UKH

Reading this article in the Westmorland Gazette: 

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/18974273.concern-cumbria-mount...

In which, Richard Warren is quoted as saying: 

"Take a power bank battery charger it will save you a lot of grief plus allow you to take even more of those memorable photos."

Now, this isn't something I have ever considered an 'essential' for Winter days out in the hills. Am I out of touch? I normally have my phone fully charged but wouldn't be relying on it for anything unless I had to make an emergency call. Otherwise it takes rubbish photos. (Rubbish because of my lack of talent rather than the phone's limitations).

Interested to hear what you lovely lot do.

Take a powerbank out with you and use it to take more photos. Upshot will be your photos will get better 🙂

If you have electronic equipment that can be considered essential, maybe. In the days of head torches without built-in batteries, advice to carry spare batteries (and bulb) was commonplace. If you have a rechargeable head torch (with USB charge port), then I guess advice to carry a power bank is the modern equivalent.

Having run a phone down talking to the police and mountain rescue after an accident one winter, I'd certainly suggest a power bank in your pack is a good idea. My phone died before I could properly define my location and it lead to a much longer search for the mr team. Now this might have been due to me talking gibberish after a serious head injury, but why not take one and save mr some hassle!

PS A salute to Glencoe mr team. My family and I thank you

I always carry a small power bank (remember the correct cable for your phone!) with one of these just in case it gets really desperate:

https://i-bosity-com.oss-cn-hongkong.aliyuncs.com/product_img/265/73008006/...

Edit: in case that link doesn't work it's a "Portable Mini LED Night Light USB Reading Camping Lamp for Outdoor Indoor" and you get 5 for 3 quid.

A powerbank is no good if it's used to take more photos. 

The message should have been carry one and it stays in your bag, like emergency food, a warm top etc.. not used as part of a normal day.

He might also have mentioned keeping your phone warm (i.e. store it on your body - not in the top of your sack) and putting it into flight mode.

Take a camera for your pictures, you will learn more that way. Save the phone for emergencies. Switch the bluetooth off, get a phone with a decent battery life. I usually carry a waterproof old school, Samsung with 600 hours of standby time.

https://www.profitwarning.co.uk/2020/11/samsung-b2100-review/

Also weighs less than a powerpack.

I’ve recently bought a powerbank for use in winter. Not for taking photos but because if I’m out running the a few hours and using Strava to record it, I’m lucky if the phone battery makes it. £15 for a small powerbank was a lot cheaper than a dedicated running gps

For single day trips, I personally dont think its needed as one doesn't have the time, hopefully, to waste a whole phone battery (youre looking at the hills, not your phone, right?).

But for multi-day trips I consider them essential.  For a 3 day trip I'll take at least 20,000 mAh of spare power for gps/phone/torch/camera/Garmin watch/headphones.  For a week I'll take 50,000.

For my 2 week trip this Feb I'll be taking 75,000 mAh, plus a 28W solar panel for on the pulk.

I get what you're saying, but my phone has a 4,000 mAh battery, and I carry a 20,000 mAh bank. It'd pretty hard to use more than two full charges of the phone in a normal day, which leaves about four times the the phone's capacity for emergencies... By the time that's expired, I likely have too 😁

I've found on my phone that if I go into an area with poor or no reception (much of the UK uplands) it drains my battery life very quickly. Turning off the 4G makes a huge difference to saving battery life and you can still send/receive calls and texts on 2G and if you actually need 4G it only takes a second to turn it back on.

If I'm going to be out for a long day I sometimes just turn the phone off anyway. I carry a camera for photos with a viewfinder as I much prefer it to looking at a screen that you can't see properly half the time, I use paper maps and only use GPS in extremis so a phone is really only for emergencies anyway.

Obviously if you do everything on the phone a power bank might be necessary but I prefer not to rely on one device.

It's funny how technological advances take some weight out of your bag and then put some back in.

Did he mention keeping it well away from your compass? Had mine flip polarity last year. Have to constantly remind myself to keep compass and phone well apart.

I'd prefer the message that folk don't rely on their phone for anything, have a map & compass, leave a route plan with somebody else if you're inexperienced, have the appropriate skills, read the weather forecast. Rescue should be an absolute last resort after you've exhausted your other options. 

Sadly I think the era of being self sufficient in mountains has gone. 

Your phone will want to hand shake with masts, checking in, if you are in a weak signal area where connection comes and goes constantly, then it will be actively doing this all the time. 

Pay as you go 19 quid Nokia fully charged and sealed in a poly bag - comes with a free 10 pound credit.  Battery power lasts ages and it only comes out and is used when it is really needed.  Load important numbers in it and Robert’s your fathers brother. 

Bargain ! 

Whilst I agree entirely with all of the above being important, if you badly injure yourself or come across an injured person, having a mobile phone with you ready to call in the emergency services quickly rather than having to walk/crawl out for help could be a lifesaver.

Another vote for airplane mode. I made my charge-once-a-day phone last for a 4-day autumn walk in the Cairngorms by putting it in airplane mode when I didn't need to contact anyone. This still allowed use of GPS, camera etc.

