When organizing your wilderness adventure one of the most important but often overlooked aspects is determining your electrical requirements. Whether you are trekking, cooking, lighting your campsite, or powering electronics, understanding how much energy you will consume helps you select appropriate gear.

Start by listing all the electronic devices you plan to bring. Common items include a LED lantern, a GPS-enabled device, a handheld navigator, a digital camera, a small Bluetooth speaker, or a lightweight cooker with electronic ignition. For each device, refer to its technical specifications. Most devices display the info on the packaging. If it's in watts, take the wattage and multiply by daily usage time to get watt hours. For example, a 5W lamp running 4 hours per day uses 20Wh.

For gear rated in mAh, convert to watt hours by taking mAh times voltage and dividing the result by 1,000. Most phones and power banks use a 3.7-volt lithium-ion cell. So, a 10,000 mAh unit stores 37 watt-hours 10000 times 3.7 divided by 1000.

Then, assess your daily usage patterns. Be realistic. You might plan to use GPS minimally to conserve power, not continuously. Consider that cold weather can reduce battery life significantly, so include a 20–30% safety margin.

Sum the energy consumption of each item per day to get your total daily energy requirement. Multiply daily consumption by the number of overnight stays to find your overall power requirement. For example, your 50Wh daily use over five days equals 250Wh.

Now choose your power sources. Sun-powered options excel in bright environments but falter in shaded or rainy conditions. Portable power stations provide dependable energy storage, but ensure their rated output is higher than your demand. A 250Wh unit perfectly matches the requirement, but you might want to bring a 300 watt hour one for safety.

For fuel-powered cooking, remember that fuel like white gas or propane also counts as energy. A typical camping stove uses about 100 to 200 grams of fuel per meal. Schedule fuel for three main meals daily, and add a little extra for boiling water or emergencies.

Finally, always bring a backup. Carry extra batteries, a traditional magnetic compass, a printed topographic map, and a waterproof match. Technology can fail, but manual equipment never runs out of power. By planning ahead and calculating your energy needs accurately, you can enjoy your trip without worrying about dead batteries or running out of fuel.