best tiny speakers?

To plug into your iphone?

For listening in the evening? (has to be louder) I've heard http://www.tembotrunks.com/ works good – no batteries but draws down your device

or when in sleeping bag? (quieter) – C Crane Pillow speaker doesn't have batteries, does draw down your device, isn't very loud outside where noise like the wind can drown it out, better for inside

I bought one at Radio Shack years ago that works pretty good, no batteries

I bought one at Bed Bath and Beyond that was on clearance, $5, 3AAA batteries, but it was no louder than when I took it apart and just connected the speakers directly without all the packaging and batteries

Ideally I'd like them to be loud enough to listen to while hiking in glacier/montana. I'm not a huge fan of this idea, but I am also not excited about the idea of surprising a bear!

A snowpeak pot in the side pocket with an iphone or player in it will amplify it a little and not add weight…….. but not really useful if you carry something else or if you have a nano or something……. just a thought!

It seems like it would have to be very loud for bear to hear it.

Bear bells?

Maybe you should have bear spray regardless. Carry it on your hip so you can grab it quickly. Practice using it a couple times.

No perfume. If you cook smelly stuff, do it far away from camp.

Many threads with advice about bears.

Risk of bear attack is minimal. Take whatever precautions are warranted, then don't worry about it.

I wouldn't worry about speakers or a bear bell. I used to take a bear bell along, but now, even in heavily populated grizzly country I just make sure to call out ever now and then when I'm in dense brush, following a bear trail, or see bear sign. It's worked effectively so far, as I'm still alive ;)

If you want a little added security you can always clip your cup/mug onto your backpack with a small carabiner. It performs essentially the same function as a bear bell.

Cheers…

If you're looking for something to use while just lounging in camp you probably already have it in your pack. I saw this post a few months back and it made a lot of sense to me! I haven't tried it out personally yet, but will be shortly next time I can get out. The past couple of times I've been out I've been too tired to listen to music and have just passed out.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=50035

If you're looking for party tunes, you can't do better than a Minirig. Made in Britain by a small cottage manufacturer, weighs about a pound, has a 60 hour battery life (!) and sounds quite good (and loud).
Not UL by any means and probably doesn't square with many people's ideas of what should properly be done in the woods, but there you have it. To each his own.

"Ideally I'd like them to be loud enough to listen to while hiking in glacier/montana. I'm not a huge fan of this idea, but I am also not excited about the idea of surprising a bear!"

If it is going to be loud enough to alert a bear, it may loud enough to keep You from hearing a bear.

… and I don't think anyone around you will be a huge fan either. (IMHO)

[Unless, of course, you are playing Vivaldi's Cello Concertos]

Headphones in a cup (SP 450 for me) works great and sounds good, you can also put your phone in the pot as illustated above. There are acoustic amplifiers made of lighweight plastic you can buy "acoustic" amplifers, there are probably some that are no more than one ounce.

The best speaker I've used this way is a pelican typle box that is flat and sized for an iPhone. When you put the phone in it laying on its side about 2/3 of the in, lid open, it gets quite loud and sounds quite clear. My favorite beach boom box, as I always bring the case with my phone.

When I'm worried about surprising wildlife, I sing!

45 70 marlin guide gun. Problem solved.

Fire off a few shots before you hit the trail and they'll smell you coming way before they hear you. Fear is what they smell so take anything that helps you feel confident even if it is a tiny speaker.

Even if you don't carry you should carry a few spent casings so they smell you coming as a scary hunter not a smelly hippy.

The idea that you can sneak up on a bear is absurd. It is either crazy or unhealthy or way way too comfortable around people if you actually get this close to one. Carry a 45 70 guide gun in grizzly country. Good luck out there.

I repeat, if you "startle" or "accidentally sneak up" on a bear it should be considered an unpredictable creature. They know you are there and never assume they don't. Unpredictable behavior means you are seriously threatened.

I made my 3rd trip to court yesterday as a witness. The person I was hiking with was cited for a concealed weapon. It was in his backpack while he was in the water.
A little silly all the way around.
Some folks are afraid of the wilderness and feel they need protection when none is warranted. Others faint at the site of a gun.
There are very few places where one needs such protection.
Keep a clean camp, don't wear perfume, call out when entering blind spots. No speakers, no guns. If you really need that junk, go somewhere else. Give the bears some space.

Again you have no protection from an unpredictable bear without a 45 70.

Biologists put them down, tag them, etc etc.

These bears are a threat even in the most remote locations. The Bears that have been doped twice in their life with powerful tranquilizing agents or are suffering from starvation due to destruction of habitat etc are dangerous.

