3 Useful Smartphone Accessories For Your Child’s Next Camping Trip

We have a special guest post this week from Gus over at bushcraftpro.com.  I know the tech stuff can be annoying, but Gus makes a good argument for allowing some use with our kids.  Take it away Gus!

Camping with your child can be quite the challenge especially since nowadays they are often glued to their tech toys on a daily basis. When you want to encourage them to go camping they will often resist with statements like “No iPhone? No thanks!” and other similar forms of resistance.

However, sometimes it is wise to compromise and allow some technology into nature.   Let’s face it, it can enhance the experience at times and make the transition a little easier.  There’s no need to strictly reenact your own childhood camping experiences back when smartphones were not the norm and good ole elbow grease was the solution to everything.

As long as your child isn’t playing or texting all throughout the trip, a smartphone can come in handy for multiple reasons. The number one being, safety as if your child wanders off, they can give you a call or vice-versa if they get lost or hurt in the process. It can also be used to locate the child if it is still on them.

Smartphones are now equipped with cameras and in some cases, some really powerful ones but even a cheap phone can snap some quick photos or videos which can be enough to capture a cool moment in nature.  Encourage your child to capture such moments, just make sure they’re aware of safety precautions.  Getting too close to nature in some cases can be dangerous! They should always be supervised to avoid mishaps.

Having said all that, here’s a list to equip your child with if they bring their smartphone along.

Portable battery charger – These are great for charging phones and other electronics. Depending on which model you purchase, the amount of power you can draw will vary.   Usually for around $50 or so you can get enough power for a short trip as long as it’s used wisely. Obviously make sure that all phones are charged before you go on the trip and that the battery charger is fully charged too! Ideally, you – the adult, should be entrusted to carry this item for safe keeping and proper usage.

Since there are so many models of these units, here are 3 from different price ranges along with the main difference between each aside from the price.

3 Portable battery chargers

Juno Power Hue Plus

The Juno is not the smallest but not that big either, weighing 9 oz. The main advantage of this unit over cheaper models is that it features an LCD Screen indicating the exact charge left, eliminating all the guesswork, which is a downside to other models. At around $60, it’s a good deal taking the LCD screen into consideration.

Jackery Giant

The Giant costs around $40, provides a 10,400 mAh capacity and even features an LED light. The downside is that it’s a bit on the heavier side hence the “Giant” in the name, weighing 10.4 oz.

Apelpi – Opso Plus

At around $26, the Apelpi is a good deal.   It has a sleek apple shape that’s not too big, and is great when you want to pack light.   It’s only 5.6 oz but the downside is that it doesn’t have as much power as larger units – 6400 mAh is as far as it will take you. Still, should be enough to keep a phone going.
Rugged phone case – if you just bought your kid a brand new expensive phone, the last thing you want to see is it being crushed or drowned by nature. Having a rugged case that’s both waterproof and impact resistant will help prevent such negative encounters. Unfortunately, such cases are often pricey but just like with insurance, it is better safe than sorry if the item is of value.

If your child has an older or inexpensive phone, then it’s probably not worth looking into this.

Phone armband – make sure to get one that is adequate for the child’s phone model and that it can accommodate the smartphone case if it has one due to the extra volume. Assuming that it’s strapped on properly, a child is less likely to accidentally drop or lose their phone.

You can also have a visual of their phone at all times as you can easily spot it versus if it was stowed away in their pocket. Do not opt for a flimsy model though as that will defeat the purpose and can instead result in the phone actually becoming lost or damaged!

There are plenty of other cool smartphone accessories but I’ve narrowed it down to 3 of what I deem to be the most useful and practical in most scenarios. Cost wise, these accessories can add up a bit but ultimately, it’s the cost of bringing technology along and more importantly securing it. Lastly, as mentioned earlier, a smartphone can be very useful for your child if used properly as a means of emergency communication and that in itself is priceless.

Gus blogs over at bushcraftpro.com and can be reached via email at [email protected].  If you like this article, check in with Gus and see some of the other good stuff he as coming up.