Carbonfiberboy 

I have a Garmin 800 and love it for touring.

Every year for the past 30 or so, I've done a 10-day backpack on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). It's been interesting to watch the technology used by thru-hikers evolve. These days, most carry some sort of smart phone. A couple years ago, everyone had a solar panel on their backpack to keep their phone charged. Last year, no more panels, none. Why? Inexpensive high capacity batteries which are cheaper, lighter, and more convenient. Same thing with a Garmin. You can run them just fine while on an external battery, just don't do it in the rain. Being a real cheapie, I use a cheapo battery pack with 4 AA rechargables, which makes the required 5 volts and combined with the Garmin's battery, will last several days. I do have to carry a charger for the AAs, though.

That said, I also have a separate cheapo wired computer so at least I'll have distance if something goes haywire with the Garmin. No matter what systems I've used, I always have had 2 odometers.

chandltp

True. I have a battery pack that I charge using my dyno that I can use for such purposes. In non-rainy conditions I should be able to plug in my phone to my dyno hub by opening my waterproof case a little bit.

This is all still in the testing phase. I may prove not to be the right solution.

arsprod 

Interested in your test results!

Aushiker

This is my standard mode of operation on my Surly Long Haul Tracker with the dynamo. During the day my Anker Astro E5 1,500 mAh battery sits in my handlebar bag plugged into my dynamo charging. Overnight in the tent I charge by Garmin Edge 810 and tablet or whatever esle I want to top up. Works a treat.

That said I am now downsizing the Anker E5 replacing it with a RAVPower Portable Charger 6700mAh Power Bank External Battery which is smaller, lighter and has a higher output rating.

350htrr

Oh, please, What you need to do is put the phone in airplane mode, should now last 2 days... Get an external battery that can charge the phone 4+ times and viola. You are good go to for 10 days without plugging in anywhere, now you want to use the phone sometimes OK, you are still good for 5+ days without plugging in anywhere....

DropBarFan

Yes, if one only needs to track distance a cyclometer works fine. I have a Garmin eTrex Vista Legend HcX (AA batteries) & pre-programmed turn-by-turn directions didn't work; was only useful to find location when lost. Current Garmin Touring, I hear, doesn't work much better. Wired cycloputers are a bit more dependable than wireless but I've had reasonable luck w/wireless. Current wireless cycloputer died though, next one will include altimeter.

jefnvk

GPS is still sucking battery, as are whatever apps you are using, all dependent on the phone but I doubt you see two full days of use. As far as the batteries, what I did was buy one large (15000mAh or so) and two little ones (~4000mAh). All three cost about $30 total at Micro Center. Use the small ones for charging the phone, and recharge the small one not being used off the big one in a bag. Big one also had a quick charge port that could fully charge my GoPro at lunch, when the dang thing turned itself on and killed the battery.

Not sure I'd want to solely rely on that, though. I knew I had power every night, it was more to keep my toys running.

350htrr

Then all's you need is a bigger battery that you can charge from for as many days as you think you need...

T Stew

That is sort of the route I am heading. I like using my phone since it is pretty versatile, I already have it, and I like looking at the gps maps and stats and all. The battery is a bit on the small side now-a-days at 2000mAh. The phone I bought my son has a 4000mAh battery. So battery life is greatly dependent an what particular phone you have. Some are even less than 2000mAh.

I did a 3 day trip last week, first and second day 82-83 miles each. First day I had my phone on like normal, tracked with GPS and endomondo, plus I did have to use data and google maps to figure out some hard to follow trails for a bit. My low battery (15%) warning kicked on when I was still 15 miles from my destination. That night I was able to plug in. Second day, same distance, I tried to see how I could improve battery usage. I did a fresh reboot to insure I didn't have a bunch of background apps using any extra power. I went right into airplane mode first thing in the morning, and I downloaded some maps to a jpg file ahead of time so I could just look at a picture instead of turning data on and google maps. At the end of the day I pulled into the campsite, and setup my tent. Did a screenshot after I unpacked in the tent, 6:48 PM, was at 59%.

Technically I could have shut the phone off overnight, and made it through another day on the same battery charge. But I brought along an extra battery plus a portable usb power pack - one that uses replaceable 18650 li-ion cells (I have several 3400mAh cells for flashlights). So I plugged it in overnight and charged it back to full.

I figure with just the extra phone battery I could have gone 4 days, with gps and Endo running around 8 hours or so each day. And then of course with a portable power cell I could get about 2 more charges (4 more days?) for each li-ion cell I brought along. Seems like even with some phone usage in there, a week without power wouldn't be an issue, especially if you could use airplane mode most of the day. That might be unrealistic for some folks with families though, or those who need to stay reachable for work or something. My son was on an Alaskan trip at the time and I was not expecting any phone calls. I didn't even have phone signal for part of the trip anyhow.

cokyvandas

i scool this california beatifuly

gauvins

Why not charging your Edge and tablet directly from the dynohub? I'm all with you wrt the benefits of a power bank, but efficiency is not that great (you have to produce almost twice the power if you go dynohub -> battery pack -> device instead of dynohub -> device)

Aushiker

The Edge requires a buffer battery between it and the dynamo otherwise it is a right pain in the rear-end if my speed drops off, e.g., climbing up a hill. As to the tablet not interested in having it in an exposed position to charge. Using the battery I just need to top it up during the day and really don't need to but do it, but I do simply because I can. It works out well, being fairly secure in my handlebar bag. Overnight charging of the other devices is a simple process in the tent where I can charge two devices at once if I desire.

chandltp

Other than the 2 days on a charge, that's almost exactly what I'm testing out, except that I'm charging the batter during the day using my dyno hub. Not sure why the roll eyes.

