth finder but photography is high on the list. I bring enough batteries to shoot 300 or so pictures a day and don't plan on having to recharge them.

Hi - I'm curious - what lens are you taking for your time/lapse? I've got the Laowa 15mm, but it is heavy and some what single purpose. Just got the 70-350, which I love, but weighs a ton. Thinking about a cheap rokinon 2.8 for some long exposure/time lapse.. I think the weight issue has me spooked (back and neck issues). :)

I've used an Anker PowerCore for years. Never let me down.

How times have changed.

We used to talk about what wool socks were best, or if we should bring a lantern or a flashlight. Now it's all about the electronics.
A fish finder in the BWCA? Huh?
Tom