Time to go big picture. Lets talk “adventure gadgets” shall we?
Think of the stuff you use outdoors. It’s rare to ignore electronics. It’s certainly possible to be a proper studly cavemen carrying nothing but primitive kit, but unless you’re trying to prove something you’re always carrying shit that runs on a battery. (Note: if you’re trying to prove something… I get it and wish you luck.)
Please, indulge me as I ramble. When you go adventuring, the e-stuff you carry should be an ensemble. Plan ahead fer crissakes! Thoughtfully acquire a group of things that do what you want. Don’t hurl money at what is popular! Plan and think. Then the stuff you choose will be light and small, fairly cheap, and ideally weather resistant. The whole grouping should serve you instead of the other way around.
This is exactly what most people don’t do. For most people, their main gadget is an “all in one, master of none” piece of e-Soma called a smartphone. (Is “smart” a necessary adjective to “phone” in 2020?) It’s a default choice. Folks carry a phone like a nun with a rosary and it’s used daily if not hourly. (Do nuns carry rosaries?)
A phone sucks when delivered to a completely foreign environment. Don’t crush the round peg of “handy at the office” into the square hole of “I’m in a kayak”. Phones are all-in-one, expensive, delicate, devices with a short battery life when you’d be better served by redundant, cheap, tough, devices with better battery life. Unless you make a very special investment in a super awesome tactical case (and even then), it wasn’t meant for the situation forced upon it.
Here’s my alternative, leave your phone behind where it belongs. For true outdoor use, get a two way satellite communicator. I got a SpotX because I was inspired by John Wik. I reviewed he heck out of it (including a music video from Rockwell) in this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, pricing. (Note: I’ll do a one year review in May… I think I’ll dial back on the services and therefore shave about half the cost. Email if you have questions.)
You don’t have to buy one, but if you use my link it costs you nothing extra and I get a small kickback. I really own one. This is mine. It’s on a boat I built. ‘Cause I’m the kinda’ guy that had to build a boat.
My SpotX has served me well. It allows me to wander about solo without people bitching about my “risky” behavior. Who knows? It might really save my ass. In lieu of a cell phone camera, I carry a GoPro clone. Rounding up the bunch, I have a very old GPS. (Paper maps and a compass are assumed.)
Each thing does precisely what I want. All pieces are ruggedized. Combined, they weigh very little. It’s unlikely one event will kill all three and if it does (and I live) I can replace all three for less than the cost of a new phone.
I especially like the GoPro because it ‘aint tracking me. It takes pictures and otherwise shuts the hell up.
Likewise, my GPS navigates by receiving satellites but it doesn’t talk to them. (A lot of people can’t differentiate between GPS navigation and cell tower based navigation. If you go where this matters, figure it out.)
Finally, my favorite toy; the SpotX is less invasive than a cell phone. It’s great at tracking me but unlike a cell phone, it asks first. At my instructions, it sends tracking data to the specified designee(s) and not some creep working at Verizon. A cell phone bosses you around. With a SpotX, I’m the boss! It shuts down when I turn it off, doesn’t bitch at me to check Facebook, and never hassles me with ads. When I’m solo I sometimes leave tracking on. It’s either a safety feature or a courtesy to whomever may have to deal with an aftermath; “Last check in was at location X, look there for half a Curmudgeon and a fat grizzly bear”. More often I just hit “check in” at select junctures. Mrs. Curmudgeon gets a text “Mr. Curmudgeon is fine at location X and time Y.”
The SpotX can send a message from anywhere at any time for any reason. I receive just as reliably AND I can block people out when I want peace. (Note: it’s not great at text conversations with lots of back and forth. It’s best for simple declarative statements. Text stoically “Back at camp”, “All is well”, “Got the truck out of the ditch”, “Caught a fish, I am like a God of the lake”, that sort of thing.)
The big deal is that the SpotX has a big red button for “save my ass”. The button is great but what’s better is the staff waiting for the button press. That’s their job and they’ll likely do it better than some overworked 911 dispatcher at Cobweb County Emergency Services who won’t understand you’re not at a house but spread all over a scree slope. (I also have rescue insurance.) It has GPS but it’s crude. I don’t use it much. My regular GPS (and noggin) are better.
I have a weird observation about the SpotX. When I leave my phone behind where it belongs the very act deeply affects muggles. They’re completely conditioned. Separation from their phone is like cutting off an appendage. Seeing me toss my cell in my truck and walk away… it worries them. They know I’ve got a SpotX. They know I can communicate with anyone anywhere. They know a dude who looks as ugly as me probably can live in the forest like Sasquatch, but they still get nervous. They act skittery; like a dog that shit on the carpet and doesn’t want to be found out. If you get a SpotX or other satcom, try it yourself. See if I’m lying. Report back to me, I’d like to know your take on it.
The flashlight/charger is covered in part 2.