I want a small, light phone for backpacking. Minimal functionality – ideally just phone calls and text. Needs to work in Europe and have a battery that could last a week without charge. Someone mentioned a Motorola F3 but apparently it has an interface from hell. Anyone got any practical experience of anything?

nokia 100

nokia 100 should do it. remember though that if you are backpacking miles away from the nearest mast then your battery will run down faster as the phone ups the power to try and talk to the mast.

Galaxy note

Our old black and white/elderly colour nokia’s at work all seem to do a week+ and cost £5-10 each.

samsung solid immerse mine lasts 7 days on a single charge and its waterproof

Smamsung solid immerse
A tough, no nonsense candybar phone for clumsy people – but short on features

TechRadar rating:

A rugged phone with a weak battery performance and painful performances from its camera and connectivity

Like: Tough and solid; Good keypad; Built-in torch; FM radio; Twitter and Facebook possible at a pinch; Cheap price tag

Dislike: Seems to suffer from poor battery life; Web browser is poor; 3G but not HSDPA; No Wi-Fi; Camera is poor;

Don’t get a touchscreen as that will kill the battery.

Samsung E1080i

Any basic modern Nokia. My old 6610i lasted 10 days if I didn’t use it much

Nooks C1.

I have a basic pay as you go Nokia for biking. Can’t remember the last time I charged it. Perfect for the job.

Oh, and avoid touch screens.

One of these, plus you can eat it if you get a bit peckish 😉

Get an old style Nokia (62 series), and keep it switched off – should last a couple of months that way 🙂 And take a spare charged battery with you.

basic Nokia will last a week and cost a tenner

The good old Nokia 6210 or 6310. They go on and on. Even survive being dropped in a pint.

So it’s a Nokia P iGeon then. Featuring double-Wing (TM) technology, Beak-tooth, and Shatomatic rear charging point. I’ll go catch one.
Thanks folks 😉

Standby on this is 648 hours. For £9

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORANGE-SAMSUNG-E1170-BLACK-MOBILE-PHONE-/350575922042?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones&hash=item519ff40b7a

Standby on this is 648 hours. For £9

I have one of those. Not an exaggeration on the standby time – IIRC it was over a month before I had to recharge it after the first charge (it’s a bit shorter now it’s a year old, but that may be because I use it a little more, still well over a week). Has also survived unprotected in my (sweaty) bike jersey pockets.

Nokia C2-01.