Electronics

Nitecore NB Plus 10000mAh ‘energy bar’

Three Points of the Compass has long been a fan of Nitecore Powerbanks, using them across many thousands of trail miles. Does the latest NB Plus 10k have anything new to offer?

ditty bag

Gear talk: what I took on the Arctic Circle Trail

Three Points of the Compass takes a glance at what he wore and carried on an eight day 100 mile summer backpack across Greenland's Arctic tundra.

ditty bag

Trail talk: the Coast to Coast- my gear

Three Points of the Compass takes a glance at the gear he carried on a recent walk across northern England on the Coast to Coast Path

Electronics

Gear talk: ThermoDrop zipper-pull thermometer

Another luxury purchase. Still on the search for perfection, Three Points of the Compass splashes out on yet another thermometer. Will this prove to be ‘the one’? Three Points of […]

Electronics

Gear talk: the Pad-Pal v5.1 sleeping pad inflator

Following trials, a 'final' production version of the Pad-Pal electric sleeping pad inflator is now available. Weighing less than ten grams, including valve adapter, this bit of luxury on trail is now an ultralight option for all.

Electronics

Gear talk: Nitecore Carbo 20000, the world’s lightest 20000mAh powerbank

Most backpackers are carrying a powerbank on multi-day trips. As the need for additional power for a multitude of electronic devices increases, so does the search for the lightest and most efficient of high capacity 'bricks'. Three Points of the Compass has a glance at a 20k mAh option from Nitecore.

Cooking

Gear talk: my backpacking gear for spring in the UK

A glance at the gear Three Points of the Compass has packed for a weeks wander across Lowland Scotland. I have a mix of official campsites and wildcamping, and because this is in May, I can anticipate low to mid-high temperatures and dry or wet conditions.

Electronics

Gear talk: USB-C coupler adapters, they don’t come much smaller or lighter than this!

It can be surprising how much weight a cable can add to electronics carried on trail. Here is one of the lightest alternatives available. This USB-C coupler has it's limitations, but could be a handy primary or back-up connector.

Electronics

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s smallest and lightest electric pad inflator is getting smaller and lighter!

This is an update on the progress that Tyler Reeves is making in further reducing the size and weight of his home-grown pad inflator. It isn't available yet, and may differ substantially from the prototype shown here, but watch this space...

Electronics

Gear talk: my 2023 electronics

It is three years since I did a dedicated post on the electronic gear I carry on backpacking trips, so here is the 2023 update. Do note that this selection is peculiar to me. I am a UK lightweight backpacker who still enjoys a bit of luxury. As always, there is also a little experimentation underway at present so one item at least will be dropped later in the year.

Electronics

Gear talk: the Oria SensorBlue Thermometer Hygrometer

Three Points of the Compass likes to have an idea of the temperature on trail. Just how hot was that sweltering climb up? How much did it dip below zero in the small hours? Most little thermometers are pretty useless. Difficult to read, wildly inaccurate, easily broken, stupidly expensive or cheap and nasty. I may have found the answer...

Electronics

Gear talk: the Sofirn BLF LT1 2.0 Lantern

Suitable for base camps, car camping, emergencies and home use, the Sofirn BLF LT1 2.0 Lantern is compact, efficient and well-priced. In short, it is possibly the best battery powered lantern currently available.

Electronics

Gear talk: Olight Obulb

The Olight Obulb is a small rechargeable LED globe lantern that provides 360° of soft light. It has a wide range of possible applications. The light weight and size, weather proofness, warm low light and runtime also makes it suitable for some backpacking and camping application.

Electronics

Gear talk: Nitecore NB10000 Gen2 powerbank

The NB10000 Gen 2 Quick-Charge USB-A/USB-C 10000mAh Powerbank was released by Nitecore in summer 2022 as a generational improvement of the original NB10000 that astonished the lightweight backing community in 2009. Nitecore have now released a second generation of the NB10000 with just a handful of welcome upgrades, while continuing to ignore a few other areas that could do with improvement.

Electronics

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s lightest electric sleeping pad inflator

A pair of lungs is lighter than the little inflator looked at here, but the Pad-Pal is, by far, the lightest electric sleeping pad inflator in the world. It is doubtful that anything lighter could be made.

Electronics

Gear talk: RovyVon Aurora A5 USB-C ‘glow-in-the-dark’ Keychain Flashlight

Following a couple of upgrades, the third generation of RovyVon Aurora A5 glow-in-the-dark (GITD) keychain flashlight is now (probably) the best ‘keychain’ hand-held light available to backpackers. It has now replaced my Nitecore NU25 headlamp on trail

Electronics

Three Points of the Compass

Long Distance Trails, lightweight backpacking and gear, map measures and anything outdoorsy

Electronics

Nitecore NB Plus 10000mAh ‘energy bar’

Gear talk: what I took on the Arctic Circle Trail

Trail talk: the Coast to Coast- my gear

Gear talk: ThermoDrop zipper-pull thermometer

Gear talk: the Pad-Pal v5.1 sleeping pad inflator

Gear talk: Nitecore Carbo 20000, the world’s lightest 20000mAh powerbank

Gear talk: my backpacking gear for spring in the UK

Gear talk: USB-C coupler adapters, they don’t come much smaller or lighter than this!

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s smallest and lightest electric pad inflator is getting smaller and lighter!

Gear talk: my 2023 electronics

Gear talk: the Oria SensorBlue Thermometer Hygrometer

Gear talk: the Sofirn BLF LT1 2.0 Lantern

Gear talk: Olight Obulb

Gear talk: Nitecore NB10000 Gen2 powerbank

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s lightest electric sleeping pad inflator

Gear talk: RovyVon Aurora A5 USB-C ‘glow-in-the-dark’ Keychain Flashlight

Gear talk: looking at Power Adapters

Gear chat: lightweight solar panels

Gear talk: Nitecore powerbanks for lightweight backpacking

Gear talk: Quad Lock case and tripod adapter for the Samsung Galaxy S20+