Gear Breakdown | Part 1 | Tech Stuff

Gear Breakdown | Part 1 | Tech Stuff

I'm going to need some technology with me on this little adventure... Blogging along the way, using GPS for directions, recording my GPS route and geolocating photos. Some music wouldn't go amiss, I need to keep in touch with friends and family and I'd like a lifeline in case of emergency. Throw some social media access and a newsreader into the mix and serve with chips. These technology requirements have physical weight (and cost) that I will need to balance against my aim to travel as lightly as possible.

After much research and thought I decided to go with the following:

Communication, connectivity & GPS: iPhone 6S

The latest iPhone update replaces my fading iPhone 4. This will be my go to tool for just about everything I need on the journey but I'll need backup plans in case something untoward happens to it along the way. For protection I've added a Griffin Survivor Journey case, which will protect it from drops up to 2m, and I'll also get a waterproof pouch.

Backup Power: Anker Powercore & Solar Charger

I'll probably be able to charge at some stops along the way but as I intend to sleep out in a bivy bag as much as possible and the constant GPS tracking will rapidly drain the iPhone I'll need a backup battery. Efficiency is key so weight, power, physical size, capacity and cost will need to all weigh up. Having looked at a number of battery suppliers I settled on Anker being the go to brand and made comparisons of their models.

Anker Powercore 20100

The Anker Powercore 20100 ticked all the boxes, had the best reviews, and came up top in my calculations of power & capacity vs weight & size. It's the second heaviest battery in the list but I figure that I'd rather stomach the weight and have the peace of mind that I can keep my iPhone charged and tracking for a few days without recourse to mains electricity. To top this all off it was on sale on Amazon.

In tests I got 6-7 full iPhone 6S charges out of the Anker Powercore 20100 but it needed a good 10 hours to fully charge up on mains electricity.

Powercore Mini

Powerport Solar Lite

I also picked up an Anker Powerport Solar Lite solar charger and have a smaller Powercore Mini that I may take too - I'm undecided as to their real usefulness at the moment given I'm already lugging a large battery pack and should find reasonable access to mains electricity along the way. My final decision will come when I get out for some field testing when the weather improves based on how much the GPS apps drains the iPhone battery.

Tracking & Emergency GPS: Spot Gen 3

Spot Gen 3

To put my family's minds at ease, allow backup recording of the route and people to track me - especially useful if I decide to try and do some charity fund raising ahead of the trip - I've opted to hire a Spot Gen 3 for the month of April from their Turkish distributor Globalstar Eurasia (contact Omer Soner omer.soner[at]globalstar.com.tr). Not cheap at $79.90 plus tax and I probably won't get full access to the account but I will have live online tracking links to share and peace of mind if I end up solo and going as quickly as possible.