My son and I are planning a backpack hunt for a week in September

I was planning on getting a Goal zero 5 and power bank but am concerned that won't be enough for 2 cell phones (Onx Maps) and a Garmin Inreach.

Do I need a 10? Additional charged power banks? Or should I consider getting an extra battery pack for phones?

On a base camp hunt last year, I was having to charge both phone and Garmin every night.

What have y'all used to manage your navigation devices for a full week without 12volt power available ?

Not sure about the battery issues, but do you have a compass and topo maps in case your electronics give up the ghost while in the back country? I'd hate to have a single point of failure that far in?

You may already be doing this, but for battery life on the phones, you can turn off any apps (especially those that use location services) that you don't need - such as email, any other apps trying to update in the background.

I don't know anything about Goalzeros, but I would imagine "bigger" equals more weight. It may be worth considering a couple mobile power banks (here is a link to Anker) that could be re-charged by the "smaller" GZ during the day. Depending on which one you went with, these portable banks could offer a "fast charge" for your devices when you get back to camp.

The battery on the inreach lasts forever, at least on the full-size model. I doubt you would need to worry about charging.

Edit: just re-read that you have experience having to charge the Garmin nightly. Ignore my comment.

Just curious, where you guys heading?

Batteries mean weight. I take a foldable solar charger that is light. Much more convenient for me.

Edit to add.

If I'm worried about having batteries for a week, I'm really worried about batteries for 2 weeks incase I get snowed in or stuck on the mountain. I'd rather have a continuous supply of something (water filter with a small backup instead of more water jugs, solar charger instead of batteries that cold weather drains, etc.) for my peace of survival focused mind.

I have a 26,800 MAH battery pack that I think is too much for my personal use on a week long trip so I am looking to go down to a 10,000 MAH model. But for two people sharing I think you would be fine with the 26,800.

One thing to keep in mind is cold can do a number on batteries. Keeping your battery pack in your sleeping bag at night may be necessary if you start getting into the teens or lower at night. Lithium Ion performs way better in the cold so keep that in mind for all your AA and AAA batteries too.

BlueSmoke said:

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Not sure about the battery issues, but do you have a compass and topo maps in case your electronics give up the ghost while in the back country? I'd hate to have a single point of failure that far in?

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yes. Always have both

LRHF said:

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Just curious, where you guys heading?

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central Colorado -
Unit 521

AgLA06 said:

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Batteries mean weight. I take a foldable solar charger that is light. Much more convenient for me.

Edit to add.

If I'm worried about having batteries for a week, I'm really worried about batteries for 2 weeks incase I get snowed in or stuck on the mountain. I'd rather have a continuous supply of something (water filter with a small backup instead of more water jugs, solar charger instead of batteries that cold weather drains, etc.) for my peace of survival focused mind.

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do you have size 5 or size 10? I want the smaller for weight but don't know if that is enough for 3 devices. Or do you something different than goal zero?

What is your phone on full-time for on the mountain?

I bring a solar charger to take care of my GPS if needed, but my phone goes into airplane mode and no GPS/apps unless really needed, and I already have offline maps downloaded for my area. I'll always have a topo map of my area printed, typically laminated if I have time.

My phone last my entire 8 day hunt without a charge last time. Used it occasionally and for 5 minutes every night if I could find service to text my wife that I'm okay. You can still use GPS with your data off. Turn off all location services and turn it completely off at night.

My inreach lasts 3-4 days. Have you checked all your settings or explored replacing that? Battery life on those should definitely be longer than a day.

I ran it in airplane mode and had all extra apps off. I was utilizing the onx app in offline mode but the GPS is still active. I could get most of a day out of it - 1st rifle season last year so it was pretty cold in the mornings. - may have contributed to short battery life. I did rely on the offline maps. Easier to utilize becasue of the screen size versus in reach

Not sure why I had such poor battery performance in Garmin. It was new as this was our 1st elk hunt and never needed one prior to this hunt

You can use OnX in airplane mode. That will greatly reduce your battery usage. I charged my phone and Zoleo device 3 times last year in 10 days, but it never really got below 30%.

I took a 10,000 mAh battery pack.

Edit: should have read all the way down.

Cold may have been the issue. One thing my buddy was doing was trying to use his phone during the day that was killing his battery. I would find some deep shade when I needed it so that I didn't have to turn the brightness up.

Also, I would turn the Phone off during the night and during the day for a few hours when I didn't need Navigation so that I could reduce the amount of ON time. I would just wait for the message delivery indicator on my Zoleo to indicate if I needed to turn my phone on.

If you are backpacking in, every single ounce matters. Every single ounce. Find a way to drop one of the phones (do you really need 2 GPS going at all times?) and just bring the solar charger, maybe a small battery if needed. Or, just rotate which phone you use, and keep the other on a solar charger (if you guys are watching or reading downloaded stuff on your phones at night).

I use a small Goal Zero solar charger, and it keeps my phone/Garmin topped off. It sounds like you are doing what you can with your electronics to conserve battery- I'm not sure why you are getting such poor performance. My Garmin (I have the big one, inReach + GPS) lasts several days without charging. If yours is new, I would send back and have them look at it if it won't even last a day.

If you are being packed in (horses, drop camp)- bring all the crap you want.

It's an old Chinese model I've had since 2016. I'd have to pull it out of the safe to see, but I'm sure there are better options today.

The only things I charge on the mountain is phone, global transponder, headlamp and puck light for the tent. So I charge them one at a time and generally only takes 30-60 minutes each. My headlamp will last an entire hunt. My phone will last several days, but my OCD / survival sense makes me keep it charged. The transponder only needs to be charged every couple of days.

Really easy to lay it out on your pack while glassing or napping and charge your devices.

cupofjoe04 said:

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If you are backpacking in, every single ounce matters. Every single ounce. Find a way to drop one of the phones (do you really need 2 GPS going at all times?) and just bring the solar charger, maybe a small battery if needed. Or, just rotate which phone you use, and keep the other on a solar charger (if you guys are watching or reading downloaded stuff on your phones at night).

I use a small Goal Zero solar charger, and it keeps my phone/Garmin topped off. It sounds like you are doing what you can with your electronics to conserve battery- I'm not sure why you are getting such poor performance. My Garmin (I have the big one, inReach + GPS) lasts several days without charging. If yours is new, I would send back and have them look at it if it won't even last a day.

If you are being packed in (horses, drop camp)- bring all the crap you want.

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by little are you referring to the 5 which is a single panel? That is the one I want for size/weight and it sounds like that should be plenty to keep ieverymrhi g charged if I manage the uptime rigorously