Help a luddite with a phone

[Nebu]

You all know WAY more about this crap than I do, so it's time that I solicit your help.  I need a new phone.  Here's what I value most, in order.

1. Signal.  I hike, alone, in remote areas.  I also do avalanche rescue.  I need a phone that can get a good signal where others can't. This is the primary reason that I still have a military grade flip phone

2. Durability.  Nuff said.

3. Battery life.  I often can't charge the phone for days.  So something that can hold a charge for days or I can easily swap a battery out.

4. I don't care about features beyond texting and phone.  So that's meaningless to me.

5. I'm currently with Verizon as I live in a rural reception hole for AT&T.  I'll switch if I have to, be prefer that I don't.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Engels]

[Sky]

military grade flip phone

You're good.

I've found I really like having the Internet in my pocket, but as far as a phone goes there was no reason to upgrade from my Tracfone flip; got signal in the ADK and was wicked sturdy with great call quality.

[Nebu]

military grade flip phone

You're good.

The one I have is no longer supported and has been replaced by a Samsung that seems less durable.  The sales people keep trying to push me into a smart phone, but I really don't need a smart phone.

[Sky]

Durable and smart phone don't mix. Seems more people have cracked screens than don't. The shell I put on my S5 is nice but I wouldn't expect it to survive too long if I didn't treat it with kid gloves (I tend to be rough on things).

[Trippy]

Buy an Iridium Go and use it with whatever phone you want.

For battery life buy a portable battery charger.

[Nebu]

For battery life buy a portable battery charger.

Can you give me an example?  Assume that I am not within miles of electricity for days at a time and have limited pack space. 

[Trippy]

Sure, your Samsung phone has a 1300 mAh Lithium Ion battery, I believe. This guy is a 3200mAh Lithium Ion battery pack that weighs 2.56 ozs. So it can charge your phone's battery to full from a fully depleted stated at least twice. There are portable battery pack chargers in all sorts of shapes, sizes, weights and capacity.

[Nebu]

Sure, your Samsung phone has a 1300 mAh Lithium Ion battery, I believe. This guy is a 3200mAh Lithium Ion battery pack that weighs 2.56 ozs. So it can charge your phone's battery to full from a fully depleted stated at least twice. There are portable battery pack chargers in all sorts of shapes, sizes, weights and capacity.

Thanks.

I actually don't have that phone.  It's what Verizon wants to move me to from my current phone. 

I'm trying to get a quote on the Iridium GO.  I had no idea the air time was so pricey.  If you own the docking station, air time is $80 a month for 60 mins. 

[Yegolev]

For extended hiking, I might suggest a solar battery charger.  I'm going to end up doing the Philmont hike at some point and I figure that would be a good idea.  Haven't done any real research yet, though.

I'd also suggest sticking with VZW since about the only thing they do right is coverage and sending Cheddar to SC.  Or Iridium per Trippy.  The site doesn't say how much it weighs, though.

[Nebu]

I get decent coverage on most of the common peaks in the Rockies in CO and UT.  My only concern is when I do more rugged stuff west of Thunder Bay.  Seems a bit pricey to go the Iridium route.  I may have to start researching this more thoroughly.  To date, I've just gone without.  Now that I'm getting older, safety seems a bit smarter.

[Trippy]

Sure, your Samsung phone has a 1300 mAh Lithium Ion battery, I believe. This guy is a 3200mAh Lithium Ion battery pack that weighs 2.56 ozs. So it can charge your phone's battery to full from a fully depleted stated at least twice. There are portable battery pack chargers in all sorts of shapes, sizes, weights and capacity.

Thanks.

I actually don't have that phone.  It's what Verizon wants to move me to from my current phone. 

I'm trying to get a quote on the Iridium GO.  I had no idea the air time was so pricey.  If you own the docking station, air time is $80 a month for 60 mins. 

You can Google the battery capacity of your existing phone (or whatever phone you think you might get) and figure out the capacity of a portable battery charger you would need based on that.

The Iridium Go would basically just be for really remote hikes (you wouldn't need to carry it with you on all hikes) but with that you don't need to worry about how good the antenna is with your cell phone. It is of course extra weight to carry around but you aren't going to find a all-in-one cell phone that can do everything you want and even if such a magical device did exist it's not likely going to be much smaller or lighter than this multi-component system (regular cell phone + battery charger + Iridium Go).

[Nebu]

The Iridium Go would basically just be for really remote hikes (you wouldn't need to carry it with you on all hikes) but with that you don't need to worry about how good the antenna is with your cell phone. It is of course extra weight to carry around but you aren't going to find a all-in-one cell phone that can do everything you want and even if such a magical device did exist it's not likely going to be much smaller or lighter than this multi-component system (regular cell phone + battery charger + Iridium Go).

I get that.  Thanks for the info on the Iridium.  I never knew about such a thing.  I'll keep it as an option when I really get off the grid.  It may come in handy for a kayaking trip in Bali that I was planning. 

[Polysorbate80]

Iif you're using a battery pack to recharge your phone, stop charging once the phone hits 80%.  Charging above 80% takes more power than charging below 80 does.

[Viin]

If you are just worried about safety (rather than communicating), a PLB is probably what you want. Some even come with tracking services:
http://www.rei.com/product/860469/spot-gen3-satellite-gps-messenger

[Cheddar]

PM me.

[Hawkbit]

Are there any "simple" cell phone companies or contracts?  We've used ATT for the last four years because they were fairly simple to work with, though expensive.  I have an iPhone 4, wife has an iPhone 5.  I want to upgrade my phone to a 6 and add another phone, maybe a 5c for my kid. 

It's like I need to be an actuary to understand how it all works.  Apparently I have to buy my kid's phone outright, but the 6 can be paid for in installments.  But not part of the contract, either. 

I'm so confused and it's all too much money for a fucking phone. 

[Trippy]

AT&T has a family plan. Are you using that? T-Mobile is trying to be more consumer friendly compared to its rivals but I'm not sure how its family stuff works.