In my quest to carry less and still have nice things like reading lights and tent light I am trying to rid of any batteries. It was suggested to try a combination solar panel with built in triple AAA rechargeable batteries to power such things. Not heavy and may save land fill batteries. IT may work does anyone do that.

Did you do a search in the forums for solar panels?

Since the search function is not so great: in summary, we wish they worked half as well as the advertisements pretend they did, and carry the batteries anyway.

Why not just carry a headlamp? hang it from the tent roof, it's a lamp. Put it on your head...

How long do you go out? a single set of batteries usually lasts me a couple weeks of ongoing use....

I use rechargeable batteries for my headlamp, my GPS and carry a candle lantern for my tent. I don't carry much else that uses batteries. I had a camera that also used AA batteries, but I need to replace it, so not sure what I will do about batteries yet. I do have an MP3 player and a charger would be useful for it. Small solar panel chargers are made by several manufacturers and are getting better, meaning lighter and cheaper, so I suggest doing some research online before deciding one way or another.

Although Kodak has stopped making cameras, old stock is still readily available. I have a Kodak EasyShare Sport C123 and it serves me well, and uses AA batteries. It's a simple point-and-shoot so may not be right for you if serious photography is your interest.

Hi Tom,

Because they're a poor power source for digicams and also because AAs don't fit with slim camera designs, AA and AAA batteries have fallen to the wayside, except for a smattering of entry-level models. Everybody else uses propietary Li-ion cells.

I'll suggest setting criteria, first, when shopping. Specifically, how many shots do you take per day and per trip? When researching cameras, find the CIPA test results, which will give an average shots per battery charge (video use and casual reviewing aside). It might range from a poor 150 to an excellent 1,000 or more (big dslrs).

With a shot budget of, say, 1,400 (200/day x 7 days) you'll know to budget for four 400-shot batteries (with obvious adjustment for actual values). For a compact digicam, four batteries are surprisingly small and light, and render field-charging moot. Of course, you can't share them with other devices (although clever lads can still use one to spark a fire).

In my experience most folks take a couple dozen shots per trip, and never need a battery swap. I'm not that guy, but acknowledge that such slackers exist among us.

As an added note, OEM batteries are often ghoulshly expensive, so the aftermarket is your friend. I've bought eight-dollar replacements for sixty-dollar OEMs. They usually don't last as many shots, but I can live with that so long as they're in the ballpark.

Cheers,

Lori, You say your lights last a couple of weeks with same batteries ??? what kind of light do you have mine only lasts a night or two. I think it says 70/240 lumens, the label is a little faded. The reason for the solar panel is nomad has one that can recharge a camera or tent light with a USB plug or AAA NiMh. It sounds like a good way to go.

I have a few suggestions.

First, ditch the reading and tent light, and replace it with a headlamp. Get one that has a low lumen number (30 ish or so, or even less). If it has a high lumen number (100+), that is fine. You want to use the low lumen setting more often, and the high lumen only when you need it, which is hardly ever. This will definitely limit your power needs, and you will carry less stuff. In fact, depending on the length of trip, you probably will only need set of backup batteries, or none at all.

After that, look at just reducing the number of electronics you take. That also reduces power needs. If you do that enough, pretty soon you realize that a few extra spare batteries weigh a lot less than a solar recharger, and they are more compact.

Also, not all batteries are equal. You can have two AA's from two brand with different capacities.

Solar chargers make sense sometimes, but you need to punch the numbers to determine if they are worth it for that particular trip.

Costco is selling a snazy solar charger kit with flexible panels.......BUT.....like others have said here, reduce your electronics needs.
Tea candles, candle lanterns are a good choice for tent lights.
My little coin cell LED lights ( wear two, around my neck, red and white) have lasted 3 years! The neck lanyard goes on my hammock ridge line if I want to read.
I have two Black Diamond head lamps, one about 10 years old and one I just bought. The newest one is much lighter, has less hardware, and is the brightest dang thing I own. It's dimmable to just a glow and promises to last weeks. I rarely hike with one though. I just don't need much light at night.
For charging phones and such, a large Lithium Ion battery "charging bank" is still lighter than a solar array and should keep you going until you resupply and can charge it back up from a wall outlet or car.

Thanks Rick, I know what you mean about batteries. BTW, if you need cel phone accessories, a website called celphoneshop is the best place I know to get stuff like car chargers ($3 if you can believe it). They ship direct from Hong Kong.

Canon just came out with a new, pretty small DSLR. I may give it a look. It's about half the size of a full size one.

Thanks for the tip, Tom, I'll check these folks out!

Just yesterday took delivery of a Brunton Ember PV rechargable battery (on sale at Adorama). It's a beautiful little thing with a very clever 3-way adapter cord. It's 2,800 mA vs. my Solio's less than 1k. Am excited to give it a go.

One thing they neglected was an attachment lug or even a cord slot, so I'll have to figure out a way to hang the thing. Maybe as simple as a beefy rubber band or perhaps a water sports zip bag.

