Best Tent for Outdoor Living on the Beach

Why Mountain Hardwear's Optic 2.5 is the New Room with a View

for Travelers to the Coastal Islands

Got permit? Heading to the beach? Don't have (too) far to walk in? Here's a spacious tent with spectacular views that will keep the bugs out and stand up to monsoon rains and winter winds.

Location, location, location
Mountain Hardwear's Optic 2.5

Backpacker Magazine gave it the Editor's Choice award in 2014. 

Six years later, I found this tent on deep discount. I'll test it out soon on South Carolina's Edisto Island.

The camping season is pretty short on our coastal islands, between the bugs, the heat, and the storms. Lightweight mesh tents made for the tropics or summer backpacking aren't always burly enough for what a MidAtlantic winter can throw at you.

Walk in, Limp Out

Ever noticed that beach camping permits at pristine locations are getting harder to come by? The best sites are usually the ones you have to walk the farthest to get to. Sometimes you can make a dozen trips back and froth from your car. Sometimes not so much.

Plus, base camp on the beach (or in the desert in winter) is where you want to bring your toys, relax, take it all in, and wallow in your luxuries. 

The Optic 2.5 is the answer for solo trips with reasonable walk-ins, or +1 trips where you don't want to spend half a day setting up your master suite. That's cuz you'll also have to spend half a day taking it down.

If you've ever schlepped your mobile oasis from the dock to Sea Camp on Cumberland Island, a distance that seemed super short on the map before you dismbarked the ferry, you probably remember  how it felt twice as heavy schelpping the same gear back to the ferry.

The view from Sea Camp on Cumberland Island

At around six pounds, this roomy two person, three season tents isn't light. But it cuts the weight of your family camping tent setup by at least twenty pounds, probably more. Dude: that's the weight of a great cooler!

Why it's Cool

You're already read about my favorite tent for two, so far. Mountain Hardwear has upped the ante with the Optic 2.5. 

• First, it's got all mesh walls, so it's cooler by definition. The ventilation is highly adjustable on two sides. If you pitch it abeam to the prevailing winds, you should always have a cross breeze. Plus it's blue. Blue is cooler.

• Second, there's more room inside. The rectangular footprint offering 37 square feet of living space is bigger than some in its class, not as great as others, but this is a tall tent with steep walls that deliver great livability. Kindergartners will love being able to change clothes standing up. But for the rest of us who are tall enough to ride a roller coaster, we still won't feel claustrophobic moving around in the Optic 2.5, whether sorting gear, changing clothes, sitting out a storm, sheltering from the skeeters, or cooking in the rain. The storage is great. Six pockets (baseboards, wall and ceiling) are well-placed to keep the gear of two people well organized and out of your living space.

• Third, it's bomber. More than half the weight of this tent is in the fly. When battened down, you feel like you're in a mountain tent. The two-way zippers are fully covered, and the zipper flaps stick closed. Every stress point is double-tacked. The bathtub floor is tough and seam-taped. My ultralight Nemo tent sags a bit in strong gusts and doesn't offer the protection of a rainfly with full coverage. I'll save that for summer camping on the beach. In a big storm, I'll be grateful for the Optic's extra dry storage, compared to my Big Agnes Copperlight Spur. 

• Finally, it's got two doors. Critical! Solo campers will appreciate having a front and back door. No more stepping over your pack at night to answer the call of nature. Buddies and mates will like being able to get in and out without disturbing their partner. And two doors means two vestibules. Vestibules = closets that keep your stuff dry and kep wet stuff out of your bedroom.

Why it's Amazing

It's the doors that set this tent apart from all others. Instead of being on opposite sides, the doors are adjacent.

Next Doors

That's right, this tent has next doors. And that makes for better next door neighbors. Tying back both flies lets you wake up to a 180* panoramic view without getting your gear wet. And you don't have to close the curtains all the way to have 270* privacy plus a view.

Sand lover. Best in the desert and on the beach.

Go to sleep in the flicker of the campfire...
but still in your own private Idaho

Why it's Not for Every Day

The Travel + Leisure-worthy design comes with a price for some cold & wet weather campers. As with all tents that have mesh ceilings, condensation on the tent fly is likely to drip down on sleepers. The Optic's trouble is cross ventilation. It can only be achieved at the foot end of the tent. On nights with wide temperature swings below 50* or high humidity, you'd need to sleep with your head by the doors to avoid problems that tents with fabric ceilings are designed to minimize.