I always take a small one in winter, just in case I have a problem and need to make a call. I don't really take photos or anything, but iPhone batteries are dodgy at times in good conditions, let alone cold ones. More for peace of mind than anything.

Can't help thinking we're getting more and more like the Japanese in that we don't see any of the holiday until we get home and look at the photo's!

I don't carry a battery pack on a single day outing. My phone goes into flight mode (or off entirely) the minute I step foot out of the parking, and remains that way until I get back. For multiday adventures I'd probably take one, but it'd also be one of the first things I left behind if I wanted to shed weight. With good company (or a good book), the phone is there for emergencies and the occasional photo only. It'll happily cope with those requirements for days without a charge if it's kept warm.

Careful who you choose as service provider. You might find your credit has gone and your number given to someone else if you dont keep using it regularly.

Giffgaff at least send you warning emails. Three just did it without warning.

The other thing to watch out for is getting the connectors wet, and the phone having an anti-charging sulk....

That's nonsense on two counts. Plenty of people are still responsible, self reliant hill goers and the other kind are nothing new!

Wow I didn’t know that and I’ll check it out - so far so good when i switch on and check - its with O2.  Wonder if thats any better ? 

Thanks for your insight guys. Really interesting!

I already do the 'airplane mode' trick. I prefer to Nav with a proper map. 

Perhaps it's worth investing in one and leaving in bag for emergencies 

Alternatively, a Samsung brick phone perhaps?

Thanks all!! 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'brick phone', but in this day and age I think it would be a bit daft to carry a phone for emergencies that doesn't have GPS.  You're not obliged to use it, even in an emergency, but it strikes me as a very useful feature to jettison to shave off very little cost and absolutely no weight or bulk.

Also, there's this.  Which could be handy for any one of us in unforseen circumstances, no matter how good our navigation normally is, but requires a 'smart' phone to work:  https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/skills/using_sarloc_for_rescue_on_your_...

No idea whether or not this might be a useful idea, but I have found charging synchronizes nicely with need for food supplies on multi-day hikes. With phone in aircraft mode a 4000 mAh battery seems to last three days, and three days' supply is about the amount of food I carry. Longer than a three-day trip, and I'll need to plan for both food re-supply and a battery recharge point (or carry a solar panel, which I use to recharge the battery pack not the phone). I don't use my phone much except to take photos, which doesn't seem to use up much power in aircraft mode.

Vodafone and EE both cut you off after 6 months of inactivity. I have to try and remember to send one text every couple of months for our emergency school mobile, your ten quid can go for a long time that way but if you don’t remember it’s gone!

Another option if you have battery power tools is to get a USB adapter for the battery. The DeWalt one is £30 and you can use it on as many batteries as you want

It’s contentious isn’t it. I didn’t have a mobile until 2007 and managed many years without .

I see the benefit of phones for rescue but.....

I wouldn't be without one out walking.  Sedom gets used. But it's small and  weighs little more than my pen knife.  Both sit in the bottom of my bag with the spare nutty bars loo role and emergency bivi bag.  

Those adventures out on in horrid weather.  The type when you are navigating far more. Those are the days/nights you drain the batteries in your phone and head torch.   Those are also the very least times you want those devices to die on you.  A few times I have felt the low battery buzz from my phone in such conditions.  Not a problem I just connect the battery pack in my pocket with the phone.

My point was not that folk shouldn't carry a phone, but they should not rely on it for any aspect of their day, it can sit in the bag or your pocket and never be used. 

I wonder how many of the masses going up only the the likes of snowdon, pen y fan, scafell, Ingleborough, just following a line of people can really read a map, do have a torch, or enough clothes to keep warm if sat stationery waiting for help because of a twisted ankle etc..   I think it's the minority not the majority. 

I've got about 3 different sized ones, for days out I take one of the smaller ones. For multi day trips, particularly bikepacking where the phone is my main nav tool, I'll take the bigger one. I use my phone a lot on days out winter climbing or walking. I take photos on it, I have OS maps on it so it is my GPS device for confirming what I know from map and compass. Sometimes I even phone people if necessary, or at least post an instagram while having some coffee out the flask and a sandwich! Not always but quite often I have Strava logging in the background too, I like to see the plots of where I've been and height gain etc. Because I have the NHS app on it currently too, I always leave Bluetooth on.

I've got a mid-priced Android phone (Moto g8) - about 200 quid. It's my 3rd one in the Moto family because the batteries have always seemed pretty good, but the current one has a really good battery - 4000mAh I believe. I did the classic Helvellyn ridges back in early December - doing all those things above (using Strava etc), took lots of photos and so on. It was fully charged leaving the car, and it had only dropped by about 30% by 2 pm getting back to the car. Nevertheless, like carrying spare batteries for my headtorch, I carry a small powerbank for my phone just in case.

edit: just checked - the powerbank is 5000mAh, weighs 120 grams and cost 7.99 - so not really that big a cost in any senses to have for an emergency. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MWU1GGI/