Now that the season is about to hit full speed, more of us are carrying phones, cameras, etc of every kind. That might not fit a traditional site, but probably is realistic.
Just wanted to add how these little chargers work so well on the fly. I've got more than one, and different manufactorers.
Used this particular one yesterday...
Anker Astro 5600
I use my iPhone and the Motion-X GPS app a lot, and will only use my weatherproof Garmin when necessary. I love the Google and Bing satellite maps over the garmin topo versions. Since the maps need phone data service, I start Motion while I have wifi or good phone data service and play around with scrolling in/out my intended hunting area. This seems to cache enough of the maps and stays with Motion, so when I lose data service, I'm still good. And since Motion uses the gps chip in the phone it doesn't need ph or data service.
Friday for testing at my work desk, I left Motion app running live for 4hrs straight before battery finally reached 10%.
Killed all apps, and using the Anker USB charger I charged phone back to 100% in an hour. Pretty darn quick.
Then yesterday I hunted and used Motion a lot, as I was in big very thick woods new to me. Was constantly marking waypoints for acorns, hog crossings, persimmon trees, etc. it's not about getting lost, but all about marking the area for smart hunting. Taking pictures, making notes, etc. Made a 3hr sit with my lightweight lock on and three sticks. Then phone was about dead for long walk to truck, and still wanted to take an indirect route while scouting out.
Plugged up the Anker battery pack, and with my fanny pack in front was able to use phone gps and charge same time. Got to truck an hour later with phone about 100% charge.
This kind of electronic work certainly doesn't happen every hunt, but it's fun and adds value when needed. And I'll be carrying a Sony handycam and gopro starting next week when I start hunting the lease with pre set stands. Managing all these devices will take some thought and preplanning for sure!
Anyway just wanted to relay how I really like the little Anker charger for on the fly backup in the field. Works perfectly as intended. Never have to sweat iPhone battery now. Also have the larger NewTrent brick for other needs, usually stays in truck.
TJKentuckys thread on flashlights was so good, wanted to give something back!
Oh and one last edit, highly suggest making a tether of some kind to phone. I added a small loop of strong serving to my case, and keep it on a lanyard or such when needed. Tether to belt loop, around neck, fanny pack loop or whatever works best. Saves dropping from stand too!
Topic: Portable USB phone chargers (Read 547 times)
