Thanks for the helpful responses everyone. I've used MP3 players that run on AAAs in the past, it's a great solution, but I want my ipod this hike. It's loaded with 100gigs of music that I really like, I don't want to have to scrimp down to a tenth of that.

I think that I'll go the way of an external battery source, seems better than solar. Any other recommendations on models?

I've used both the Sonnet Volta (http://www.sonnettech.com/product/volta.html) and the Kensington Mini Battery Pack (http://us.kensington.com/html/17611.html). The Sonnet Volta weighs 3.5 oz. and the Kensington weighs 1.5 oz. Although it's twice the weight, I'd recommend the Volta because of the amount of power it can store.

I've watched videos on my iPhone with the Sonnet on long overseas flights and have never ran out of juice.

Preston

I have a Suntrica SolarStrap and they just came out with a SolarStrap specifically for the iPhone/ iPod. I'm happy with it, its light at 68 g (iirc) and works fine on the trail. You also can use it as a battery and leave with it fully charged from home and then just connect to reload your iPod.