This isn't a tent for the Pacific Northwest, or winters in the Midwest or New England.

The Optic 2.5 will now be my go-to, backcountry home on two kinds of weekend or week-long trips. It shines in dry climates under high winds, like on trips to the American Southwest or Death Valley in winter and spring. And I'll use it on winter trips to the coastal islands, where it doesn't get too cold at night, and where the wind is usually steady and predictable.

In any case, I'll try to remember to bring a clean pack towel for wiping down the condensation.

What are you waiting for?
Get out there!

  

Best Adventure Wallet

What’s in your wallet?

After a couple years of field testing, my Bellroy All-Conditions leather gear is hard to beat. Good looks, durability, security, weatherproofness and packability: this stuff has it all.

I’ve switched from black to orange because the Bellroy is so unobtrusive, it takes stealth too far in black. The burnt orange leather is easier to find—and surprisingly attractive.

So what’s inside mine?

A slim Tile on every trip. Spare keys when I need them. ID, bank card, medical insurance, roadside assistance, credit card, and a couple folded bills. Zip, stash and you’re done.

When traveling in Europe, you may want a separate wallet for coins.

On or off grid, Bellroy kit gives me a great sense of security on all my trips. Always stylish, good value for the money, and you can usually find their products at Patagonia base camps. What’s not to like? Five stars.

The First Hillbilly

What's a mountaineer?

Apparently, it's a hillbilly in tights and a doublet, out of control at the TSA checkpoint.

Yep, Shakespeare scores the first usage of this august word, describing redneck road rage!

The evil Cloten draws his sword against Guiderius in Cymbeline and insultingly demands his disguised enemy to surrender: "Yield, rustic mountaineer" (IV.ii.100). Guiderius triumphs, however, and beheads Cloten, "Who call'd me traitor, mountaineer" (IV.ii.120).

Thanks to 100-year flooding, big ice routes are already in nic in Colorado. I mean check this shit out! Here's Scott Bennett documenting early season ice climbing on Long's Peak last week. Holey moley!

Photo courtesy Scott Bennett for
Skyose Extreme Sports News

Dude, just a reminder when traveling for the holidays, please sheathe your bare bodkin!  Don't be That Guy:

The noun ‘Mountaineer’ adopts the French derivation, like buccaneer, cannoneer, charioteer, and musketeer. The term mountaineer provokes offence in Cymbeline, because the mountainous country of Wales was thought in Shakespeare's day to be inhabited by either outlaws, or illiterate rustics akin to the "hillbilly" stereotype of today [apologies to Wales!].

Many thanks to the Scottish Mountaineering Council for setting me straight on illiterate Welsh rustics.
 
Safe travels, fellow mountaineers, we happy few, we band of brothers.

How many tents do you need?

About a year ago, a motorcyclist returned from her maiden cross-country tour with stars in her eyes. She handed back the tent I’d loaned her (she’d kept it in pristine condition) and told me stories about the highlights of her trip.

The most wondrous nights, by far, were the ones she’d spent camping. The silence. The solitude. The color. The wide horizon. The pleasures of self-sufficiency. The freedom of the journey, wherever your road takes you.

She was hooked on the backcountry. She started peppering me with questions about trekking, backpacking, climbing, mountaineering, the lot. Finally she worked her way up to the big question, “How many tents do I need?”

That’s the same question my wife just asked me, with our checkbook in hand and a slightly different tone in her voice, after I replaced my old Garuda single-wall solo tent with a new Black Diamond HiLight.

The answer is five tents and a bivy sack, if outdoor adventure is your life’s calling. And if you climb big walls, you’ll need a portaledge—a tent that anchors you to a rock face.

Romantic portaledge

Epic portaledge

But let’s leave the portaledge for another post.


Five tents and a bivy bag

Build your inventory of tents over time, beginning with your most immediate need for shelter. The first couple of purchases may vary, but here’s the typical order: 


Two person, three season backpacking tent

Two-person tents come in lots of shapes and sizes

This is the tent you will be spending the most quality time in with another person, so don’t skimp here. Designed to split the weight between two people on backpacking trips, the best tents in this category are not the lightest. They weigh in at about 5-8 pounds. Double wall design gives you weather protection, breathability and ample vestibule storage for your gear so you can enjoy all the space inside. These tents should be strong and comfortable, with all the bells and whistles that make it a pleasure to sit out a storm in spring, summer or fall. Pay attention to details like:

• Length, width and height: are you really comfortable? Can two people sit up and face one another? 
• Wall color: is it soothing? Depressing?

