I run mine in the wet. I keep it in an otterbox that's inside the plastic map holder that rides on top of my handlebar bag.

+1 that is the drill. That is why I mentioned the cost of stealth camping. You are often not camping in a nice place, though it might be, and you only leave the road when it is dusk, nobody is going to spot the track off the road, because it is asphalt, and the birds around here are small, and tucked in already. As much as I agree with the idea owners know their land, I am still thinking that if the SAS had a hit on, and were surveiling your house for a few days before the main force arrived, you would probably not know it.

Also, there is no guarantee the camping is in the country, the best places are often around towns. People seem to think they need 1000 roam-able acres, no, they need a comfortable safe place that is not frequented by people. Those are abundant in town. Plus if you are sociable, you can pick a spot, then do your shopping, drinking, movie watching, touristing, and dive in when it is dark. Less mosquitoes. Anyway, when country people (I also own a lakeside farm) start paying their way in tax, they can complain for real about city people and their vacations, not that I notice much complaining around here. And some of the choice land is owned by people who only come a few weeks a year. Basically, there aren't any nasties, around here other than bears.

In my limited experience it comes down to the battery life of the devices. As I use a Garmin Edge 810 now as my bike computer, charging "daily" is pretty much a requirement so having power on hand is good. Also like Rifraf I am not that keen on having to hangout in camp kitchens or laundries or wherever recharging devices so again having the dynamo works.

As to solar, I did try a Garmin external battery pack which is a repackaged Powermonkey-eXplorer and found whilst it "worked" it really wasn't that great. Like others, by the time I get to camp it is getting a bit late to rely on solar for charging. Also I tend to tour during our winter months so again less daylight time.

Each to their own of course.

Andrew

Ok I'll throw my two leptons in to the ring,


My husband is currently saving to buy a leitra (the velo he was building have to wait untill the temps are higher, 70 ish) the trailer that he bought is from bikes at work, and he was able to use some scrap carbon fiber tubes he had spare to make a mount for a solar pannel. he has thought of mounting a a hub dynamo on the trailer. there would be sufficient space to have a small compact charge controller mounted on the trailer as well as the necessary electronics for the solar panel. I suppose that depending on what a guy/gal would feel comfortable with and what they really need whilst on tour is the deciding factor on weather or not they would be worth it.

Beckieanne

I don't see the attraction of solar over dyno. The dyno makes power whenever the bicycle is rolling. Regardless of the time of day or the weather. Solar, not so.

I think that solar is a option, but i have to say that both have their use. solar charges while the bike is still.( at a wait for a ferry, etc,etc) dynamos oth, will charge even if there is heavy cloud cover. Again it boils down to individual preference.

If you say so. But I keep everything charged, so I would never find myself with a dead phone while I'm waiting somewhere that I could layout a solar panel. OTOH the lack of convenient or available daylight hours could easily prevent keeping batteries charged.

Now if I go for days not riding my bicycle then you have a point. But only a catastrophic failure and the need to wait days for a part would cause that. And I'd probably have electrical outlets around in that case.

So I would maintain that for most people on a bicycle tour, the practical choice is dyno over solar. It's probably not just a matter of preference. Dyno has clear advantages.