In tent entertainment

There was a discussion on a local Facebook group about in tent entertainment. I am wondering what others take. Since I am a solo hiker and at this time of year it gets dark early and there are a lot of hours spent in a tent I take my Kindle Paperwhite for reading and a small radio to listen to things like newscasts. I also take a basic Android phone which allows phone calls when a signal is available and text messages. Since I have limited data it is not used for maps etc. For reading on the phone it burns through battery at an alarming rate. Others take a paper book, read on their phone, and just enjoy nature in silence.

I am curious what others take along. I am sure that being solo makes a difference. With a group there are others to talk to and campfire chatter is an option.

I take my iPhone and ear buds along for short trips. I have downloaded a lot of music and have a Kindle app with a number of books aboard. For longer trips I bring an aging iPod Mini with my music, my iPhone for reading and whatever communication is available and a small battery charger. But, truth be told, I'm usually tired enough after a day's walking that if I lay down in my tent, I go to sleep.

I've loaded up my phone with audio books and listen to those in the tent. As long as I put it in airplane mode, the battery life isn't an issue on short trips (all I've done so far).

I bring a paper book along if I think I'll have lots of in-camp time or in-tent time.

I spend a lot of time in used bookstores and one of the things I look for are lightweight paperback books suitable for backpacking. I try to have a selection of 6 or 8 titles set aside that I can choose from, depending on what sounds interesting. Average weight: about 4.5 oz. That's my main in-tent entertainment.

I also own a 1 oz. mp3 player w/ 2GB of music that I can take if I wish. Sometimes I take a small notebook in which I can write notes about what I've seen or thought about on the hike. I might spend a few minutes reviewing the photos I've taken, but that's a pretty minor pastime in terms of how long it occupies me, usually no more than 10 or 12 minutes at most.

My main in-tent entertainment is:
1. Sleeping.
2. Killing all the little flying nasties that follow me in.
3. Skunks - even more entertaining when it's not my tent.

All kidding aside, I tend to go to bed when it's dark, and get up with, or just before, the sun clears the horizon. Sometimes, I'll spend a few minutes looking at tomorrow's route on the map, or even bring a map for somewhere else and plan the next trip.

In my younger days, when I traveled with others and shared a two-person tent, I'd take a deck of cards. When solo tents became available, and I began hiking solo (or with someone who is like-minded about bedding down and rising early - in his solo tent), the cards stopped going along.

On a clear night, when I don't need/want the fly on, stargazing through the roof of the mesh inner tent is a nice way to drift off to sleep.

For sheer amusement, usually before tent-time, you can't beat watching folks try to set up a bear bag.

If I'd been there, you would have died laughing! I couldn'thit the side of a barn if I were inside it!

I backpack with my wife, so we have each other to entertain. Sometimes she brings a book...but I find it pretty peaceful just to lie in the tent and be in the moment. Of course, that often leads to me being in deep slumber...

The problem for me is that at this time of year is that sunset is at 7:30 PM and sunrise is 7:30 AM. That makes 12 hours of tent time. In the summer time the bugs are bad and being outside of the tent is not a pleasant experience. If I fall asleep at 8:00 I know that I will be wide awake at 3:00 and just stare at the ceiling until I now have to get up to pee. Easier to just read or listen to the radio until 10:30 and I will still wake up at 5:30 which is my usual sleep cycle but that is better than spending 3 or 4 hours waiting for daylight.

I usually download a book or two and some games that don't require internet access onto my phone. I used to bring a book, but my phone phone is lighter and has more options. Games that don't require internet access usually cost a couple bucks, but it is worth it. My favorites are Limbo, Brain It On!, and I believe the original Plants Vs. Zombies doesn't require internet. My phone has become the ultimate multi-use tool for enjoyment purposes in the backcountry.

It appears that my problem is that my phone does not hold a charge as long as others do. I have a prepaid Tracfone which costs me about $10 per month and the basic phone cost me about $50. I cannot begin to justify a phone bill of $50/month. I make about 2 to 5 calls per week and text a couple of times per month. If I just use the phone to make phone calls the charge is down to 50% at the end of the week. If I use it to do things like check email the charge is down to 50% in two days. I would guess that reading a book would discharge the battery in one or two nights. I have access to a computer or my Kindle on WiFi almost full time so I really do not have a lot of use for an iPhone.

yup, battery life is the big draw back. It does improve a bit in the backcountry if you turn off Wifi and turn on airplane mode. I believe I have the last Samsung that has an interchangeable battery. I bring a spare or two with me.... but alas this option is becoming a thing of the past. A friend brought a battery charger and it seemed to work pretty well. I guess a phone and a hefty battery charger would weigh as much as an e-reader, but would have more functions.

Getting up to pee - how could I have forgotten to include that on the list?!! (It would even qualify as in-tent if you use a P-bottle.)

Usually, I take crosswords or sudoku to make my leisure less boring. It may kill some time during short hikes.

I don't bring or really use anything. I spend so much time staring at monitors that reading with a phone is more like work than entertainment. I've carried paperback books with me a few times, but it's not very comfortable lying in a tent trying to read them, so I didn't spend much time doing that and stopped bringing them.

I generally just sit in front of my campfire and ponder, look at the stars, listen to the forest, and relax until I get in my tent and fall asleep. But my trips are not very long, generally not more than 3 nights and by then I get bored with myself so I'm ready to come back.

Depends on your style of backpacking. If you do long miles each day, there really is not a lot of boring tent time. If on the other hand, you stop at 2-3 in the afternoon you have a lot of time on your hands. My "entertainment" then is fishing. I may fish the daylight hours and then cook dinner in the dark, with a lamp (I like the small Luci solar lantern at 3 oz). As for inside tent, I have a 1-oz I-pod that I use for music or books on tape. It has about 8-10 hours battery life, so on a 9-day trip I can do about an hour a night.

I seem to have my days filled, either with walking, fishing, photographing, camp chores or exploring that I really do not have much need for in-tent entertainment. I also have no problem sleeping 9-10 hours. I do not need to have constant activity or mental stimulation. I guess that is more charteristic of we old folks who grew up without all the current entertainment and spent a lot of time just sitting in the woods contemplating life.

I absolutely cannot spend 12 hours or more a night cooped up in a tent, which is why you won't find me going out overnight between October and March!

OM, if you lived farther south, you would not have to spend 12 hours in a tent for late season hiking. I can sympathize, however, because I grew up in Spokane WA and remember going to school in the dark, coming home and it being dark by 4PM.

I have also had to retreat to the tent in the summer- due to swarms of mosquitoes! Just as bad!

It really helps to go with a good group of people when you have to spend more time in the tent. Conversation helps.

I didn't check the previous posts, but one thought if you do, for whatever reason, find that you consistently spend a lot of time in a tent not sleeping:

Consider getting a two person tent, even if you can get by with a solo tent. Yes, you may end up carrying half a pound or a pound more, but the extra space to sit up, stretch out, spread out your gear, or just have some floor space for playing solitaire.

If using a phone as backcountry entertainment or navigation ever became something you were interested in doing, you could always get a used, deactivated phone or an ipod touch. People are a bit nuts about upgrading to the latest and greatest, so you can get the second most recent model for a song sometimes. If you know who to ask, they might even give it to you for free. And, without the cellular data turned out, the battery life is far better.

I already have a Kindle Paperwhite which is light and holds a charge for a week even using it for 3 to 4 hours per day. That with my cell phone to make the occasional phone call really take care of it.