  

  It's nice to be able to check
   the weather without having to
  leave your tent in a storm

• Fabric and netting pattern on on the ceiling: will condensation roll off or drip onto your face? 
• Big, wide doors: two are always better than one 
• Ventilation pattern: can you visualize airflow from bottom to top and from one end of the tent to another? 
• Fabric windows that cover the mosquito netting and roll back on hot nights
• Skylights in the fly 
• lots of handy storage pockets 
• Fly that rolls back for stargazing and extra ventilation
• and even gear lofts. 

Solo ultralight tent with vestibule

Mountain Hardware Sprite is my solo summer tent

This is the tent you take on solo treks and short trips in spring, summer and fall. You may even travel with this tent in your airline luggage, so there is no reason for excess weight or bulk. You will find a lot of variety in this category, so pare down your requirements to the features that are most important to you. Some people want a fee-standing tent at all costs. Some people want the shortest setup time. Others care most about a huge vestibule that keeps their gear dry for an early start, yet still has room to fire up the stove for breakfast from their sleeping bag. Some people need to be able to fully sit up. For others, maximum netting is required for summer trips.


Alpine tent: ultralight, single wall

Big, burly, expensive alpine tent that sleeps two

This is your climbing tent, your alpine tent, your “Long Way Round” moto touring tent that packs down small and weighs next to nothing, and the weight-shaving, single-wall design means that it will work best in dry climates or at altitude. It should be a palace for one but a tight squeeze for two people who may need to share body heat in winter. Cross-ventilation is a must.




Family camping tent

Go ahead--bring the kitchen sink

Your off-the-grid hotel room. The joy you’ll get from this tent is, fortunately, inversely proportional to its price. You don’t need to spend a fortune these days for great “car camping” tents that sleep four to six in a pinch (often with two rooms) and deliver luxury accommodation for two on trips where you don’t have to carry their 20-pound bulk to the campsite. Just don’t expect these tents to hold up well in heavy rain or against wind gusts of 25 mph or greater. Always stake them out completely, using guy lines to bolster stability. Look for:

Pockets: more is better

• High ceilings: can you stand up inside? 
• Width: will your big, honkin’ air mattress fit with room for you to walk around it? 
• Two big doors 
• Gigantic vestibules, front and back, where you can store gear and cook & eat meals in the rain if necessary. Always buy the vestibule, even if it costs extra. These tents are rarely waterproof without the vestibule. 
• Double windows (netting and fabric) 
• Roll-back fly for scenic views and “air conditioning” on clear days and nights 
• Storage: lots of “closet space” and ceiling hooks for lighting and storage 

Winter tent 

Generally the last thing to add to your inventory, this is a 3-4 person tent made for winter camping. Great winter tents are expensive but definitely worth the money. Strength is important, both in the fabric and in the poles. A two-wall design will be heavier to carry but warmer at night, offering the added bonus of more vestibule space. The steep sidewalls are designed to shed snowfall. Make sure you can set up this tent wearing gloves. Make sure the stake loops are big enough for skis. Look for some or all of these extra features:

• Retro reflective coating so that you can find your tent in a whiteout using a headlamp 
• Cross-ventilation that lets you cook inside during a storm 
• Trap door that covers a “sink” beneath the floor 
• Two big doors that you can open easily with gloves on, and access on both sides of the vestibule 
• Vestibules that shelter you while your putting on and taking off your boots 
• Gear loft for drying socks, hats and gloves 

Bivy sack

This bivy sack lets you tie in
from your harness to an anchor

From the lightweight, heat-retaining safety blankets that go in your med kit to sophisticated waterproof/breathable bivy bags that will let you sleep on a ledge while tied in to an anchor, there is a broad array of emergency solo shelters. On my Appalachian Trail trek, I slept in a bivy bag every night to insulate my sleep system from the wet dog who shared my tent. My winter alpine rucksacks have bivy features built-in: foam pads, snow skirts and emergency whistles.

