I've never much cared about my phone's crappy battery life. My home is full of USB-C and (ugh) Lightning cables to keep our phones topped off. I rarely use my phone while out and about, and while music streaming is a battery killer, my runs or neighborhood walks rarely last longer than an hour or two. But my new pandemic-era hobby—hiking—made me painfully aware of how bad battery life is both a hassle and a risk.
According to this Outdoor Foundation report, hiking is the most popular outdoor activity in America. Nearly 60 million people go on an average of six hikes per year, nearly double the number of hikers from the early 2010s. I know plenty of people who turned to hiking during the early COVID days and have kept up the habit.
