The battery’s lasting depends on how much you use your phone. My regular use for a day includes checking FarOut, one long phone call home, listening to music or podcasts for several hours, and taking tons of photos on the trip.
If you watch movies or videos at camp or get involved in other screen-heavy activities, your phone will drain a lot faster.
So, you will need a good charging source for your phone. Here are some ways to keep your phone charged while camping. These hacks also help charge other devices, allowing you to continue your trip.
1. Use a Solar Phone Charger
This is a sustainable, lightweight charging option, which is great for sunny trips. It works best when the panels face the south in the northern hemisphere.
It’s easy to rig while hiking northbound when the full sun is at your back.
I strap a solar panel atop my backpacking lid, tilting it forward as much as possible when hiking southbound. If you’re not sure about the sun on a twisty trail, orient the panel straight up towards the sky.
These days, many are cynical about using solar panels, calling it a gimmick.
I have a pair of 20-watt panels that fold up like a briefcase. I hook a charge controller into a 12V battery. I also own a 12/24 VDC car cigarette plug that converts to 5VDC, 2 amps.
It can directly charge anything with a USB plug. Or you can charge your power bank.
Open circuit voltage on the panels is about 22 Volts. But I don’t require a 12 V battery.
There are several roll-up USB solar panels, but some are poor performers and can damage your phone battery. The unstable output can cause it.
2. Pack a High-Capacity Power Bank
I used a 10000mAh power bank, and kept my Bluetooth headphones & rechargeable headlamp charged.
And the phone was on battery saver throughout the hike and airplane mode through sections with spotty reception. This way, my phone lasted three days without needing to recharge.
That power pack could recharge my phone to full twice, so that I could have continued the trail for nine days theoretically.
Let’s do some math!
A 10,000mAh power bank can supply about 7,000mAh at 5V. The iPhone 13 battery has a capacity of 3240mAh, which means you can get two full charges, and you have ~500mAh to spare.
And you’ll need a 30,000mAh rated power bank for a full six charges.
These days, I keep a big 20000mAh cache battery. I use my phone for navigation and keep it in airplane mode 90% of the time, which saves loads of battery.
Also, I don’t have a screen on and any turn-by-turn prompts.
It remains in my pocket and I withdraw it only when needed.
The cache battery keeps me powered and recharged for 5 – 6 days, even while recording the route with Strava and filming stuff for YouTube along the way.
There are several options for power banks in the market, ranging from Jackery, Anchor, to Mophie.
3. Use a Hand-Crank Charger
It is a manually powered charger, which can be a lifesaver for emergencies.
Hand crank chargers don’t need sun or electricity, so they can be great for ultralight hikers or survivalists. These chargers can keep your phone from draining completely so that you can call for rescue.
The problem is that it generates energy slowly.
And you have to crank it by hand for hours, which makes you tired. I don’t think it is a wise idea to rely on recharging your phone to 100% power.
It can get you up to 15-20% and keep you topped off.
They were originally made for flip phones, which had limited power needs.
For smartphones, you need to crank for an hour to get only maybe 3 minutes of talk, which can also be enough if you’ve fallen into a crisis and have no other options.
4. Charge via Car Battery or USB Port
If you’re car camping or RVing, you can use the car battery to charge phones.
You don’t need a power bank, as a car or RV has a pretty big battery, and the vehicle doesn’t need to be running for you to use it. Charge your phone when driving to trailheads or during road trips.
When resting, you can also recharge your devices through a battery or a USB port. Use good adapters or USB car chargers.
These days, Type C is also available.
But make sure you avoid draining the car battery charge while the engine is running.
The vehicle has one of the cigarette lighters always on when the key isn’t in the ignition. Or you can turn the key to ACC and remove the key.
The car battery has 500 watt hours of energy, roughly speaking.
And it is enough to charge a typical Thinkpad 10 times over.
5. Try a Portable Power Station
A power station is a mini generator with AC/DC/USB outlets. It is a bulky but efficient option and can be great for groups, families, or long-term campers.
It can charge phones, lights, fans, and even mini-fridges.
There are several power stations in the market from Jackery, Bluetti, and others with batteries of various sizes.
I have a Jackery 1000v2 with 4 folding solar panels and use it whenever I feel like going on car camping with family or friends. With that, I charge the battery while driving, and the battery keeps the small fridge on.
As soon as I get to the campsite, I disconnect the Jackery from the car and plug it into the solar panels.
The fridge drains the battery only 10-30% a day, even without charging. Various smaller batteries are available for smaller duties, but I always go by the motto “get a little more than what you need.”
Make sure you have camping appliances that have 120V and 12V plugs.
Standard tool plugs draw lots of juice from the battery. 12V draws significantly less and keeps the stuff on longer.
With the power station, you can add some luxury to camping.
6. Use a Campground Electrical Hookup
If you’ve booked a developed campground with amenities, you can use electrical hookups.
For this, you’ll need adapters or gear, such as an outdoor extension cord, a power strip, and a surge protector. I recommend you use a heavy-duty extension cable.
That way, you can charge your phone and other electrical devices at once.
For example, you may need a 10/3 cable at least for the space heater.
Keep in mind that the lower the gauge number, the bigger the wire, the more electricity it can carry. 10-gauge is bigger and better than 18-gauge. And 8-gauge is even bigger.
Arrange a surge strip if you require multiple plugs.
Also, the surge strip should have a circuit breaker and ensure that the cable you plug it into is rated for the same amount of energy as the circuit breaker is.
What does this mean?
It means you may need either a 12/3 50-foot cable or a 10/3 100-foot cable for it.
Also, check if there is a proper drip point outside of the tent for the cables. The extension cables need to be installed from the top of the tent, not from the ground.
Also, put something around the cables so that bugs or ants won’t march on it to enter your tent.
It is a wise idea to place a connector and surge strip on something like boards in your tent, which remains above the ground. This helps prevent leakage and the surge strip from getting wet.
Also, make sure that your heater is far away from your bedding. It won’t hit or get near the heater if you shrug off bedding at midnight.
Final Thoughts
The charging resource is a choice based on your phone use and the length of your camping trip.
Many campers charge their phone fully at home or a cafe or restaurant nearby before reaching the destination for the overnight trip.
And you don’t need to spend much time working on phones on the trip if you want to enjoy nature. But you need to have a backup, a power bank at least.
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