Denali Re-chargeables (if that's a word)

[kmehrtens]

Not sure if this post is better in this Forum Section or the Gear section, but I'm going to start here.

 

So I am going to Denali in May/June of next year to attempt the West Buttress with a guided expedition. Like everyone else I'm sure, I will be taking a camera, ipod & something to read/watch movies on.

What is everyone doing for recharging currently?

I am looking into Goal Zero type products to take up the hill, but wanted to see what other people's opinions are, got any?

 

What are the opinions on electronics on the mountain?

 

Any advice would be gladly accepted.

 

Thanks.

 

Edited October 11, 2016 by kmehrtens

[Jeremy.0]

I brought a small goal zero solar panel to keep the GoPro and phone charged. Worked for my purpose but was very finicky to get it to work. and A team mate bought one of the larger anker ones off Amazon (which I liked a lot better) for his phone and in-reach, which he was using a lot more electronics than I was.

[christophbenells]

there is cell phone service at 14k camp now.

 

verizon i believe, people were getting 3 bars, full on.

[mthorman]

We took 2 Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar panels and 1 Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Recharger. They worked great! We split that out among the 5 of us who went and everyone had plenty of juice for their camera's, iPods, phones, the inreach etc. Oh and yes there is great cell service at 14K at least with Verizon.

[kmehrtens]

When you say the solar panel was finicky is that because of the cloud cover or was there something else? Why did you like the Anker version better?

[Jeremy.0]

Cloud cover wasn't an issue. Even on cloudy days it would somewhat charge. The solar panel itself did okay, although it was small, but the little power pack that comes with was the issue. It had a male USB connector where you Unfolded it, and Then plug it to the female USB connector to the panel. The fold out male USB part it would frequently come out of contact and not charge (see middle image). It was brand new too, just a crappy design so It was just difficult to put on sled, pack, or on top of tent without it coming out of contact.

 

The anker one just seemed more robust and we never had issues putting on sleds, etc.

 

[diepj]

We took the Goal Zero Venture 30. It was overkill. In the future I would bring the panel only and not the battery to save weight. This setup was used to charge DSLR, a P&S cam, iphone (music, occasional pics, inReach interfacing only), Delorme InReach.

 

Party of 2. We could have easily survived without the battery. As it was everything was almost continuously at 100%. The DSLR required way less charging than I was prepared for.

 

If you are in a guided group check with them before you purchase. The guide company may outfit the team for their own purposes anyway. It doesn't sound like your needs will be super critical or intensive so you'd probably be fine plugging into a panel every few days around camp.