Outdoor Gear – Page 6

External Power Bank Packs and real capacity values

External Power Bank Packs

Today’s “photos of the day” are for an Octagon Technology blog about smartphone and tablet battery life.

My external power bank packs – 25Ah unit – iPod Touch (to show the sizes) – 50Ah unit

For a while now I have used a series of large external power bank packs when I am camping and backpacking to charge my various devices. These large batteries are a great way to supply power to power hungry gadgets when there is no mains power available. My current model is rated at 25Ah, has two USB outputs one is 5v at 1A the other is 5v at 2.1A and is slim and lightweight, ideal for backpacking.

Charging in the MX-5

When I am car camping I regularly charge my gadgets from the car lighter socket, including using a power inverter and a mains plug for my iPad, even when parked and the engine is off. Parked charging is not an issue (although I always take advantage of charging whilst driving) when I am using my diesel car with a large battery.

But when I am using my Mazda MX-5 things are different! Charging whilst driving in the MX-5 is not a problem – I have a USB charge point on the car radio and I have a twin USB socket in the lighter socket.

However the car battery in the MX-5 is small and I do not want to risk using it to charge gadgets, so I have bought a 50Ah external power bank pack for charging at the campsite.

When is 50Ah not 50Ah?

The other day I decided to full cycle my 25Ah external power bank pack, getting it ready for a camping trip later this month. The first thing I did was charge the iPad Mini, which had closed down because the battery was drained – the power pack was showing a three quarters charge (3 LEDs showing out of 4). However when the iPad was fully charged I was disappointed to see that the power pack was more discharged than I was expecting.

Was the pack faulty? Had the eBay seller description not been accurate? Were there excessive power losses through heat and inefficiencies?

A check of the spec on the 50Ah pack showed it was 50Ah at 3.7v but I needed the vales at 5v.

3.7/5*50=37Ah and 3.7/5*25=18.5Ah

About 25% less capacity than advertised and then add to this power loss through heat and inefficiencies.

The iPad battery capacity is 4.4Ah so it looks like the power pack is OK, I was just a little misled when buying the packs! I am not disappointed by my findings, they will still meet my needs and were great value, I paid £9 for the 25Ah unit and about £11 for the 50Ah one.

If you are planning to buy one if these devices be aware of the actual capacities, check with the supplier if you want clarification.

Charging requirements – car camping

iPhone5 1.44Ah
iPod Touch 1.03Ah
iPad Mini 4.44Ah
Bluetooth speaker 0.4Ah

Maximising battery life in iOS devices.

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Breakfast in bed…

11 April 2015 / Camping, Outdoor Gear / Alpkit, Alpkit Kraku, camping, coffee, MSR Hubba Tent, MSR titanium mug, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, St Neots

I did start outside but it started raining so now it is breakfast in my tent.

With fresh filter coffee.

Breakfast in bed… Read More »

Walking – Easter Bank Holiday

4 April 2015 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Walking / coffee, iPhone photography, Lincolnshire, MX-5, outdoor gear, walking

Work conspired to stop me camping this weekend – but the weather has not been great so not camping is not so bad.

Walking in Lincolnshire

This morning I took the MX-5 and headed out towards Stickney avoiding any main roads. There is a good place to park in Stickney that leads into a network of footpaths across the fields and passes some interesting sights!

I did not see anyone else on these paths so I felt confident I would not be disturbed if I set up and sat on one of the stiles for my mid morning coffee break.

After several more miles of walking in very poor light for photographs I found a good place to stop for lunch. For a change lunch was a small tin of vegetarian sausages in spaghetti in tomato sauce, crackers, banana and tea. When cooking in my titanium mug, it does not matter how much I stir the food, it always sticks. But it was worth it to have something different for lunch and it does not take much work with a scouring spong to clean the mug afterwards.

Although it was not sunny, I did drive home with the hood down!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

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A very wet walk – but a dry Finnish Gas Mask Bag

29 March 2015 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Walking / Branston, Lincolnshire, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, walking

I chose the very worst time today to go for a walk! I had planned to walk down to the river and make some tea there, before walking back to the office and getting on with some work. I did not make it, the rain was so hard I turned back.

In the positive side I was using my Finnish Gas Mask Bag and it did an excellent job of keeping my Army water bottle, sit mat and backpacking cooking gear completely dry. The only thing to remember, to keep the rain out, is to make sure the lid is fitted correctly when fastening the bag.

The sun came out once I was back in the office!

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Walking in Lincolnshire

8 March 2015 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Walking / black and white, iPhone photography, Lincolnshire, outdoor gear, Photos 2015, walking

Whilst the weather was good this morning I grabbed a few bits of gear in my Finnish gas mask bag and headed off across the fields near home.

You can see my waterproof jacket strapped to the front of the Finnish gas mask bag using the elastic web I have sewn on to the front of the bag.

One of the pieces of kit I regularly carry when I walk is a pocket sized 10×20 monocular and this morning it came in useful for watching the hares whilst I stopped for my tea. Sitting quietly, hidden, in a gap in the hedge (to get out of the wind) and once the dog walkers had passed out of sight the hares came out, racing across the fields. I saw at least two hares and a selection of rabbits.

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Sunday morning walk – Finnish Gas Mask Bag – First Aid Kit – StarShipSofa

15 February 2015 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Walking / Branston, iPhone photography, Lincolnshire, outdoor gear, photography, tea, walking

New kit today – Finnish gas mask bag.

I got out this morning for a short walk around the village, just as the early morning mist was lifting. The day was much warmer than I expected so the heavy coat I had on was too much. I had saved this week’s episode of StarShipSofa to listen too whilst on this walk. There was interesting short story in this week’s show a mix of Philip Marlowe and E.T.

There were snowdrops everywhere I looked.

Tea and a Finnish Gas Mask Bag

I found a spot in the sun, tucked behind some bushes and out of sight of the many dog walkers who were out.

I had packed my gear in a bag I bought on my recent visit to Morecambe. There was an excellent stall in the indoor market selling Army surplus at exceptional prices. As well as this bag I bought some military gloves and a Norwegian wool shirt. He is not on the internet or email and just sells in this market, so if you want a bargain you have to go there.

I think this shoulder bag was originally designed as a gas mask bag, for the Finnish Army and is new, having never been issued. It is a useful size, with a third/two thirds divider in the main bag and a selection of smaller pockets inside with snap down flaps. The main bag lid is shaped and also snaps shut securely.

There is plenty of room for my backpacking cook set, water, food, sit mat and first aid kit and pockets for smaller bits of gear.

I have sewn some paracord loops on the bag so I can attach extra gear or a wet waterproof using elastic cord. I also want to add some stronger loops on the bottom of the bag, again to allow me to carry extra gear. (See here for the loops in action.)

The Finnish gas mask bag came with a waist strap, which I have carefully cut off. I did not think I would use it and just looping the belt up made the back of the bag uncomfortable to wear.

This will make a great bag for day walks – I have used my old British World War II gas mask case (which I bough when I was 11!) on some short trips, but age has started to catch up with it.

Update – March 2015 – click here

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