EDC POWER PACK - How to EDC Power Carry

They say that with power comes responsibility?
Yep the responsibility to lend your charger to complete strangers at the airport because they didn’t have the foresight or planning to bring their own : )

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In truth I’m happy to help, I always wanted to be a super hero but I guess that’ll have to do. It dose astonish me how important it has become to carry a descent charge with me mostly because in my case overnight and after an OS update the battery life on my IPhone dropped from about 3+ days to “1”!!!??? I guess it also shows how important our smart devices have become, I am actually writing this post on mine. But it was this situation that finally inspired me to sort something out.

RAVpower XTREME CARRIED IN A VANQUEST HYDRA POUCH AND MOLLED TO  MAXPEDITION PHP POUCH

This post then is all about my auxiliary power source, the energy requiring kit I carry and the hints tips and solutions I have discovered, to keep it all charged and ready.

AUXILIARY POWER SOURCE THE BATTERY SIZE MATTERS

First the battery.
It wasn’t going to be hard to decide which brand of battery to go for because I already had a lot of experience of RAVpower products given I’ve own one of their RAVpower Shockproof Waterproof power packs for carry in my hiking gear.

I decided to go for a RAVpower XTREME SERIES for 3 reasons:

1. How many charges; The RAVpower XTREME SERIES? would keep all my devices charger for 6 to 7 days and takes about 6hrs to fully re-charge
2. It’s physical size; I wanted to be able to carry it in a Vanquest Hydra Pouch so it would need to be about 3 x 7 x 1/4. 
3. USB compatible; The RAVpower XTREME SERIES has 3 USB charging ports which always me to charge all of my devices at once, while the battery pack it’s self is being charged so acts like a 3 way splitter.

THE CHARGER USB POWER ADAPTER

Even with my 6+ days of glorious auxiliary power in the form of the RAVpower XTREME SERIES  I was still going to need a charger!
Primarily I would need it to charge the battery but could also use it to charge devices directly when need be. This I already had, the Apple USB Power Adapter, an unbelievably great idea and one of the those moments when you think wouldn’t it be great if, you google it and find exactly what you had in mind. The Apple USB Power Adapter is very small and neat and features folding pins which means it can slip into any pocket or organiser pouch and not cause a bulge.

THE CABLES

CABLES AND CABLE MANAGEMENT

Having long since destroyed the original Apple Lightning to USB Cable I replaced it with a ruggerized breaded cable from Anker. long enough to plug in to my power pack, while in my Goruck and charge while still using my phone. Other cables came with their devices. Necessary, do their jobs but nothing exciting to report here.

THE CABLE MANAGEMENT

CABLE MANAGEMENT. ITW WEB DOMINATORS DETAIL

Still working on this, I have an idea for a pouch configuration for the job but for now we turn to the ever faithful, every useful ITW Web Dominator. With a couple of small modifications it works really well as a cable tidy and organiser. Stand-by. Basically I have drilled 2 small holes at the top of the straps slots meaning there is less stress on the cable once threaded it allows the Dominator to slide up and down the cable, just makes it easier to use. Not shown here but I have also extended the shock cord and added beads, easier to grip and strap-up those unruly cables.

THE USB COMPATIBILITY

USB COMPATIBILITY WAS KEY FOR THIS CONFIG

Making sure everything is compatible with everything else was key. It would save space for start. So all my kit is USB rechargeable so all can use the RAVpower and all can charge directly from the Apple Power Adapter so one charger, one battery works with all. Still need 5 sets of cable but I’m working on that. But for me most importantly, I don’t need any other kind of battery, “great” : ) batteries are heavy!

THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRING POWER

THE FENIX RC05

FENIX RC05, IN SUCH A SHORT TIME AN EDC FAVOURITE

The Fenix RC05 flashlight Is the newest addition to my EDC. The specifics here were price, size vs lumen and really importantly for me, USB rechargeable with a replaceable battery, the FENIX RC05 fit my criteria.

The Fenix RC05 is 300 lumen and it’s size, small enough for a back pocket but not so finicky to use realistically everyday. After all... nothing breaks in broad day light, everything wears out in the middle of the night, this being so and being a; Business, Car, Bike, Home owner, Husband and Cat co-occupant, having a decent flashlight to hand, preferable right next to a multi tool is critical.
This is a new piece of kit and is still running on its original factory charge. Impressive.

