On longer expeditions, and over-night treks, my Eversense CGM transmitter is going to need a recharge, (usually recharge it every 24-36 hours)
By packing a power bank, a short USB & the charge cradle I can do multiple re-charges AND packs down small for easy carrying.
This picture was taken at "Trail Camp" on a recent one-day trip to Mt. Whitney. It was day break, it was cold, and, after trekking through the night, my transmitter alerted me that it was time to "Recharge The Transmitter" by series of quick on-body vibrations as well as a more 'stern' message on the app notification.
"Trail Charge" is just a title I came up with for this post, it's not an actual product.
A few parts in this setup:
One part supplied by Eversense (the charge cradle)
And a couple parts sold separately, but they're easy to find.
1. The Eversense Charging Cradle
Just the cradle part, you can leave the cord and wall plug at home.
2. Short Micro USB-to-USB cord
The shorter the better, I found this 3" (7cm) length works great.
It has a regular USB on one end and a "Micro USB" on the other
The cord is flexible so it's not likely to get damaged bouncing around in my pack.
Found this 2-Pack on Amazon for $6.99
3. Power Supply
I carry this MyCharge 'AmpProng+' which boats 6700mAh... enough power to charge my transmitter many times over, as well as my phone, and any other USB gadget I may bring on the trail.
This alone has a carry weight of 8.2oz (240g)
I’ve also found these at Target,
And Amazon,
And directly at the MyCharge product page
There’s quite a lot of power banks on the market, and just about any of them will work for this sort of thing.
The lighter, the better
It has fold-out wall charge prongs!!!
(U.S. style shown here)
Twin USB ports so two devices can be charged at once.
Direct from MyCharge for $49.99
Connect all the parts together.
Start with connecting the cradle to the Micro USB cord
The micro USB will only go in one way, so there’s no chance on getting the connection wrong.
Connect to the power bank.
Finally, the transmitter.
You'll feel the all-familiar vibration once the charge begins
Charged in about 10 minutes!
Only one thing left to do after the charge is complete...
Finding creative ways to perfectly place the transmitter using a make-shift mirror and the placement guide on the app...
but we're crafty type ones, we all have our tricks!
In this case, I had forgot to pack a small mirror, and was left to finagle the placement by finding the center of the adhesive, with the help of the placement guide on the Eversense app.
Lastly...
Break it all down and return it to the pack.
All the pieces came apart as easy as they went together.
Put all the parts into a ZipLoc so they stay organized before going back into the pack.
Pros and Cons:
Pros
Very fast recharge (about 10 minutes)
Easy and quick to assemble
Easy and quick to disassemble
Multiple charges for multiple days
Cons
Power bank will run out of juice eventually and will need to be recharged.
Added weight: Power Bank weighs about 8 oz (240g)
It’s Electric! (needs to be kept away from water)
Might fail (all gadgets will fail) Just a fact of life.
USB plugs do break.
Let me know in the comments box below if you have a different recharge trick for overnight expeditions.
While this is not a sponsored post, if any of my readers would like more info on the Eversense CGM, click below for the direct link to Eversense.
As a Bonus...
The short cord and cradle can be used with any USB wall plug and makes for a compact charging base when traveling.
In this case, I used my iPhone charger plug.
