Camp Tunes (Purists Beware!)

“I've just had a chance to try out my new backpacking music system (Oh! Horrors!) and I'm really loving it. I bought a Rio Cali 128 that will take up to 1 GB SD chips


and Creative TravelSound powered speakers


The combination of the two, including 3 512mb SD chips and 5 AAA batteries (1 in the Rio, 4 in the speakers) weighs less than a pound, shaving about 2 lbs off my old setup (cd mp3 player with external battery pack, Sony speakers using 4 C batteries and cd binder with 4 or 5 mp3 cds)

I tested the battery life on the Rio, it played 21 hrs 45 mins on one Duracell AAA (manufacturer claimed 18 hrs)!
The speakers claim 35 hrs on 4 AAAs, haven't tested yet. Approximately 8.5 hours of music on a 512 chip.

Great sound, very light and compact, perfect for you ultra-light hikers 8v)).

I paid $54 for the Cali from an Amazon dealer and $33 for the speakers from Creative's eBay store. Shaved 2 lbs. from my pack for less than $100! Not many places you can do that.”

“Never been something I could get into....I'd rather hear what's going on around me.....the birds, the wind, the water......the swearing and the fighting....music (loud) is for the car to and from the trail IMHO.

(That does look like a nice little player though.)”

“all the sierra bears have those this season.”

“I have that or a similar Rio that I use at the Gym. I like the interface and the built-in radio. The guy I use has televisions that broadcast the audio as a radio signal, so if I see something I want to watch I can switch from my music to the TV audio via frequencies posted under each TV. It's pretty nice.”