[pct-l] MP3 Players

[Barry Teschlog]

I carried a SanDisk / Sansa M250 2GB on my 2006 thru hike and was very pleased with it.  Its a flash unit that plays MP3 and WMA format.  It also has a voice recorder and FM radio.  A single alkaline AAA would last ~15 hours or so (I never tried lithiums, but suspect they'd last quite a bit longer, plus are lighter).  Since my headlight also used AAA's, in town, I'd replace the slightly used batteries from the headlight and use them for the MP3 player (reduce, reuse, recycle.....).  AAA's are cheap, light and available anywhere.  
The Sansa is easy to load, runs at various quallity / bit rates, so you can trade slightly lower quality for a lot more hours of music if you choose, was reasonably cheap and most importantly, had the standard size replacable battery.  At the rate I listened to music, it would take me about a week or 10 days to run through everything I had.
 
Sadly, it looks like this model is no longer made / available new.  Check e-bay.
Unlike the I-Pod folks, I didn't have to worry about futzing around with a heavy (compared to a couple extra AAA's), bulky, and (for some people) finicky and somewhat unreliable Solio charger.  Of course, the san disk doesn't have the cachet of a Pod.....so...function vs form - each person needs to find the balance that works best for them.
My 2 cents:  If you're looking for a hiking MP3 player (that is, one for either longer sections or thru hiking compared to an overnighter), stay away from something that needs to be charged.  For the weight of a Solio a person could carry at least a dozen spare batteries.  YMMV, HYOH, yadda, yadda, yadda.........