Mobile Battery Pack for iPhone on longer rides?

[plotkes]

Hi there,
I am doing a 100km charity bike ride in May which should be good fun (hopefully). I am currently using the Mapmyride app on my iPhone 4S for the usual stats and maps. I have the Topeak iPhone holder which is really good and sturdy.
The issue I have is that on any route beyond 35km the battery on my iPhone dies which renders it useless to capture data on longer trips. I will need maps for the 100km ride, otherwise I am likely to find myself in Norway instead of London.
So I am now looking at options with mobile battery packs to extend its life. Topeak has a product, the Topeak Mobile Powerpack which costs about £50 and I am not sure what other alternatives are out there that are aimed at cycling.
Do you have any experience with using mobile battery packs on longer bike trips and are you able to give me any advice whether to spend the £50 on the Topeak product, or consider an alternative or maybe scrap the whole iPhone idea altogether and go with a purpose build tracker (which I imagine aren't cheap either?)
Many thanks in advance,
Mark

[Mark1978]

I use a Mophie power power station with my iPhone 4S. Lasts all day. But that's in my jersey pocket not on the bike.

[Psamathe]

Not an answer but, it is the display that is almost certainly limiting your battery life. Do you need the display on the entire time ? Are there going to be signs, etc. so you only need the display occasionally when you are uncertain. Using my iPhone 5 to record my track at high resolution (so GPS on, and not in airplane mode either) I estimate I would get 6-8 hours out of a battery charge.

If you need the display on then not much you can do about it, but if not all the time, maybe test the battery life without so much display use and see how you get on.

(And I accept the above might not help - sorry)

Ian

[plotkes]

Mark - I checked out the Mophie power station. It seems slightly more expensive than the topeak one but looks to be of good build quality, I will consider buying this instead, thank you.

Ian - appreciate your suggestion. I think Apple improved the battery life on iPhone 5 but you are right, I will use display less and see if there is an improvement there.

thanks again,
Mark

[markfh]

I have used an external battery pack with an iPod Touch (and TomTom carkit) for bicycle navigation and route logging for a number of years. The battery pack I use (TeckNet iEP380) has a stated capacity of 5000 mAh and definitely keeps my set up running with the display on for well in excess of 5 hours - I have never run out so I do not know the ultimate life. Similar (and larger) external battery packs are available from the usual suspects (Amazon/eBay etc) for around £20. The biggest challenge I found was how mount and connect the power pack in such a way that the power lead/connector was not vulnerable to being damaged if knocked. For me the TomTom car kit solves the problem of protecting the connection to the iPod Touch (which uses a similar connector to the iPhone 4S) and I use a right angle USB connector for the connection to the battery pack (with a rubber band to stop it vibrating out - a bit Heath-Robinson but it works). The iPod Touch plus modified TomTom car kit is mounted on a handlebar mount and the separate battery pack is on top of my bar bag (in a "mapholder") with a lead between the two.

One thing I did look at, but have not used for any significant journey, is a top bar mounting holder which has room to contain the iPod Touch with TomTom car kit and the external battery, something like http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CYCLING-BIKE-BICYCLE-FRAME-FRONT-TUBE-BAG-HOLDER-PANNIER-FOR-4-2-MOBILE-PHONE/400676378461?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D22312%26meid%3D6336160142944796858%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9701%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D400517074734&rt=nc not necessarily 100% waterproof but may be OK for your charity ride without being excessive. Please note that I am not recommending this particular holder only using it to illustrate the sort of thing I am referring to. Such a holder has the advantage that everything is together with no external lead to get caught.

One potential issue of mounting the phone and battery together is it overheating in the event that it is warm and sunny. If the display is in direct sunlight then the iPod/iPhone can get quite hot and trigger the over temperature protection. till it has a chance to cool down.

[Valbrona]

Ever heard of a map?

[Mick F]

Maps made of paper are wonderful things, so is local knowledge or at least a knowledge of geography and direction.

The good thing about technology, is that it's convenient and easy to use, and you an use it on the go. Paper maps need you to stop and study, or remember the directions you worked out. Also, good eyes. With a device, it can beep at you and tell you in big writing on a big screen to turn left, and keep you informed about where you are and which turning you need next. With my Montana, I don't need reading glasses to operate it. Give me a map to read, and I'm searching for my glasses before you even start to unfold it!

Downside is that technology sometimes breaks and stops working, or the batteries go flat.
I wondered about buying one of these:
http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/ ... tery-pack/

[Vantage]

The problem with paper maps, at least for me, is that I'm useless at reading them. I've been lost a few times because I didn't know where I was or in what direction I was heading.
My eTrex20 (which can be picked up for as little as £125 and less) does a brill job of getting me to where I'm going and home again. Even better when following the pink line of a GPX route/track. Battery life isn't an issue with 20+ hours on Sanyo Eneloops and I like to think that having my directions come from a separate device means in the admittedly unlikely but entirely possible chance that I need the emergency services, the phone is free to call them and get my whereabouts from the gps. The phone also acts as a backup to the gps and paper maps with a compass serve as a last resort.
I hear a Power Monkey is a good backup battery for phones and whatnot though.

[Mark1978]

Mark - I checked out the Mophie power station. It seems slightly more expensive than the topeak one but looks to be of good build quality, I will consider buying this instead, thank you.

They do a few different sizes so take measurements. Also best with a really short power lead.

[garibeet]

Interesting article, given that you can get old android phones on ebay for less than £50 what's not to like?
http://www.alexroddie.com/2013/11/how-t ... -into.html

[pete75]

Interesting article, given that you can get old android phones on ebay for less than £50 what's not to like?
http://www.alexroddie.com/2013/11/how-t ... -into.html

Especially if you get an old Motorola Defy - waterproof and dust proof to IP67.