I kinda have a thing for bags. I know exactly what I want from them, but it’s so hard to find one that does everything a gadget-hauling nerd like me could wish for. But if I ever get to design my own backpack someday, it’s going to look an awful lot like the Powerbag.
Right off the bat, it dazzles by offering an ingeniously designed, built-in charging system. That’s right, a battery is built into the actual backpack, and it’s just awesome to use. Inside a small pouch on the side are built-in micro USB, mini USB, and 30-pin Apple cords—just tuck your device in there, press the power button on the backpack for two seconds, and the 3000mAh battery starts pumping juice into your device. There’s even a light-up power indicator on the backpack that briefly shows how much charge is left in your battery, as well as a tablet pouch in the medium exterior pocket that’s perfect for an iPad—complete with loops that let you run a charging cord to the battery’s USB port.
Hidden power lurks inside this bag…for your iDevices and more!
When it’s time to charge up your battery, the outside of the backpack has a power port for the included AC cord, so you just plug in your backpack overnight and away she goes. (If your devices are connected inside the bag, they’ll charge first.) You can also easily snap the battery out of its casing and charge it separately if you can’t leave your bag just lying around.
Looking at this well-built backpack, you’d never know it was packed with power. Its clean, modern lines make it unobtrusively fashionable, and everything is well padded, extremely comfortable, and sturdily constructed. It’s one seriously well-built bag.
There’s one caveat—the entry-level backpack that we reviewed is a bit short on interior pouches, and it could really use an exterior “quick grab” pouch for things you don’t want to rummage for, like subway tickets. Fortunately, you can get those things by spending another $30 on the “deluxe” model of this backpack (not tested), which includes a 6000mAh battery as well. Also, because MacBooks only charge via a MagSafe connection—and Apple sues companies that use its patented MagSafe connectors—you can’t charge your MacBook with this bag. (Hypermac.com sells an interesting workaround, if you’re interested.)
The bottom line. A cleverly designed, well-made backpack that’ll charge up to four devices at once? Yes, please!
Powerbag
iDevice or USB-chargeable device that you want to carry around and charge.
Ingenious, built-in battery and charging cables. Cool charging light. Well-designed and well-built backpack.
Needs a few more interior pouches and a “quick grab” exterior pocket. Can’t charge MacBooks (Apple’s “fault”).
Bseagull
October 25, 2011 at 2:45pm
Tehy really should work something out with apple to make a generic magsafe port or allowed to use it. Or they could just throw in a regular wall plug in there ad then you can charge your macbooks through there. Cool though! Would Buy it if it had a wall plug port and was less expensive.
