Fieldcraft Solar/hydro charging for wilderness trips

[bourbonbent]

I figured this was the most appropriate area to stick this thread.

I’m looking for experience(s) with the various portable electronic charging solutions for wilderness/backcountry travel.

Solar, hydro, etc. I need to be able to keep my phone, camera batteries, and a battery charger for AA’s etc charged. Probably no laptop. I shoot in RAW and I’m not fiddling around with editing on a mountain. SD/XQD cards in numbers in a dry box for that problem.

Immediate term use is up to 15 days, and I’m considering a hike in a couple or three years that’ll take closer to 3 months, so it’s important that whatever I go with is durable, reliable, and produces enough power to keep me up and running. I like to do as much photography as I can in remote places, and charging camera batteries can get annoying, especially if it takes forever to do it. More batteries are more weight, etc.

Where I live (Arkansas Ozarks) and do most of my outdoor activities, water is a constant. However I am also going to be places like the desert Southwest and mountain west where water can be scarce and moving water even more so. I’m open to a dual method solution.

What are y’all using?

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

Your options are only limited by thinking within the box.
First there are These
Second a DC motor w/diodes installed (charging battery's, or devices,) w/a shaft extention an propeller supported by a tree branch/stake left running all night. Make a battery bank using 3 each 9Vdc battery's in parallel an those wired in series with 2X 2 D cells paralleled an those two sets in series with the 9 Volts This will give you 14-15Vdc, a small USB car charger being powered by this string will charge most anything you need charged. Remember all the battery have to be rechargeable's an Diodes need to be properly installed on the motor an Flexible solar panels. The hole set up for the motor, panel, batterys ect should be under 2.5-4lb depending.

 

[bourbonbent]

I’m electronically challenged. I really appreciate the info! I’d literally never have thought that up.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

That is second nature to me, any questions just ask.

 

[bourbonbent]

That is second nature to me, any questions just ask.

Thanks! I will be sure to do that. I’m good with my hands but electrical shit has never made much sense to me.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

A wire is nothing but a path for electrons to flow in. Just think of wire as a pipe, & electricity as water or hydraulic fluid. The bigger the wire the more heat (aka amperage) it will handle, just like a bigger pipe will handle more flow. Wiring insulation is designed to not allow the pressure(aka voltage) to escape. Higher voltage, better insulation.

Much like hydraulics there are electronic/electrical check valves, pressure reducers, pressure enhancers, heat reducers ect. Nothing really complicated once you understand what components do an how to install them to make the circuit do what you want it to do. Lot's of math involved if designing a device an somethings tracking a issue. Like anything else in life, do it long enough, it gets boring.
Voltage = Pressure
Amps = Heat
KW & watts = true power
KVA = Apparent power

 

[Dougie308]

My land is in the Missouri Ozarks and I use solar in the woods. Below is a pic of the thin flexible panels on my Pinzgauer. They run through a charge controller to a deep cycle battery and then to an inverter separate from the truck's 24 volt system. I also have three panel 100 watt system I set up for use of my buddies while I'm out of camp.

I have a couple of smaller folding panels for phones and such as well.

I figured this was the most appropriate area to stick this thread.

I’m looking for experience(s) with the various portable electronic charging solutions for wilderness/backcountry travel.

Solar, hydro, etc. I need to be able to keep my phone, camera batteries, and a battery charger for AA’s etc charged. Probably no laptop. I shoot in RAW and I’m not fiddling around with editing on a mountain. SD/XQD cards in numbers in a dry box for that problem.

Immediate term use is up to 15 days, and I’m considering a hike in a couple or three years that’ll take closer to 3 months, so it’s important that whatever I go with is durable, reliable, and produces enough power to keep me up and running. I like to do as much photography as I can in remote places, and charging camera batteries can get annoying, especially if it takes forever to do it. More batteries are more weight, etc.

Where I live (Arkansas Ozarks) and do most of my outdoor activities, water is a constant. However I am also going to be places like the desert Southwest and mountain west where water can be scarce and moving water even more so. I’m open to a dual method solution.

What are y’all using?