Everything downloaded before the last bar goes
Camping exposes the assumption every phone app is built on, which is that there is a connection. Once there is not, a surprising number of apps show stale information with complete confidence rather than admitting they cannot refresh. The way to camp with a phone is to treat Friday afternoon as the deadline: everything you will need has to be downloaded, checked and working in aeroplane mode before you leave the last town.
The Friday afternoon checklist
- Download the offline map for a wide area Wider than the site. The useful radius is however far you might drive looking for somewhere else, not the size of the field.
- Save the pitch location and the car park as separate points Coming back to a field at night with thirty identical tents is the scenario this solves.
- Read the forecast and write down the numbers Wind speed, overnight low, rain timing. A note survives a dead connection; the app does not.
- Download music, podcasts and something to read All streaming fails at once, and evenings in a tent are long.
- Send the plan to somebody who is not coming Where, which nights, when you are back, and the number of the site if it has one.
- Charge everything including the power bank The power bank is the one everybody forgets, and a flat one weighs the same as a full one.
- Test it in aeroplane mode before leaving Five minutes at home. Open the map, the forecast and the first aid app with the radios off and see what still works.
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What goes on the phone
Places to stop for vans and campers, with photographs and recent comments about whether a spot is still tolerated. The comments are the useful part, and they need downloading in advance.
The same job across Europe with a strong dataset of official aires and campsites, and offline access to the ones you have saved.
Campgrounds and dispersed camping in North America, with reviews that distinguish between a site with facilities and a patch of gravel.
Push to talk over data. Not a substitute for radios with no coverage at all, but on a site with weak data it keeps a group in touch far better than voice calls.
Location sharing for a group spread across a large site or walking separately. Set it up for the weekend and switch it off after.
Offline maps with contours, footpaths and water sources. The most capable of the offline maps and the one worth learning before the trip.
The simple offline alternative: download the region, no account, no tracking, and it finds a pitch you saved without a connection.
The forecast to check before leaving, and the one to refresh whenever you find a bar of signal. Wind gusts overnight are the number that decides how you pitch.
The same data arranged around a specific spot, useful if the trip involves water.
Sunset and the length of twilight after it, which is how long you have to get the tent up and dinner started.
A full sky map that works with no connection. A dark field is the one place a phone astronomy app is genuinely better than a book.
The point and identify version, easier with children and less demanding of the phone.
A torch that is only a torch. Keep the screen off and use the flash, and remember that a head torch costs less than the battery you are spending.
Guy lines, tarps and a broken pole splint. Three knots learned properly solve most camp problems.
First aid that works offline, which is the entire reason to have it rather than searching when it matters.
Shows what is actually draining the battery, which on a camping weekend is almost always the screen and the phone hunting for a signal.
Local radio, for a weather bulletin when the data has gone. Needs a connection itself, so it is the town stop app rather than the field app.
Making the battery last to Sunday
| What drains it | How much | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting for a signal | A great deal, continuously | Aeroplane mode, with wireless off too |
| Screen at full brightness | The largest single drain when in use | Drop it, and use the torch instead of the screen |
| Navigation with the screen on | Heavy | Follow the map in short checks, not continuously |
| Photographs and video | Moderate, and worse in cold | Keep the phone warm in a pocket, not in the porch |
| Background sync | Small but constant | Aeroplane mode handles all of it at once |
| Cold overnight | Apparent loss of charge | Sleep with the phone in the bag, not beside it |
Aeroplane mode is the whole strategy. A phone with no signal spends its life transmitting at full power looking for a mast it cannot find, and that alone can empty a battery in a day. Turn the radios off, turn them on for five minutes if you climb somewhere with a view, and a modern phone will comfortably last a weekend.
The part that is not convenience
Emergency calls do not need your own network. A phone with no usable signal from your carrier can often still connect to another network for an emergency call, which is why moving a few hundred metres or gaining height is worth trying before concluding there is nothing.
Several countries run a registration service that lets you reach emergency services by text message when a voice call will not hold, and registering takes a minute and must be done in advance. Some recent phones on some networks can also send an emergency message via satellite. Both are worth looking up for your own country and handset before a trip, along with the grid reference or what3words style location of where you are staying, written on paper in the car.
Download everything on Friday, put the phone in aeroplane mode on arrival, save the pitch as a point, and keep the power bank charged.
Frequently asked questions
Will offline maps show campsites?
Open data maps show many of them, along with water taps and toilets where somebody has mapped them. The dedicated camping apps have better information but need their data downloaded first.
Is a power bank or a solar panel better?
For a weekend, a power bank, every time. Small solar panels need a day of direct sun for very little charge. Solar makes sense over a week, not over two nights.
Does aeroplane mode stop the GPS?
No. Satellite positioning is receive only and keeps working, which is why offline maps still show your position with all the radios off.
What if somebody gets hurt and there is no signal?
Try an emergency call anyway, since it can use another carrier's network, and move to higher ground. Know the site's address or location beforehand, and keep it written down.
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