Need help choosing a phone for off-grid cycle touring trip

Forums › Android › Need help choosing a phone for off-grid cycle touring trip

CycleTourer

21 posts

Geek

#290122 22-Oct-2021 08:42

Hi everyone,

As the subject line says, I need to buy a phone to take on a cycle touring trip I'm planning for next February.

I'm a retired embeddeds software developer and choose not to have a smartphone for privacy reasons. However, during the trip I'm going to need weather data and this seems a better idea than a tablet.

I'll only be doing web browsing during the trip, looking at a handful of websites (some graphical, some textual). All going well I could be 10 days between charge sites, so I want to keep the phone turned off except when I'm actually using it (once a day). If necessary (and possible) I'm totally happy to take the battery out; I've done this on previous trips with my dumb phone. I could also have a small power pack with me, but I know it won't allow me to go 10 days if the phone is on all the time. So, if the battery isn't removable then I have to be able to trust that the phone will stay off until I turn it on. (I know some phones like to turn themselves back on after a short period.)

Screen performance outside is obviously an important consideration. The only available shade is likely to be that provided by my body, with a little bit of help from the tent fabric.

As for connecting to the mobile provider, I'm assuming that these days any prepay SIM can be loaded with enough data for my needs. The trip will be max 3 weeks. (If anyone has recommendations of mobile carriers for the trip I'd love those too. I have no allegiance to any of our providers so will simply buy a SIM from whoever seems best. If necessary I can just connect when I'm in townships, so coverage hollows or low-throughput areas probably aren't a concern.)

I'm thinking of selling the phone on TradeMe after the trip, so resale potential is a factor, and allows me to go a bit higher in purchase price than I would otherwise. Not knowing what Android phones go for, new or used, it's hard to set a budget but I'd be happy to pay say $300 net (i.e. after resale). (Given the importance of battery life I don't want to buy a used one.)

Any help would be gratefully received from this smartphone newbie! 😀

wellygary

8323 posts

Uber Geek

#2799163 22-Oct-2021 08:52

You might also want to consider its ability to hold offline maps so you can follow your progress and should the unexpected happen you will be able know where you are and the best way to get near help...

CycleTourer

21 posts

Geek

#2799172 22-Oct-2021 09:06

Good point, @wellygary, but the maps issue is already solved - but thanks for raising it :)

MartinGZ

359 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#2799871 23-Oct-2021 14:57

Two years ago I did a leisurely 10 day backroad cycling trip from Christchurch to Nelson and faced similar choices.

You are unlikely to find any decent phone with removable batteries these days - use battery packs instead. If the phone is normally off, it's a bit of a non-issue anyway. I used my phone as a camera, so it was normally in flight mode.

The power hungry equipment and storage I had was:

Lezyne MegaXL GPS for routing (Preprogrammed routing worked reasonably well, but there are better ones around. Good battery life.)
Garmin inReach Mini PLB with 30min tracking on. Something similar to this I regard as essential.
Front & rear lights - USB charging.
Smartphone - OnePlus 5 (now retired). In flight mode or off except when uploading stuff. Most of the time I had no or bad signal anyway - which quickly sucks batteries dry if not in flight mode.
Batterypacks - 2x 10,000 mAh
PD charger - 1x C, 2x A ports. Bulky and heavy.

During that time, I only recharged the battery packs once and could probably have got away without the PD charger, but I think I would still take it. Wouldn't be without a smartphone, they are just too useful - Topo maps, downloading cycling data, sending messages via the Garmin etc. Sometimes I wanted to look at the legal access maps at Walking Access Maps - impossibly slow if you've only got a 3G connection though. Even used the phone to speak to people occassionally 😃. Can't really see any security issues for this type of stuff.

Back to your original question, any modern smartphone would do, just be wary of the power hungry big ones (like my Galaxy S21 Ultra.) When I first got my OnePlus 5 I was getting 3 days between charges, but that dropped to a day before it got replaced. Phones like that are pretty rare these days, most are typically a day. But if it is normally in flight mode or turned off, this is not really an issue. Would recommend a reasonable size screen though. I would NOT recommend your phone for route finding - that will really suck the battery. That's why I use the Lezyne MegaXL - pain in the butt to programme, but long battery life. It's also very robust. I never mount the phone on the bike - way too delicate, but lots of people do. Only once did I have to pull the phone out to see the correct road to travel on (at a point where 5 roads came together.)

Whatever you choose, I don't think I'd be heading away for 10 days into the backcountry without testing the power consumption in a simulation type thing.

BTW, if it's not in your plans, I really recommend going through the Rainbow Valley when/if it re-opens (private road open during the summer, but currently closed because of badly damaged bridge - see DOC site.)

