Blue View – The Right Electronics for Trekking

A lot of the weight in our packs is due to the electronics

When we take on a long trek, a lot of the weight we end up carrying is due to our electronics, and the heaviest culprit is a notebook computer. In our opinion, it’s much more interesting to plot our progress and post a blog with photos 3-4 times a week than it is to try and recap a three or four month trek after we’ve finished it. On our upcoming trek in Portugal, we also want to include more videos, and to do all this, it is necessary to carry at least one computer with us.

The Dell notebook by itself doesn’t weigh much

But add in all the accessories and Carrying case, and the weight becomes more like 5 pounds

Next in the weight category are our iPads. We have two venerable iPad 2s that sailed around the world with us. There were a number of apps that we used regularly – navigation, star maps, anchor watches, inventory lists, shopping lists… our iPads became essential components of our shipboard electronics. When trekking, they are also quite useful. While Marcie is busy documenting our day and editing photos on her laptop, I’m usually busy plotting the next day’s route and researching the things we’ll be seeing. Beyond the mapping, route planning and internet search engines, we keep most of our guidebooks in digital form. Finally, we download library books to read before going to sleep at night.

Marcie also carries her favorite small camera, a Canon Powershot SX720 HS. It has a 40x image stabilized optical zoom, and while she has better cameras, she likes this one best because it takes great photos and it’s small enough to stick in a pocket.

Lastly is our iPhone. Once we arrive in Europe, we install a European SIM card that allows us to send and receive calls and texts, and provides a liberal data allowance for internet use. We actually don’t make many calls, but we do use it extensively for its GPS and route finding apps, and for booking hotels and AirBnB lodging en route.

When we walked the Thames Path two years ago and the Via Francigena last year, Marcie took her notebook computer for processing photos and posting blogs to our website. It was the lightest one we could find (at a reasonable price – we could have shaved a few more ounces off for several hundred dollars more) and weighed a mere 2.1 pounds. Then there was the power adapter, cables, SD card reader and protective case, and when all this was added in, that notebook and all its accessories weighed in at just under five pounds.

The two iPads weighed just over a pound each, and with their adapters, cables and cases, the total weight was about three pounds.

The camera weighed 9.2 ounces by itself, but with a couple of spare batteries and the charger, the weight totaled 14 ounces – just under a pound.

Finally, the iPhone weighed in at 4.6 ounces.

Adding all this up, we were carrying just a hair over 9 pounds in electronics. Wow! That’s about 20% of our target pack weight of 20-25 pounds each. There must be a way to reduce this load.

The cute, compact and powerful iPad Air 3

Well, there is. The new iPad Air 3, coupled with the new iPad OS seems to have all the capabilities we need, eliminating the necessity for a notebook computer. This iPad is powerful enough to edit videos and photos, and there is an app that allows us to post to and edit our Squarespace hosted website. I’m pleased with the video editing apps - there are a couple that rival the capabilities of the best laptop apps. The most important new feature, however, is the file system. Now, using a small adapter, photos, videos and other files can be transferred to or from an SD card.

So, we sold our old iPad 2s and bought new iPad Air 3s. Adding a keyboard, neoprene case and adapters, each iPad now weighs a total of 1.9 pounds. We gained a little weight with the new iPads but by leaving the notebook computer at home, we’ll be lightening our packs by about four pounds.

With all that weight savings, I may be able to bring my new GoPro and a few accessories…

Next week, I’ll review the best apps for video processing. Stay tuned.

There’s no one way to walk the Camino. Check out all the possible options.