So… I am now back from one month as “off-grid” as I could manage, a trip I was thinking of over ~ a year, and tuning my kit list.
I did a test in July. Then used as intended in September.
My conclusions:
- Power access is erratic, so it is better to keep with you a lot of stored energy, so more Powercore, to withstand droughts of power, and then recharge them quickly when a “flood” of power comes up such as sunshine or access to wall power, than it is to keep a small amount of stored power. So larger Powercore.
- solar power does work in perfect sunny conditions but unless you are entering a known sunny place and time, do not bother. Access to wall plugs and its power is more consistently available than sunshine.
- the Powercore ability to ingest energy dominates the problem, so QC, IQ2, dual IQ, etc dominate.
- just carry a phone and Soundbuds Life.
I did a test in July and it was sunny a lot, so I actually was able to go all devices off solar, but then in August/September it was dull/rain a lot and I was lugging a solar panel with no sun, so I had to use wall sockets a lot. I had the weight of solar with me but only a Powercore 10000 which can only ingest so fast. If I had say no solar and say 2 Powercore 10000, I’d have less weight and more stored energy and ingest 2x faster.
Devices. I did try just phone, and tried phone + tablet. The problem with a tablet is it draws more total power, so if you are energy deprived the tablet is a bad idea.
So if entering a long off-grid event, my current recommendation would be:
- just a phone
- Soundbuds Life
- Powerport for your phone and Powercore type, e.g. Powerport 2
- a large Powercore or two smaller Powercore. e.g. Powercore 26800, or two Powercore 10000
Some photos this last month
