I'm planning on hunting Nepal in 2019. One of my hunting partners has pretty bad sleep apnea and uses a CPAP. I don't think going without it is an option for him. Anyone use a CPAP in the backcountry? We'll probably be away from electricity for at least a week.

I have a travel CPAP. It is too big to carry. There is a new smaller lighter CPAP with a replacement battery and a solar panel, it may well be possible to recharge them. Just today I saw a small portable windmill for charging. Super light. The advantage of this is that it will charge overnight.

Personally, I have a custom mouth piece that I use when I have no electricity. It is expensive but it is fine for a backpack hunt.

All my CPAP guys have either ran a car battery or the battery panels. All way heavy. The solar panel did not work well with limited daylight. If he needs it, spend the money on a good light weight one.

I am a CPAP user and I can't imagine a hunt for multiple days without using it.

For those that do not have the disease imagine breathing through a stirring straw from the bottom of your swimming pool versus breathing normally at sea level and 50 degrees with 30% humidity.

If we travel I have it with me. My wife also has the disease but not to the same level. She can go weeks without using it and doesn't seem to care.

Sleep without the CPAP if they have it bad is like not sleeping.

I even use mine for naps.

talentrec,

Since your going to Nepal I assume your not lugging your own gear into camp. A travel size CPAP and a several charged batteries would be my solution. Also if there is a vehicle in camp with a cigarette lighter or power outlet your friend can charge his battery daily with the proper cords. As others have said traveling without a CPAP if you have sleep apnea is like not sleeping. I can't imagine going anywhere without mine.

Mark

I think Mark is right.

The model I have is fairly small but the battery is heavy. I am guessing 4 pounds. It supposedly weighs 4 pounds.

There are different model travel CPAPs which are even smaller but more importantly, have much smaller batteries. I would buy one of those with several batteries.

Thanks for the suggestions. We will have porters, so a little extra weight isn't too worrisome, but I wonder about bringing the batteries on the plane?

Talentrec,

I have taken my batteries on international flight to many countries. They need to be with your friend's CPAP and taken on board the aircraft as his " ONE PERSONAL ITEM" in addition to his carry-on.

Mark

Thanks Mark!

Check out CPAP.com

You can find a variety of portable CPAPs and the batteries.

On a trip to Mexico I found out my CPAP could be carried on as a third piece because it is considered a must have medical device. The same for a African trip. All that was needed was to notify the airline/airlines involved in advance of traveling. Mine goes with me everywhere. A couple of extra Batts and three ways to charge works for me.

Are you going to be hunting higher than usual in Nepal? If so, you might have to consider the extra strains the altitude might put on the situation.

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
All my CPAP guys have either ran a car battery or the battery panels. All way heavy. The solar panel did not work well with limited daylight. If he needs it, spend the money on a good light weight one.

Right. So I'm one of the aforementioned guys who's hunted with Jake and my CPAP. We've done two hunts together and each time I've brought a heavy car battery with me. (*I ask Jake what car/truck he drives and buy the largest I can that will fit.)

In general, a CPAP burns at a rate of about .8 amps per hour (*depends on model and that value is without the humidifier). There are several metrics out there that convert reserve minutes into amp hours. So, that means I need 7AH to make it through the night. I've found that I can get 8 days on a car battery without a recharge...it also leaves enough power to recharge USB devices such as my IPad or a rechargeable flashlight.

My experience with lithium ion battery packs haven't been great at all. I had one pack that would work for 12 hours - I have used that one even on airplanes. 18 hours to JoBurg and the CPAP was a godsend dealing with the jet lag.

I tried using a motorcycle battery and could barely get two days out of an AGM style...and barely a day out of a Lithium MC battery.

So, in the case of places where there are porters or one can be cautious enough packing for weight (think small sea plane on Kodiak Island) then I'd say go full size car or marine battery.

As an aside, when I did my goat hunt we did camp on the mountain for a night. On that night I went with a combination of Afrin, Benadryl and a simple mouth appliance to sleep. It worked...though I don't think I'd like to make a hobby of it.

Good Luck!

I have tested my cpap on gell cell batteries and they worked for about 20 hours again it depends what capacity the gell cell is and what pressure your cpap is set for. My cpap is set at 11.5, The gell cell I tested was 18amp hour. You can try an ATV battery which can be bought just about everywhere and should work for 3 nights depending on amp rating Just bring sufficient batteries to cover your stay, also may be able to use solar chargers to charge the other battery while using the other.I tested mine with just the cpap not with the heated vaporizer that they come with. I putchased the battery power cord for that purpose and will be using it in Greenland latter this month. The outfittter is providing a car battery for me.

These new travel CPAPs and batteries are far superior to the old units. Mine is not the newest and it will run for more than two nights. The newest are lighter and last longer.

For backpacking, I have a custom made mouth piece. It only weighs a few ounces. I can live with it but it is expensive.

Video on travel cpap units
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0EAz6HzCgU