Solar Survival For Hikers
Author: thegreenhiker | Category: Eco Friendly, High Tech Hiking, Survival Strategies
Solar Survival For Hikers In the 21st Century
My Droid3 smartphone is now an essential piece of my basic hiking gear. Communication (where are you?), location (where am I?), and weather (when is it?) are just a satellite away. So, while flipping through an app store, I came across the complete “FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL”app. And I downloaded it to my phone …. and began to think about solar survival for hikers.
It may be a bit of overkill (I don’t think so), but I can now access 233 pages of survival/emergency techniques while on any trail — without lugging around an 8 pound manual.
Here’s a sample of the Survival Manual topics:
- Basic Survival Medicine … lifesaving steps, bites and stings, bone and joint injury, environmental injuries (heatstroke, hypothermia, …)
- Shelters … site selection and types
- Water Procurement … sources, purification, filtration
- Firecraft
- Food Procurement … traps, fishing devices, preparation
- Survival Use of Plants … edibility, plants for medicine
- Dangerous Animals, Insects, and Snakes
- Desert, Tropical, Cold Weather and Sea Survival
- Expedient Water-Crossing … rivers and streams, rapids, rafts, floatation devices
- Field-Expedient Direction Finding … using the sun and shadows, the moon, the stars; making improvised compasses
- Signaling Techniques
- Survival in Man-Made Hazards … nuclear, biological, chemical environments
Wow! All set for the next hiking mishap. Bookmark the page on blisters.
Enter The Solar Part Of Survival
There’s an emergency and it’s your fourth day of hiking (or camping …). The battery strength of your on-the-trail phone dwindles as you try to contact help while reading the Army Manual on how to stabilize a bone fracture and minimize shock. A bit far-fetched? I don’t think so.
That possible scenario spurred me to research solar-powered battery chargers.The missing element of solar survival for hikers.
Besides the obvious restriction of clear-sky sunlight, most chargers just aren’t that efficient. But the technology is quickly improving.
After some diligent research, the solar charger my wife purchased for my birthday is the Soladec Hybrid Solar Power Charger
That includes most GPS navigators, Smartphones, Bluetooth devices, Apple iPhone4/4s/iPod/ipad, Amazon Kindle, Blackberry, HTC, Samsung, Motorola, or Droid phones (including my Droid3) … just to name a few. According to the manufacturer,
“the commercial-grade photovoltaic cell has the highest efficiency possible with today’s technology, allowing it capture far more power from Sunlight or any ambient lighting [my emphasis] conditions when compared to other solar chargers available today.”
We’ll see. The Soladec will now be part of my (longer-than-an-afternoon hike) hiking gear … along with my Droid. I’ll report back on its effectiveness. And any expedient water-crossings while trying to avoid man-made nuclear hazards.
For additional info on the Soladec, click the image below:
Now Go Outdoors!
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