Enjoy being pragmatic but the truth is there are bears threatened by man out there that pose a threat to man as unpredictable not natural behaving creatures and I won't hesitate to defend myself.

Carrying a rifle is not a concealed weapon get your facts straight.

I urge everyone to hire a guide if they believe grizzlies are a significant threat in the area.

I carry a backup USB power source that charges all my electrical devices down to my flashlight even.

They make devices such as this that include a tiny speaker which is actually very powerful.

"The idea that you can sneak up on a bear is absurd. It is either crazy or unhealthy or way way too comfortable around people if you actually get this close to one."

I've snuck up on black bears a couple times

Once, I saw this out-of-place black dot in a meadow so I walked over to it using a route that was behind a ridge from it and then peaked over the ridge, took a couple pictures, and walked back. It never saw me. Later it "snuck up" on my camp 30 feet from me and scared me shitless. As soon as it saw me it ran away.

Another time I was walking up one ridge, the black bear another ridge, above the two ridges joined. After I saw it, I just walked on the side of the ridge away from the bear and continued up, occasionally going to the ridge peaking over to see where it was.

Black bears on Mt Hood are not comfortable around people, they run away when they see people, usually before the people see the bear. You have to be lucky to spot one.

Black bears do not get much over 250lbs typically and a maximum of 400.

You can kick or roll a black bear off you. They are not to be feared. In fact in the most visited national park in the nation (smokies) the black bears have only killed one person in a hundred or so years.

The only way to even get charged by a black bear is to be dumb enough to step between a mother and her cubs.

Completely different than a 6 inch THICK bone plated skull of a grizzly looking at you after its been brain scrambled by biologists too many times with dope.

Future newspaper headline:

"Stupid hikers Jerry and Troy mauled by black bear" : )

Lol I agree even the one shot you get is most likely not going to save your life if truly charged by a grizzly.

If you even have time to raise the rifle and hit the bear you're most likely going to be mauled anyway.

My close family friend is a bear guide in Kodiak Alaska for what it's worth he has been mauled 3 times and lived. He hit one of them 5 times and was still mauled nearly to death in fact.

He now carries a 45 70 and very very large rounds capable of punching through 6 inch thick bone plate at an angle.

Get a guide in grizzly country because 9/10 times someone else has to shoot the bear off of you. You need to know what a feign charge is and have safety in numbers.

All three bears that mauled him had been tagged and doped in their lives. He sees hundreds of bears a year and trust me the ones that got him were unpredictable not natural acting grizzlies.

If you don't know what you're doing get a guide that deals with dozens of bears, knows the bears in their area, and knows which one to look out for.

Using your built in speakers in a mug does amplify sound, but it also drains your battery more quickly. We could debate the pros and cons of additional external batteries vs external speaker. I defer to the speaker.

There are a lot of cheap ones available from China. These don't qualify as "best" but they are cheap, if it breaks you aren't out a lot of money. These will get loud enough to disturb other hikers, so I am advising you consider courtesy.

http://dx.com/p/mini-bluetooth-v2-0-speaker-w-battert-tf-card-slot-radio-green-292995#.Uxnpd4WTK_4

There are slightly lighter and slightly cheaper ones, I use this one for the following reasons
* Lighter than many at 164g.
* Has a TF (aka Micro USB) card reader; I can load up a $5 memory card; this will allow me to play music without using my phone's batery life.
* Bluetooth connection allows me to use the phone for music without using power to drive the speaker.
* Cheap replaceable lithum battery with 500 mAh capacity; long life
* Hideously bright color makes it hard to lose.

http://www.google.com/weeklyads/lsf?q=808+mini+speaker&scd=2088&offer_id=15125026673134058972&customer_id=7933&catalog_id=14351139102990553681

I have this speaker and love it. Its small and it beats! 808 no doubt!

To BPL standards ..a little heavy (~4oz?). A ti cup works great and that what i use on the trail, but around the house and on short group-hikes i take this.

This thing is heavyish because of the built in battery and its one big speaker so there is a magnet involved (at least thats the way they used to be) so at least the weight Is working for you. This little thing will vibrate the couch!

There are surely lighter options, but this one is cheap, performs well, and actually worth owning…. And is pretty packable

EDIT:

I just want to add that I have my 808 speaker and my Goal 0 speaker linked and I can't even tell my Goal 0 is on. I have to put my ear to it. The 808 is Killing it!

I would get one that has a pass through so you can use it while charging as well as an output switch so it can be used as a backup battery.

The pass through is a nice feature if you get a solar or Peltier charger like the flamestower.

You're not a biologist. Get your facts straight.