Nokia 6110, 6210, 6234, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, Huawei Ideos X5 (Windows Mobile), Samsung Galaxy SIII, LG G4, OnePlus 5, iPhone Xs Max (briefly), S21 Ultra. And I thought I hadn't had many phones - but the first one around 1997.

MadEngineer

4278 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2799979 23-Oct-2021 15:43

Consider an iPad or other tablet as they have larger batteries

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

gzt

17125 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2800111 23-Oct-2021 17:39

Water resistance and a Spigen bumper and screen protector for durability.

The cheap option is ziplock bag or tupperware type stuff. Just a pain because it's not easily accessible for random photos and the like. Other than that nothing wrong with it.

Imo most phones will give you three days in flight mode with a few photos, occasional txt, and limited screen activity. At that level just one 10,000 batt pack needed for the trip.

kiwibum

114 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#2800176 23-Oct-2021 21:07

Assuming you are only using phone 1 hour per day for web browsing and couple of short calls for 10 days, plenty of phones will last with the standard battery if you are turning it off in between times. This link gives you a good idea of battery usage on many different phones https://www.gsmarena.com/battery-test.php3.

I did a 10 day trip on back roads and trails, from North to South Tasmania, a couple of years ago with a Motorola Moto G 3rd Gen phone for mapping and GPS. Taking videos and photos along the way, I would get 4-5 days battery life keeping it in aeroplane mode during the day and turning off over night. I didn't use mobile phone service at all during that time and connected to WiFi hotspots when I came across them to send stuff out or check on things. I also had a little 2500ma battery bank to keep the phone topped up, but from memory it was really just a backup as I found places to charge the phone twice during the trip. From memory I started out with the assumption I could get through the 10 days without finding a charging station and just using the battery bank.

I'm looking at replacing my Motorola now, with the aim of using the replacement on cycle trips as well. Galaxy Xcover 4S is what I'm looking at, if I can get a used one for the right price, the latest model the Xcover 5 would be good too but more than I want to pay for a phone at the moment.

Advantages of the Xcover, one of the only phones that has a removable battery now and is water resistant, supposed to be more of an outdoor rugged phone, I would still keep it in a case. Standard lower res screen and processors, meaning enough to get things done but doesn't use more battery for pretty high res pixels etc compared to more high end phones. Samsung brand so should help with resale, however you are going to lose at least 25% selling it. Can't tell you what the screen performance outside is like since I haven't got one yet. Other advantage is it's small compared to most other phones now unless you pay for a Iphone mini thing. I don't see a lot of Xcover phones on Trademe which I assume is a good thing and people are hanging on to them.

Good reviews on the Xcover 4s here https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B07TP75452

Comparison of the three phones here (Moto and Xcovers) to give you an idea on specifications, unfortunately this site doesn't have battery life information for the Xcover phones https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone1=7247&idPhone2=9730&idPhone3=10718

PBtech have a sale this weekend with a small discount on the Xcover 5, they have them in store if there is a shop near you so you can touch one to see what it is like https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MPHSAM155250/Samsung-Galaxy-Xcover-5-2021-Rugged-Dual-SIM-Smart

I've also found the Xcover 4S on Aliexpress and If I don't find one here in the next couple of months I might by from there https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002663881027.html

Just read your post again and realised your budget of $300 is after resale, so maybe the Xcover 5 would be it. Personally I wouldn't get too worried about getting a new phone, a late model one that has been well looked after that is only a couple of years old will do as the battery life will be fine. I bought the Moto G second hand and was 2 years old when I did my trip. Another advantage with the Xcover 4S you can buy a new battery for it and keep the old one as the back up.

Regarding "mobile provider", depends where you are going and when you expect/want data services on your trip. I think Spark has more rural coverage than the other two possibly. They should all do a monthly prepay that gives you enough data and calls for what you want, I use 2degrees and they have a no contract prepay monthly service, just buy it for a month and go.

If you are coming through Tauranga, you are welcome to a hot shower and bed, we are on "warmshowers.org" for cyclists. Should have our renovations finished before Xmas and space for cyclists again by then.

CycleTourer

21 posts

Geek

#2800248 24-Oct-2021 11:05

Wow, this is all awesome info, thanks so much you guys! 👏

Love the info on particular phones and also the comparison sites, the gsmarena site is mind-blowing, I had no idea such comprehensive info was available on batteries! Great idea to do a simulation; I'll be alone, and have to know I can rely on my kit.

I can protect it as you say @gzt, I have separate camera so no worry having it packed away during the day. Being in the middle of a panier will also help to protect from heat extremes and I should be able to keep it away from the sunny side of the bike. I already do this with a little in/out thermometer probe (under the bike seat).

Thanks also @kiwibum for the offer of shower, but I'll be in the South Island so a wee bit far 😀 Great site though, warmshowers - another thing I hadn't heard of.

Thanks again everyone, I now have a way forward, can't thank you enough 👏