I have to say that I have a hard time imagining a 40w solar panel making much sense for most touring unless they have gotten a lot lighter in recent years. Aren't the flexible ones something like 2-4 pounds and the rigid ones more like 8-10 pounds? You could carry a lot of batteries or a pretty big battery pack for less weight than even the flexible ones.

I guess if you will be away from civilization for weeks on end and need to use electronics a lot it might possibly make sense, but it seems like it would have to be a pretty unusual set of conditions and requirements.

Ahh yes, this is true. My panel weighs about 4kg. So not insignificant.

The batteries I carry are 10Ah LiFePO₄s weighing 2kg each. With a netbook that draws nearly 40W and a radio that draws 10W when idle (200W when transmitting full power), I'd need quite a lot of them to power my gear for a week as I'd be staying in places where no mains supply is available.

Wow! You really carry a 200W transmitter on tour? That is pretty extreme.

I go to the other extreme. I carry a smart phone and usually leave it turned off except for a few minutes a day. I could probably go a week on the half ounce battery in the phone with careful use. Also, it wouldn't be the end of the world to run out of battery. I do carry a little 2 AA blinky tail light and a 0.2 oz eGear Pico flashlight, but those typically last me for months on tour with only the batteries in them.

My guess is that most folks are somewhere in between us and miles from either of us in their battery usage.

Nope, I carry a 100W transceiver, which when transmitting at full power requires 200W (13.8V 22A to be precise). Being a SSB-capable radio means it needs a linear power amplifier which is ~50% efficient at best. If it were an FM-only rig, it'd have a class-C PA in it, which uses less power, but FM isn't as good for weak signals.

True, I'm thinking of places where the phone doesn't work. Plus, it's fun to make long-distance contacts on the radio from a bicycle, other amateur radio operators are rather surprised when they hear you're "bicycle mobile". Usually prompts an interesting discussion rather than a bland chat about the weather.

But you're right, I'd be rashioning the usage, so it'd be off most of the time. The netbook would only see occasional use to download photos off SD cards or check the odd email. The primary usage for the battery system would be for recharging my headlight and for the tail light.

A friend of mine works out of his house as an independent consultant. Thus he does not get paid vacation. One day when we were on a kayak trip we were camping on Outer Island in the Apostile Isles of Lake Superior, he pulled out his sat phone to check voice mail and to call his wife. I think he said it cost a dollar a minute, but we were quite a few miles out of cell range and he had clients he had to worry about. He had an external lead acid battery for it, but when you are kayaking, the weight of that is not a problem to carry.

buying the asus transformer. I figure I would miss more the functionality of a full computer with a familiar OS, as opposed to a compact, ultra light, ultra hi def screen.

I bought a used Asus netbook Eee Pc three years ago and it's worked out great. I use is only for journaling while on tour or vacation. I highly recommend going this route.

Yeah, slight difference between an Eee PC and the Transformer.

The former was basically borne from the One Laptop Per Child project and is essentially a miniaturised laptop which otherwise runs fairly conventional IBM-clone hardware. The latter is an Android device. Both machines have their merits though, the application gap is narrowing and the Android tablets on the whole chew a lot less power than most netbooks and laptops.

Set yourself free - ditch the technology.

i need to write this on my memo apps.

Technology has set me free from paper

So you'll be walking then? Or do you intend to keep some friction-reducing technology (wheels)?

the transformer is excellent. it's super small (easily fits inside any panniers), the charger is also super small (the zenbook charger is huge). The screen is very good quality imo. I can definitely see myself traveling with this thing.

the only complaint is the adware that came with it. I cleaned up house, and only left the cloud storage. I'm now worried that I might have deleted something important. but time will tell

The just-announced Apple MacBook with 12" screen looks like it would be good for touring if you want a "full" computer. Pricey, though, at $1299. Weighs two pounds and the battery lasts for nine hours (supposedly). New iPad Air is right around a pound, so the Macbook is pretty competitive weight-wise.

Although, I'd never take a $1300 laptop on tour with me. I'd worry about it too much.

that's why i got the transformer for $180 refurb.