Two seasons using the Solio convinced me most electronics can be recharged on the go, dispensing with spare batteries (except for the darn camera).

Cheers,

I think we probably all answered for Lori here, but here's how I cope with batteries.

First of all, if you are using up that many batteries, you must be flooding your whole campsite with light and sound, which, frankly, is very not very considerate of other people in your vicinity. Most of us backpackers are out there for peace and quiet and the sights and sounds of the natural world. This is one of the big differences between backpackers and those who camp in "front country" campground full of Coleman gas lanterns, generators and blaring radios and TVs.

My "electronics" consist of a headlamp, a camera and a personal locator beacon (the last has its own 5-year battery so is not an issue).

With the headlamp, I start each trip with fresh lithium batteries which last an 8-9 day trip just fine. The main problem is using up those partially used batteries at home and when car-camping--they seem to last forever! I usually use the headlamp only on its lowest setting--that's all that's needed for reading and most camp chores. For night hiking or looking for water in the dark I use the medium. The high setting is on only long enough to switch it down to medium or low. My spare light, just in case, is one of those little keychain pinch lights, on a cord around my neck with whistle and compass. That tiny light has been very useful to find my headlamp in the middle of the night, such as the time my dog was sleeping on it! Some people use only those little lights and do fine even for night hiking. Admittedly, if I were out in the winter with its long evenings and far greater chance of having to hike in the dark, I'd probably take a spare set of batteries. There's a lot of diversity with a headlamp; you can, of course, wear it on your head for hands-free use (something I frequently use it for around the house and car), hang it from the tent ceiling, wear it on your waist for better visibility when night hiking, etc. In other words, if each member of your party has their own headlamp, you don't need any other lighting.

My camera is one of the few around that still has a viewfinder which allows me to turn off the battery-eating LCD screen. As a result, I can go out for a week, get carried away every day among the wildflowers and the inevitable "views from top of pass" (most of which get deleted after uploading to the computer) and not have to change batteries (although I do take a spare set). The manual for my camera says I can take approximately 1100 pictures with the power saver with a set of NIMH rechargeable batteries. I've never had a chance to test that out! Obviously, with a rechargeable battery camera, you either have to limit its use or carry a spare fully-charged battery, probably cheaper and lighter than those solar gizmos. If you're hiking in the forest or in cloudy weather, those solar gizmos will do very little recharging!

I don't take music; I'd far rather listen to the night sounds! If I crave music, I have more than enough tunes going through my head to call on.

Since most backpacking areas out here in the west have no cell phone coverage, I don't take my cell phone unless I'm parked in an area where trailhead car break-ins are likely (unfortunately a frequent occurrence in my area. In that case, the cell phone is just a piece of dead weight in my pack.

You might consider trying to get a bit more in harmony with your surroundings rather than trying to shut them away with barriers of light and sound. You'll travel lighter and probably enjoy yourself more! Please give it a try!

I think the difference is that I do without the light unless I need it. I don't sit up reading or playing cards - we enjoy the stars, the moon, the campfire if we bother with one, or go to bed.

For a while I was reviewing a GPS phone app. That ate the battery on the phone like crazy. I started taking a Brunton battery pack to give the phone four charges per trip so I could finish the review, and now when I anticipate GPS use, I take a Garmin that gets about 12 - 14 hours per set of AA batteries, and only leave it on while hiking. And then I take however many sets of AA batteries it will need for the duration I intend to use it. If gathering metrics for the trip while hiking, enough for the trip - if only using for navigation once in a while, just enough batteries for that.

I use nothing all the time - solar panels are a waste of time and space in the pack, and take too long for very little gain in terms of recharging. I don't sit around all day nor do I want to try attaching it to the top of the pack, to be whacked away by a tree limb. Electronics are not necessary for me, sometimes they are a convenience or a tool. My headlamp is backed up by the tiny LED light on my biner with my whistle, tape measure, cheap thermometer, and sometimes my StickPic. If I think I will be hiking at night, I take a spare set of batteries for the headlamp.

The cameras I have had have typically lasted 5-6 days, for 200 or more snapshots, before needing the spare battery I'll sometimes take on a long outing. Panasonic, Sony, and Canon point and shoot cameras - the proprietary battery weighs mere grams so a spare is no issue at all to take in the event I'm out for a week.

I used to take an iPod - stopped doing it. Didn't use it. I'll carry my phone but turned off and only used to check the time once in a while, for pacing purposes when deciding how much farther we want to go that day. (not trusting my ability to tell time on the position of the sun...)

I prefer my headlamp (petzl, 2.9 oz), a backpacking lantern (Black Diamond Orbit, 3 oz), and an emergency light hooked to my pack (Inova Microlight, 0.36 oz.) for my backcountry lighting needs. I use AAA lithium ion batteries in the headlamp and the lantern. All my lighting needs are more than served with less than a pound and I can go 7-10 days without worrying about spare batteries. If I want to go ultralight I leave the orbit at home, but it is an awesome little tent light and also works great for playing cards at night.