The main point here is that you should always plan for darkness and/or injury when traveling alone off the grid. Buy an affordable solo shelter that you can crawl into and zip up when injured, wet, lost and tired. Make sure it’s roomy enough for your fattest sleeping bag. The most important question to ask yourself about this purchase is: “Will I really carry this in my day pack?” It can’t save your life if it’s not in your rucksack.

Final words of wisdom when building up your tent inventory: Never buy a tent you haven’t set up and struck down yourself. Never buy a tent you don’t love. Proceed slowly, on the lookout for bargains and clearances. And always buy the footprint that goes with the tent—it protects the tent floor.

Time to start logging in some unforgettable nights out!

S-Clips

S-clips. You need 'em in camp.

This is what turns your vestibule into a closet, your privy into a bathroom, your cook station into a kitchen. S-clips let you hang your lamps and light your tent from above. S-clips civilize your trek. They're just the right size and weight when carabiners are too big and bulky.

The next improvement will be an S-clip with a key lock like the gate on a Petzl carabiner, instead of a notch that catches on hang loops and jackets.

Gearline Organizer by Nite-Ize

In the meantime, Nite-Ize makes a great assortment, including this s-clipped daisy chain. It's great for sitting out storms when you didn't bring a gear loft for your solo tent.

I use S-clips at home in the laundry room, too. Good value.

Moonlight Hikes

I’m off tonight under the full moon. Well, it's as close to a full moon as the mother of a preteen can get. Can't wait for a midnight swim under a waterfall and a naked dip into a moonlit pool or two.

What’s not to leave behind?

My towel.

And thanks to microfiber, I can now afford the weight and bulk of something that will feel cozy and really dry me off for a cool, comfortable descent.

The truly luxurious choice is still the big, honkin’ Tek Towel from Sea to Summit. The photo shows the thick nap that’s got a spa-quality feel. But be warned. These towels soak up a lot of water, and even wrung out they’re slower to dry than the worthy competitor, PackTowel. At night, no way. These towels want full sun to dry in an hour or two.

But tonight I think all I’ll need is my bandana-size, go-to travel and climbing towel, CamPack from N-Rit. It’s the silkiest pack towel made, light and absorbent, and it dries in the breeze. Better yet for midnight hikes, it clips to its pouch. Nothing more irritating than losing the handy pouch for a travel towel.

When’s the last time you went skinnydipping? Maybe I’ll see you out there.

P.S. On midnight hikes, don’t forget your flask, your med kit, an ultralight bivy sack, some insulation in case you need to sit it out till dawn, maybe some pepper spray, and your SPOT tracker. Tell your friends or family where you’re headed. Make sure your car keys are clipped in. Don’t forget to turn off the cabin lights in your car. Know how the land lies. Know your way. And see if you can keep your headlamp in your pocket!

Travel Healthy

Liquid salad. Best I ever drank. This stuff is worth its weight in gold.

And it better be, because it's priced like gold.

If you ever needed a good reason to nip into a Starbucks on the road, this is it.

Evolution Sweet Greens and Lemon.

500 ml. 80 calories. Packed with good, fresh, delicious green stuff. Tastes like celery and parsley. It's a Grace Kelly movie in a bottle.

Hope that made you smile.

Get out there and stay healthy in the air and on those long layovers.

Chin chin.

Best Clothes Line

Next stop: Spain.

Laundry the old fashioned way

My Napoleonic drama is up for best unproduced screenplay at the Madrid International Film festival. Pretty cool.

So what’s tucked away in my carry-on roller this time? 

The Lite Line Clothesline by Sea to Summit.

This thing changed my life in camp. No more ants in my pants from underwear left to dry on a stump. No more disappearing dish towels, socks, bandanas. No more putting on soaking wet, freezing cold sports bras at six in the morning. No more dew-soaked sleeping bags meant to be airing out while I’m striking camp. 

Now try it the hi-tech way

Face it. The para-cord clothesline has its limits. Wind blows stuff off it. The same wind you need for drying your clothes.

For no extra weight, try this. It’s a 1.3 ounce valet’s assistant with sliding beads that grip your drying items. It sets up easy and sturdy in 30 seconds between any two objects anywhere from 12-20 feet apart. It tightens itself. And it disappears in your luggage or your pack.

Sea to Summit, you’ve done it again. Clever, beautiful gear that works every time.



I have a Lite Line for every traveler in the household.

