June 2023 Meili Trials: Lofoten Archipelago & the Arctic Circle

Lofoten Field Trip, June 2023

We flew with the Meili team from London to Oslo, transferred to an internal flight to Narvik (an old military airfield located within the artic circle), picked up a 4x4 then set out on a 5 hour / 340km drive down the spectacular Lofoten archipelago, 160 km inside the artic circle.

Hard to describe the vistas that the route affords: mountains rising straight from the sea to the sky on all sides, winding, spectacular lonely roads crossing sky blue inlets and fjords as we journeyed to our basecamp for testing: Reine.

During the summer months the sun does not set in the artic circle: over 10 days we experienced 240 hours of uninterrupted sunlight as a freak warm bubble of air settled over the artic circle.

*Reine, Lofoten, Norway under a midnight sun.

Reine must be one of the beautiful locations on earth: nestled on a group of islands, lined by narrow road bridges, this traditional Norwegian fishing village of stilted red houses, is surrounded on all sides by jagged towering peaks that rise from the inlet to the sky.

*Reine, Lofoten, Norway.

The hike from the road above Reine to the top of Reinebringen is made up of 1566 stone steps rising 900 metres to the summit. But it's worth it, for the view from the top over Reine and its islands and inlets. We clipped on and ventured out, the Meilis still running on their original charge from our offices in Oxford, England.

*The summit of Reinebringen

Then over the next 10 days from Reine we set out on mini expeditions, driving to the end of the surfaced roads, then to the end of the unsurfaced roads before hauling our backpacks all day through valleys to remote bays (like Kalvika) on the north shores of the archipelago.

Lofoten is one of the world's most remote, but most spectacular adventure playgrounds, how would they fare here in the far north, within the artic circle?

And 10 days later?

The Meilis worked perfectly, reporting our locations all week on a single charge, long after our phones had run out of juice!  This was the point, yes, you can take £1000+ iPhones along with you.

But good luck keeping them charged for days on end. Even with several mobile battery banks and mini solar panels we were out of charge within 36 hours.

Our concept: keep your phone in airplane mode, use it for photos and videos, but let the Meilis do the hard work, tracking your route, reporting your location, keeping you connected so that if the need arises, maybe the phone can be turned on and used as an emergency comms device. And if's it out of charge? Don't stress, hit the FindMe/SOS button on the Meili.

And by making the Meilis available for under £80/€90 each it's possible and realistic to provide one to everyone in your group. 

Next up: The Alps and Chamonix, October 2023.