THE WATCH - GAMIN FENIX 3 SAPPHIRE

GARMIN FENIX3 SAPPHIRE WITH ZULU4 BALLISTIC NYLON G10 STRAP

This is my first smart watch and a replacement for my Casio ProTrek which is still going strong but functionality is limited now. It’s is a child of the 90s where being smart was not being cool. For me the most useful function of the Gamin Fenix 3 is the ability to retrieve alerts from my phone on my wrist making it easy and safer to pick-up messages especially when driving or riding a bike. Even out and about on a hike I can get my messages on my shock-proof, water-proof Garmin Fenix and leave my iPhone warm dry and protected in my rucksack, acting like a mini hard drive and WiFI.

The Garmin Fenix has a host of useful tools for hikers and sporting pursuits, ranging from a Compass to pedometers to GPS tracking to a Thermometer (my favourite) retrieving more accurate readings from the Garmin Tempe which is attached to the outside of my Goruck.

GARMIN TEMPE THERMOMETER FOR MORE ACCURATE EXTRA TEMPERATURE READING SYNCED TO THE GARMIN FENIX

There are lots of really good posts about the Garmin Fenix so I won’t bang-on any more here but it has become a very integral piece of kit for my business life every day, not just outdoors and hiking. “Smart watches, who would have thought it” : )

THE SMART PHONE

THE POWER CARRY LOAD-OUT

She is getting old now and will replace with one of the newer waterproof models eventually but for now and everyday it is the iPhone6.

IPHOINE RAVPOWER RE-CHARGE. THIS IS ACTUALLY MY HIKING CONFIG

As I said earlier in this piece, the battery only lasts a day now so this was the biggest reason for auxiliary power, recharger, cables and all. The iPhone is so important now from writing this post to email, web browsing Dropbox back-up; camera, note writing, Instagram checking, shit, even paying for a drink a mobile phone, maybe but now, due to the diminished battery life and increased importance I need a rucksack to carry it, that and the rest of my EDC I guess.

THE CONCLUSION

Firstly less is not more, less is less, less to carry. This being the case I wanted kit to do as many jobs as possible and if I could have one item to do all, brilliant!

1. RAVpower XTREME SERIES power pack can charge all of my devices so no need for any other battery. It can also work as a 3 splitter so charging all at once while being charged it self. I feel that it is small enough to carry every day but has a charging capacity large enough to last for 6+ days.
2. The Apple USB Power Adapter is USB compatible so works with all devices individually and can charge the power pack. It is small and with folding pins just slips into any pocket or organiser
3. Cables Annoyingly I still need different cables for each device, x5 in total including an android cable for my wife.

So what do we have here other than a sign of the times. When I was starting out as a graphic designer in the 80s I would say to my self wouldn’t it be great if I could just sit in the park, do my work and earn my money... then one fine day you look up from your screen, and think “shit” that’s just what I’m doing right now. And this my Every Day Power Carry (EDPC) makes it all possible.

ALL ENVIRONMENTS ANY SITUATION. POWERED UP AND READY FOR SOME PRETEND WORK AT THE COFFEE SHOP.

ABOUT THE LINKS WITH-IN THIS POST.

I've included links to GEAR featured so you can find out more or even purchase. In some cases items have been upgraded or discontinued so I have linked to equivalents, I hope that's OK.

GEAR LIST:

• RAVpower XTREME SERIES Power Pack
• pple Folding Pins USB Power Adapter
• Anker USB Lightning Connector
• Fenix RC05 Flashlight
• Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire Watch
• Garmin Tempe
• ITW Web Dominators

FEATURED NOT MENTIONED:

• ZULU 4 Ballistic Nylon Watch Strap [G10]
• Greyman Tactical Riged Insert MOLLE panel
• Vanguest Hydra Pouch
• Casio ProTrek
• Magpul Bump iPhone 6 case

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Goruck GR1 Rucksack EDC
EDC Admin / Organisers
The Every Day Carry [EDC]

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Leave a comment. Tell me what you think. What does your EDC Power Carry look like? It would be great to hear. Thanks very much for taking the time. Enjoy the rest of the site.

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