Electronics in the wild-keeping them alive.

When in the hills or away from civilisation it can be useful to have a phone (in case of emergencies) and a camera (to take pictures of all the cool things you see). The often inclement conditions can however take their toll on electronics, both temporarily and permanently.

Tom, Nick, John and I were almost at the bivvy hut when the heavens opened. Thunder boomed and the rain lashed down. I had time to get into my waterproofs and sling a waterproof cover over my cheap Blacks rucksack. When we got to the hut I found that a hole in this cover had channeled a pool of water into the same pocket as my £80 camera. Its red 'flash ready' light was blinking the binary equivalent of a death rattle. I removed the batteries, opened all the hatches and lay it on the floor to dry. Despite sitting without batteries in a hot car for 5 days afterwards it never recovered.

Camping up next to the CiC hut below Ben Nevis in winter I woke on Sunday to find the temperature had soared (not good when you are camping on snow) and that I was sleeping in a pool of water. My phone and camera were in the sidepocket of the tent and damp, both of them registering low battery. Once back to the minibus they sprang to life as if by magic......


Two things will kill your gadgets when you are in the hills, the cold (temporary, unless it is really extreme) and the wet (permanent, unless you are really lucky).

The cold slows down the chemical reaction inside batteries, making it appear that there is less energy left than there really is. When climbing in the cold I now keep my camera as close to my body as I can, usually in my breast pocket, never in the lid of my rucksack. The same goes with phones. It is often an idea to remove the batteries and try warming them under armpits/in groin region, as these the warmest parts of the body. This can give you enough juice to take that perfect picture or make that phonecall.

To keep gear dry I use drybags/drysacks, call them what you will. Light and well made are podsacs ultra light range, made of something like cordura. These have no zips, which loses a lot of weight but are equally waterproof. It is worth having a few different sizes, one the same as the inside of your rucksack to put everything in and others of different sizes and colours. This also makes finding things easier in a rucksack as things stand out and slide out more easily.

The humble Tesco bag has holes in it, rendering it less than ideal. The light, see through bags that mushrooms come in are hardly durable but are useful and free :)