Lite Line Clothesline by Sea to Summit

So get out there and don’t worry about getting wet. It’ll dry.

Worst Loo Paper

The sales copy says: “Who doesn’t want toilet paper that glows in the dark?”

I don’t, not if it means wiping my bottom with strontium aluminate or zinc sulfide.

This has got to be the most idiotic product ever let loose on the backcountry.

I found out about its existence in the camping/touring issue of BMW ON, the motorrad club's news magazine. Now I worry about the sanity of its editorial staff.

Please, don’t embarrass me. Promise me now you will never, ever go near this roll of loo paper. Or anybody who turns up in camp with it.

Good little speakers

Here's what I travel with when I want to listen to music off the grid. It's got perfectly good sound given its ultralight weight and extreme packability. It's the size of a golf ball. I can almost always find a place for it on the moto, in my pack or in my luggage. The pop-up design feature delivers "vacuum bass." And it's energy-efficient. There are several brands to choose from, and I haven't tested them all.

Jawbone's Big Jambox

It's not strong enough for parties, though. For really good sound that's bluetooth compatible with our smartphones, laptops and iPad, we love the Big Jambox by Jawbone. Looks like prices are all over the map for this, so caveat emptor. This hi fi system totally likes living near an electrical outlet.

Z Poles

Never leave your poles behind again

Go no farther in search of trekking poles. Twenty years of walking with sticks has finally led me to perfection: Z Poles by Black Diamond Equipment.

They’re strong, light and comfortable. Details include ergonomic hook and loop wrist straps and 3M reflective patches so you can find them at night wearing a headlamp.

Most important, they fold up small and fit easily into your travel luggage.

Buy the right size; they come in different lengths. You’ll never be tempted to leave these sticks behind. I took mine across the Atlantic recently for the pleasure of a single day’s scramble along the Cornish coast.

Travel Light, Drink Well

Nine wee nips and you'll never lose the cap.
It's tethered. Dry weight: 1.2 oz

The new generation of flexible, BPA-free plastic beverage bottles is just rockin'.

PlatyPreserve bottles get the air out

This stuff weighs nothing, disappears inside your luggage and still looks good on arrival. It'll hold all the water, whiskey and wine you want for three perfect days wherever you end up. I've tested these products extensively.  You bet I have.

Check out the Vapur Element, the PlatyPreserve wine preservation system from Platypus and the 9-oz Highland Flask from GSI Outdoors 

They all work suitably, clean easily and transfer no weird tastes to your drinks.

Easy to tell whose water is whose

The Vapur Element water bottle
rolls up, welcomes ice and clips to your bag

Best Thermos

I'm trying to get used to calling it a vacuum bottle. To me it'll always be a thermos, but the one that outperforms all others in the backcountry happens to be a Nissan.

The Backpack Bottle:
hot grog by Nissan

A Nissan? As in the auto maker? Yep.

On countless winter trips, the Backpack Bottle has stood out as the lightest, most compact way to carry 16 oz of hot drinks. It'll keep your coffee, tea or broth hot all morning in below zero temperatures, and on most days you'll still find it pleasantly warm in late afternoon. Plus, no leaks. It locks.

The beautiful, cupless design is where the thermal efficiency and the weight savings come from. If you plan to share your hot grog, you'll want the Compact Beverage Bottle shown at right.

Don't drink and drive

Carrying a thermos in the backcountry is a luxury many people foolishly forego. I say "foolishly" because I've seen hot drinks revive crap days, injured people and lost travelers better than anything else. But people weigh the thermos, shake their heads and say, "too heavy. Too bulky." Now that there's a Nissan, their excuses are running thin.

Staging Areas

Chin's 24-hour turnaround: where's he headed?

Where's your staging area? Do you have to leave home to get ready to leave home?

Here's what adventure photographer Jimmy Chin's looked like when he had only 24 hours to pack for a trip. He shared the snap on Facebook, thanking everyone who helped him get on the plane:

Always love the 24 hour home base turn around. Organized chaos. Thanks to @jxnhende and the @tetonvillagesports boys for helping me get out the door on time! @revosunglasses @dynafitna @gopro @thenorthface @thephotosociety

Maxim No. 17

Adventure travel maxim no. 17: Don't forget the duct tape.

I know I've got enough when I've made a couple wraps around my water bottle. Which gives me one more good reason to bring along an actual water bottle (instead of just a bladder or an Aqua Pur).