Salamandrine 

FWIW I just downloaded Gaia for my phone. Seems to be pretty reliable compared to previous phone GPS app. Maybe this will work after all. I will test this weekend either hiking or cycling or both.

Re GPS I'm wondering if a basic etrex 20 or 30 would be better for touring due to the use of AA batteries. Easy to pack spares. Then again, cheap rechargeable battery phone/device chargers are available these days, possibly making this sort of thinking obsolete.


I anyone using the 'cheap' Garmin GPS cycling computers, Edge 20 and Edge 25?

jefnvk

I'm hardly a weight weenie, but those battery packs can add up in a hurry. That 15000mAh pack was probably the single heaviest thing in my bag, it'd do some damage if I chucked it at someone's head!

350htrr

Well, there's no free lunch, you have some choices, dynamo, battery pack, solar panel, plug in every night, not use electric gadgets...

StephD99

I just got the Planet Bike Protege 9.0 (non-wireless) off Amazon a few weeks ago and love it. If you don't need GPS and are looking to just track distance and ride time, I highly recommend it. SUPER easy to use and set up, and all the info is on one screen.

arsprod 

According to reviews on amazon folks are getting half the claimed battery life, about 4 hours. That's a lot of battery changing!

chandltp

I've seen mixed reviews on the 17 hours of the Edge Touring. Anyone have any personal experience with that? It's my first choice if I buy a dedicated GPS.

loxx0050

Garmin Edge 500 has fantastic battery life, mine does as I can get a hours on end without having to charge. Up to 18hours claimed lift on a charge and lightweight. Plus, since they are 2 generations old since the 520 is out, they are getting pretty cheap or you can score a used one for a great price.

Otherwise, with your phone why not get a battery charging pack? 10,000mAh or 20,000mAh packs are pretty cheap these days and you could use it for extra juice for your phone (typical high capacity phone batteries are 3000 or so mAh and others that are non-high capacity are 2000ish or so mAh so you could have enough juice for days on a 20,000mAh version).

hockey

I use the etrex 20 for all of my tours. I either download the routes and tracks or make my own using basemap and of course the Open Street Maps. Batteries last 20 hours and the etrex is waterproof and has buttons that can be used with gloves on. The learning curve is a bit longer than most but this system is reliable and has worked flawlessly. I highly recommend this unit.

350htrr

The roll eyes I put in there because... It seems to me, people are making it way more complicated than it really is... One needs to figure out how long one needs/wants to be able to go without plugging into a wall for power... The solution is varied... One can use less power, one can make some power, one can carry more power, one can do a combination of all... So, IMO the easiest way, is cut to back on power usage, and carry some extra battery power to extend the day's you can go without plugging into a wall socket... Once you go down the road of generating power with a dynamo or a solar panel... The $$$ one spends to accomplish the goal can be huge... And the goal could still be left wanting...

T Stew

15,000mAh seems almost a ridiculous amount of battery though. I use a usb power pack (the cylindrical ones that takes 18650 cells), if I brought two of my Panasonic ncr18650b batteries (3400mAh each) I figure I could get around a weeks worth of full day GPS tracking plus some other light phone usage. With no other charging along the way I mean.

jefnvk

Its a lot, but it was what was on sale and available. I was using it to charge a phone, GoPro and camera battery when needed. Having dealt with cheap electronics, I didn't trust ratings so much and upsold myself, but it seemed to hold a realistically close charge to its claims.

T Stew

Well if you're charging 3 or more devices then maybe it's appropriate but that'd last my android for like a month using my maximum conservation techniques but still gps+tracker on for all-day rides.

For extra power on the go I just got this for $15 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
edit: looks to be unavailable now, but there are other similar units out there

Use a twofish block holder to attach it to your stem or bar, or electric tape, or throw it in a bag and run a cable down the frame (if you're phone can't make it until the end of the ride).

It includes a 2800mAhr battery but I already had several better panasonic ncr18650b 3400mah batteries and a Nitecore charger. I paid a little more for the amazon USB power pack than other cheaper options just because it allowed removable 18650 cells so I could use my better cells, charge my cells with a better charger, plus carry more in a bag or pocket if needed to swap out when the one in the unit is depleted. They make AA usb power packs too for those that don't want to invest in 18650 cells (but they make really great flashlights that use 18650 cells!) obviously the most common battery in the world you can get at any corner store but you'll go through AA's a LOT quicker!