Camping, a way of getting away from the modern industrial world and get in touch with the natural part of the world. But it is quite impossible to leave everything behind and just get away from smartphones and laptops. It is possible and some people do go camping without any gadget, but for a maximum of us, we need phones and laptops for one or the other thing that we have to do.
With phones and laptops, a problem arises that they need to be regularly charged after being used for a while. So, as a camper, what are the options available to you when it comes to camping?
Well, here is the answer for How To Charge Mobile Laptop While Camping:
- Generators
- Power banks
- Shops
- Solar panel
- Vehicle charging
Before we get into details about each one, let’s look at why we need a laptop or phone in camps.
Need Of Phones/Laptops In Camps
As you know, it is quite impossible to go one day without phones and laptops because they are the means for us to get into the web and almost everything these days require the internet. You may need your smartphone/ laptop for any of the following reasons:
- Work: You may require your phone or laptop for work purposes. In this fast-paced time, it is difficult to get even a little bit of spare time and because of that, you may have to do some work even when in camp.
- Watching movies: Camping is about relaxing and watching movies is a good way to relax. You can get some entertainment in a movie and watching it with friends or family on your phone or laptop is a good camping activity.
- Listening to music: Just like watching movies, listening to music is another good activity for leisure time. And for listening to music, you will need your phone or laptop.
- Help in Camping: Camping can sometimes be tricky, especially for someone fairly new to camping. Setting up tents, lighting campfire, cooking can be done easily by watching tutorials that is only possible through a laptop or phone. Even for someone who has done camping, laptops or phones can help in navigation in case you get lost.
Ways Of Saving Battery By Yourself While Camping
You can get ports for charging your laptops and mobile phones, but if you are away from home, everyone wants to get some charging done and so you may have to get in line for charging multiple times. In that case, there are some things that you can do to keep your phone or laptop running for as long as you can.
- Always keep the battery level to a minimum because a lot of the battery of your phone and laptop is taken away by bright screens.
- Always keep on the battery saver. Every phone and laptop has a feature of battery saver which stops down unnecessary stuff like background animation and it reduces the usage of your battery and your phone or laptop will last for longer.
- Always try to keep your network carrier off if possible. If you don’t need to call or message someone, you can turn off the SIM card and it will save you battery a lot because in maintaining a network, a lot of your device’s battery is used up.
- Use data or WiFi services only when necessary. This will reduce your battery usage because obviously data and WiFi eats up a big chunk of your battery.
There are a lot of things that you can adopt to keep your battery usage to a minimum, but primarily the above things can be enough to keep the battery usage to a minimum.
Ways of Charging Your Phone/Laptop While Camping
As we said earlier, we will discuss the different ways by which you can charge your phone or laptop while camping.

1. Generators
This is a direct way of connecting a charger to your phone or laptop. If you have a generator, you can not only charge your phone or laptop but also use it for other purposes like water heaters and table fans.
You can look for a small size generator for camping and it will be good for you in the long term. It is easy to run a generator as well but it runs on fuel, so it may be an extra cost.
Generators are pretty bulky though and need a vehicle to be carried around. If you want to go backpacking, you cannot carry generators.
2. Power Banks
This will only work for mobile phones and not for laptops, but for phones, there is nothing better. Power banks are cheap and easily available. They come in different power ranges and depending on the capacity, the power banks can charge your phone multiple times before it runs out.
Before going out camping, you can completely charge your power bank overnight and throughout the camping, it can charge your phone multiple times.
3.Shops
If you are planning to do your camping trip on campgrounds, then it is very likely that you will find coffee shops, stalls, or canteens near your ground. There you can plug in the charger of your laptop or phone to the socket available in the shop and charge your device for a while.
This is a temporary solution though because you can only do this once or twice and considering the frequency with which laptops and phones require charging, it is better to have an alternative solution.
Nevertheless, if you are stuck sometimes, you can surely use this option.
4. Solar Power
The use of solar power is very in fashion these days and it is a very good thing. The non-renewable sources are diminishing day by day and using an alternate source of power like solar is a very good initiative.
Solar panels are available that can be installed but only under an expert’s supervision. They provide good value and are great for charging devices. They are also portable because of its small size and lightweight.
For backpacking or hiking as well, you can use a solar charger and enjoy the services of your phone and laptop for an unlimited time.
There is another solar device, which is the solar power generator. They are similar to the generator but powered by sunlight. The solar energy is converted into electrical energy that you can use for charging. These are a bit larger than the solar chargers but you obviously won’t carry a generator for backpacking.
Keeping in mind the environmental factor, solar chargers, and power generators is an option we recommend you to look at.
Check Out the BEST PORTABLE CAMPING SOLAR PANELS Reviewed by us.
5. Vehicle Charging
This is also a good option for charging your devices. You obviously would go to your camp on foot, so why not use the vehicle you carry to charge your phone or laptop?
If you are going to camp in an RV (Recreational Vehicle), then you will have power sockets inside your van where you can directly charge your phone and laptop, but it does eat up a lot of your battery which can be a problem sometimes. But still, an RV owner doesn’t have to worry about charging phones or laptops.
If you don’t drive an RV but a normal car, there are accessories that you can use for charging your gadgets. Some of them are:
- Universal Laptop Charger: You cannot simply charge your laptop in a car unlike phones which come with a phone/ car charger, and so you will need a universal laptop charger to charge your laptop. A good universal charger comes with dual USB connectivity and also comes complete with a comprehensive selection of connectors that will match all kinds of laptops. They are also pretty cheap and are easily portable.
- Car Power Inverter: If you need more power and want to use your car battery for it, a car power inverter is a reliable option. They can directly connect to your car battery and can charge your phones and laptops at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Final Say
Charging ports are needed if you go camping and having an option for this is very important. Power Generators running on fuel or solar energy are the best options but if you have a vehicle, simple accessories will do the trick for you.
We as campers advise you to go for a solar charger or solar power generator because it promotes sustainable development and also costs less but you can have a different favorite based on your choice.
Do share your adventurous stories with us and tell us how you charge your laptops and phones when you go camping through the comment section below.
And as per usual, Happy Camping!
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