There are like a zillion more reasons--like, who doesn't use theirs as a clothes dryer or a hot water bottle? But that's another story.

How to Fix Stuff that Gets Trashed

Plan on trashing your gear in the very near future? Who does?

We all wreck our stuff from time to time. Or else others do it for us.

And then there's the whole scheduled field maintenance thing. One day I'll actually calculate how many weeks out of seven months on the Appalachian Trail were spent "cleaning" and "repairing" my white gas-fueled MSR stove. It always felt like I was rebuilding the thing on a daily basis. I did less care and feeding for my newborn.

Now there's a hand to hold when field repairs get you down. The GearAid app for iPhone and Android.

It gives step-by-step care and repair instructions that don't suck. It even links to YouTube so you can attend GearHead University on the internet. And the app is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, at least on my iPhone, which is a bonus when you find yourself on the road, out of luck and not in the best of moods.

Heed Maxim No. 17: Don't Forget the Duct Tape. And don't leave home without a decent repair kit.

That doesn't mean you need to pack a separate suitcase. My travel kit always includes trusty ole SeamGrip, zipper repair tools, tweezers, mini scissors, eyeglass repair tools and spare parts, plus a ring-finger-size roll of duct tape, and it fits inside a sandwich-size Gladlock. My backcountry setup fits inside the smallest zippered pouch made by GearAid, the repair products division of Bellingham, Washington-based McNett.

I like the branded pouch because it's distinctive enough for kids to locate while you're standing in a gale beside your pitched tent, holding a snapped pole that got its compound fracture inside the fabric sleeve. If you let go of that pole to grab the repair kit, you'll return to a shredded tent.

So practice saying, "Go get the billy goat kit! And bring my phone!" calmly, like you're on top of it with grace under pressure. Repeat ten times. Make sure you charge your smartphone before every trip. Set it to Airplane mode. Bring backup power if you think you might trash your gear a few days hence. And then get out there!

Portable power

For years I’ve experimented with solar rechargers for electronic devices I take on backcountry trips. Like my phone, my camera and my iPod. And sometimes my laptop, if I’ve escaped to write.

Most encased solar chargers aren’t rugged enough for backcountry use. The plastic cases always crack on trips. The utility of solar mats is pretty much limited to base camp use. When you’re moving, they just don’t work. And in spite of manufacturer claims, I find that they’re not waterproof. So leaving them unsupervised out in the open is just asking for trouble. They don’t work reliably inside a tent or in a resealable plastic bag.

So I’ve turned to juice packs for portable power.

The one I’m using now is Powerstation PRO from Mophie, and it works. You charge the juice pack at home and take it with you to recharge your toys on the trail.

At $100, it’s at the top of the food chain on price point. But if you do the math (which I had an Apple Genius help me with), you’ll find models costing a third as much just won’t get the job done. They’re basically designed for urban use when your phone goes unexpectedly dead and you need a power boost quick to make an urgent call or check texts. Travelers, trekkers, sailors, skiers, climbers, riders and beach bums want to run apps, recharge cameras, listen to audiobooks or radio and play music at dinner. One Powerstation is more than I usually need for four or five days off the grid.

This rugged, wallet-size model packs easily and weighs in under 350 grams. It reliably recharges my battery-sucking iPhone 4S four times in the backcountry in three-season temperatures. At 6,000 mAh (that’s milliamp hours), it should be able to give my Macbook one full recharge and still have power for a single phone recharge. (A Macbook battery delivers about 5,300 mAh.)

Managing juice packs, like managing power on your devices, is a nerd sport. Read the manual and follow the directions. The most important thing to remember for high performance is never to leave your device plugged into the juice pack longer than it takes to recharge.

Power-saving travel tip: run your phone in aircraft mode on trips, especially in the backcountry. Carry a SPOT tracker instead for safety—not the SPOT Connect, which saps power from your phone. And use a handheld GPS device for navigation⎯not your smartphone. This approach also gives you the benefit of redundancy. You can readily buy replacement batteries for that critical gear on the road. Worldwide. You’ll need an electrical outlet, a USB adaptor and a couple hours to recharge the juice pack.

3G coverage and apps like Packing Pro and HG2 are adding to the pleasure of adventure travel, so I predict that lightweight, portable power will only keep getting better. Get off the grid and recharge.