“Take a 25-mile hike in the Scottish Highlands and stay overnight in a shepherd’s hut.
For context, I had never hiked. She has a degree in Geography. But she also gets lost between the local pub and the school that trains martial arts, these two buildings she’s less than 25 feet away.
Good job the tech was on hand to save the day and prevent us from becoming a missing persons statistic…
route tracking
Garmin eTrex 32
Mobile phone mapping is reliable in urban areas. But I need a backup in a more remote location and forget to download the map. Or took a paper map and compass and didn’t learn to use them.
of Garmin eTrex 32 is a handheld unit about the size of a packet of tissue, preloaded with TopoActive Europe maps. Powered by 2 AA batteries, continuous use time is up to 25 hours.
You can plot and upload your own route as a GPX file so you can see if you’re on track. You can also program specific landmarks (or waypoints) into your journey and ping them in peace when you pass them. Connect to GPS and GLONASS satellites to find your farthest location.
Controlled by a mini-joystick and side button, the device took some getting used to. Also, the 2.2 inch screen doesn’t offer the biggest view. That’s the trade-off for such pocket portability. It was surprisingly reliable to keep us on track, and once we got used to the other features, it was a technical find for the trip.
Purchased from Garmin for £239.99.
mobile marvel
Nokia XR20
If your route isn’t too far, your phone will do the trick.
of Nokia XR20 It’s tough enough to handle knocks and stylish enough for a night out, like you’d date an MMA fighter who understands fashion. Built for harsher environments.
It can withstand being submerged in water to a depth of 1.5m for 1 hour and dropped from a height of 1.8m. The screen is made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, which is stiff enough.
It also shows power. Its 4,630 mAH battery lasted him two days of normal use without recharging. Another selling point of the XR20 (pictured above), in addition to its robust construction and long battery life, is its 6.67-inch screen, which makes reading maps much easier than on smaller phones.
More expensive phones may boast faster display refresh rates and better cameras, but the XR20 is reliable and robust. It’s also 5G-ready and available for less than £350.
Not only that, but it even survived being drenched when it fell into a mountain stream with it in my pocket. It’s safe to say the phone came back in better shape than mine.
Purchased from Nokia for £349.
Wearable marvel
Polar Grit X Pro
If you don’t like handheld mapping devices, Polar Grit X Pro A solid watch that includes all kinds of training and health tracking data, as well as navigation features.
A 1.2-inch sapphire glass, scratch-resistant touchscreen is housed in a bezel with a compass point. The stainless steel housing has five buttons along the rim, which the user uses in combination with the touch screen to operate the device.
It also boasts military-grade durability, being water resistant up to 100m and boasting 7 days of battery life, equivalent to 40 hours of continuous use in GPS tracking mode.
Planning a route can be a bit tricky. Because they need to be plotted in the associated app (in this case her Komoot) and saved as a GPX file. Komoot maps are also paid. Routes are uploaded to the Polar Flow app and then to your watch.
Once done, simply start your trek and follow the turn-by-turn instructions on the clock screen. It also has the ability to guide you back to your starting point if, like us, you hit an impassable mountain river and need to follow your footsteps. It’s SatNav on your wrist, and it’s pretty good.
Purchased from Polar for £429.
Fenix 7 Solar Edition
of Fenix 7 Solar Edition is a more expensive product, but provides cost-effective technology. It includes the usual advanced heart rate and activity tracking you’d expect from Garmin’s high-end wearables, and companion apps (Garmin Connect, Garmin Explore) present the data in a concise manner. Operation of the watch is via five buttons and a touch screen.
Military-grade toughness is tested for heat, shock and water resistance, and solar charging built into the Power Glass touchscreen extends 18 days of battery life to 22 days. It went 21 days without needing a recharge and used the tracking metrics regularly.
Its GPS mapping offerings are impressive. The watch comes with a Wi-Fi connection, a computer, and prepaid maps of his TopoActive that you download via the watch’s built-in map manager feature. Download your pre-planned route as a GPX file and GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellites will wake up when you’re out of range of your mobile signal. This is a comprehensive product with an easy-to-use related app. But it comes at a price.
Purchased from Garmin for £689.99.
perfect picture
GoPro Hero10
You can’t make your Instagram friends the envy of a ride through the breathtaking Highlands without snapping a photo.of GoPro Hero10 You can shoot 4K or 5.3K video as well as 23MP photos. It can also capture the action with time-lapse and slow-motion features and has stabilization technology for shooting on the move.
All of this stuffed into something smaller than a medium post-it and thinner than a Martian stick. It takes up less space than 3 protein bars in your rucksack!
I packed 47 of the latter. My hiking partner said this was too much. She said bad weather canceled her trip after 5 miles and she didn’t say she was hungry on the way back.We’re all critics.
Purchased from GoPro for £349.98.
power bank
Anker 325 Power Bank
If you plan to use your technology on long hiking trips, you should have a backup power supply.
of Anker 325 Power Bank Slim enough to fit in a rucksack and light enough to carry long distances.
Users can fully charge up to 5 times from the 20,000mAh battery.
Purchased from Amazon for £39.99.
Quechua Solar Panel 50W
When returning to the campsite to spend the day, Quechua Solar Panel 50W A pretty good option. In carry-on mode, it has an A3 paper footprint.
Unfold it to double its size and prop it up against the sun to charge anything that needs power.
Purchased from Decathlon for £129.99.
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