smartphone solution?

[Sierra Miguel]

I've never owned a smartphone. (I used an Android-based Moto-something for awhile that an employer loaned to me.) But they look really useful at certain times on backpacking trips:

• taking pictures
• quickly finding your place on a map with GPS
• reading snapshots from Secor
• using Google Maps to get to the TH, find local services
• looking up transit schedules (back at the TH)
• e-mailing, texting, phoning (back at the TH)

What other wonderful uses have I missed? (I don't read books or play games while backpacking.)

So I'm in the market for one and looking for recommended setups. I figure that cheap is good, to start. I see that you can get Android phones for less than $200. If that breaks, or falls in the water, once in a few years, I can handle that. Battery life probably doesn't matter, since I can bring along a power bank.

I'll probably want to stick an AT&T SIM in it, since they seem to have the best coverage in the Sierra Nevada. I don't do contracts, just prepaid, and might only keep service during certain months. So I guess that means that I need an unlocked phone and a SIM kit.

This may seem like a perfectly dull question to most of you, having dropped hundreds of dollars every few years for a new phone, but it's all new to me.

[Wandering Daisy]

Yes, you can do a lot with phones, but only when you get cell coverage. If you need to actually navigate get a GPS. The areas I go to rarely have cell coverage. If the phone takes as good or better photos than the camera you have, AND weighs less, then you can use it for that without cell coverage. Need also to consider battery life. The battery life on my camera exceeds what I can get on my cell phone.

[Snowtrout]

Many of the functions you have listed are only good when in cell range (email, text, Google, etc). Taking pics, checking position via the TopoMaps+ app, listening to music, the timer when cooking, the alarm clock and occasionally the flashlight are the main functions I use when in the backcountry.

Trying to be on the cheap, look on Craigslist or another sell site and look at used phones. You will save a lot. Just make sure to have the seller meet you at your cell store to verify the phone is not stolen nor locked. After you get familiar with your "beginner" phone, you can make an investment in a newer one once you figure out what you want and like in terms of size and capability.

[TurboHike]

I use an iPhone 5 SE, which is the smallest, lightest iPhone I could find. It's an older model and it weighs only 4 ounces. I keep it in airplane mode during the entire backpacking trip. I use it for taking pictures and for GPS. Like Snowtrout, I use TopoMaps+. I downloaded the free version, which has lower resolution, but it works fine. I download maps before I leave on my trip. When I launch the TopoMaps+ app in the backcountry, I can press the location button and the phone's GPS locates me on the pre-downloaded maps. GPS works even when in airplane mode, no need for cell coverage. I generally keep the phone turned off unless I'm taking a picture or using GPS. I use about 10% of my battery per day, and since my trips are usually 1 week, I do not carry a power bank. I have a PLB that I carry for emergencies, which also weighs 4 ounces. I do not carry any other electronics. 8 ounces total for me.

I hope this helps.

[Sierra Miguel]

I suppose that you guys mostly just bring whatever phone you own already, so don't grapple with a question like this, buying a phone specifically for the outdoors.

I use an iPhone 5 SE [...]

Thanks, lots of useful data there.

Trying to be on the cheap [...]

Thanks for the idea. But for the time spent, I'm probably OK with buying new.

If you need to actually navigate get a GPS.

I have an old dedicated GPS device, which doesn't integrate maps. But it's durable. I get the UTM off it and check the map with a UTM grid reader. I thought that phones had good GPS built in. I don't use it all the time, just when I'm lost.

If the phone takes as good or better photos than the camera you have, AND weighs less, then you can use it for that without cell coverage. Need also to consider battery life. The battery life on my camera exceeds what I can get on my cell phone.

I used to bring a pocket-sized digital camera when they first came out, but the battery wore out and was too pricey to replace. So anything is a step up now. I can just limit the number of photos that I take. I don't really believe in taking photos in the backcountry except for the FOMO value.

[Sierra Miguel]

I ended up buying a new moto e 2020 at Best Buy on sale for $120, plus a case and glass screen protectors off Amazon. Weighs 9 oz. plus 3 oz. for the charger.

The AT&T service isn't anywhere near as good in Yosemite as they claim on their map. I only picked it up around TM and Olmstead Point, but not at Big Oak Flat entrance or even Rush Creek.

The Caltopo app is really useful for off-trail. With any subscription, one can download the slope angle shading layer with the map, useful for avoiding unnavigable terrain. I was passing it around to others in the group to use for navigation, so it got used more than I normally would use it. But it still had about 25% charge after 2 1/2 days.

My next step is to buy a power bank. Looking at the Anker PowerCore Essential 20000 for something that can support a 10-day trip. My moto e has a 3550mAh battery.

[The Other Tom]

A lot of thru hikers use the Anker that you linked. Seems to work well, but it's heavy. I guess they're all heavy.

[freestone]

No cellular service? The Avenza app and a Caltopo map on your cell phone is all you need. All of it free, no GPS device needed.

[windknot]

The Moto E 2020 for $120 sounds like a great deal. Sorry I didn't chime in earlier, but I was thinking of similar considerations when buying my last smartphone, and ended up getting a Google Pixel 3a a couple of years ago for about $130 after a rebate. It's got a great camera, performs all of the typical smartphone functions competently, and so far has held up to everyday use as well. I'd buy again (well, I'll probably replace it with the 4a, but you get the picture).

[c9h13no3]

The AT&T service isn't anywhere near as good in Yosemite as they claim on their map. I only picked it up around TM and Olmstead Point, but not at Big Oak Flat entrance or even Rush Creek.

This is pretty much what I get with both my phones (T-mobile and Verizon). I never get service in Tuolumne Meadows. I've found Sentinel Dome is probably the best spot for service in the park.