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Voltaic Solar Panel Backpack | 
| Brand: Voltaic
Category: Apparel
Department: unisex-adult
List Price: $249.00
Buy New: $200.00 - $219.00
as of 3/20/2010 01:23 CDT details
You Save: $30.00 (12%)
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Rating: 11 reviews
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 15 x 10 x 20
MPN: 1001
Model: 1001
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| Features:
| • | High density padding in the shoulder straps and back panel for comfort | | • | Nylon mesh backing material for better air flow | | • | The solar panels provide protection for fragile items inside the front pocket | | • | Wire channels throughout the bag take power to the shoulder strap and for headphones etc. | | • | Adjustable phone / MP3 pouch on the shoulder |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Second lined MP3 / sunglasses pouch inside, Optional clip in padded laptop sleeves, Bladder pouch and channels to run the tube to the shoulder strap, Includes a 2,200mAh Li-Ion battery pack with 3 voltage settings to store solar power, When not in the sun, the battery can be charged using the AC travel charger or DC car charger, Comes with 11 standard adaptors including a car charger socket and USB adaptor so you can always use a standard charger for your device, Includes adaptor plugs in universal sizes for common cell phones, which eliminate the need to use a car charger for common devices, The three solar panels are tough, light weight, waterproof, and generate up to 4 watts of power. The Voltaic Backpack is built tough for use as a weekend hike bag or as a large daypack. There are pockets and wire channels for multiple electronic devices and 1,850 cubic inches of storage space.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
Excellent Product and Amazing Customer Service July 10, 2009
K. Connell
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've had this backpack for one year and it has worked as promised. A total work horse of a bag as I carry it everywhere with me through the streets of NYC. The zipper broke - just a bit of it - and I emailed Voltaic and they responded within minutes. They offered several options to repair my backpack. They gave me a new backpack using my old hardware. I paid for the shipping to them but they send it back for free.
Their customer service was incredible. They truly wanted me to be using my new backpack as soon as possible. I cannot say enough about their product or their customer service.
 So over priced!!! April 29, 2009
J.E. (BOULDER, CO USA)
1 out of 20 found this review helpful
I was listening to NPR last weekend and heard a story about a couple of guy who made their own solar charging backpack for far less than the price of this thing. My suggestion: buy your own parts and make it yourself using your own backpack.
Excellent item August 4, 2008
Andrea J. Fogt
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
This was purchased for a science club at an elementary school. It is going to be used to show the benefits and uses of solar energy. This is a great product.
Great bag, incredible customer service. July 1, 2008
Adam Houston (St. Louis, MO)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just received this bag as a gift, and I'm thrilled. I can't wait to put it through its paces. I have to say, too, that Voltaic is phenomenal when it comes to customer service. I had a few questions as far as adapters, accessories, and compatibility with the bag, so I sent an email. Not even 10 minutes later I received a PERSONALIZED (happy birthday message and all) email with helpful answers to all my questions, including a link to buy a compatible car charger for my camera battery since Voltaic doesn't sell a custom adapter for that particular model. I highly recommend the bag, and the company.
Slightly underwhelmed, but satisfied anyway. February 9, 2008
D. Stein (Buffalo, NY USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
There were a few things that convinced me to go with this backpack when I was researching a replacement for my excellent, but very tired, laptop briefcase. First among them were the overwhelmingly positive reviews, which after receiving my own backpack, seem to be well founded. The build quality appears to be top notch and I imagine that this backpack will easily exceed my old briefcase in longevity. The second issue for me is that the fabric is made of recycled plastic bottles and it is claimed to be water resistant. I like the fact that what is often considered to be a waste product was used to construct this backpack. Where I live there is a mandatory deposit on some, but not all, plastic bottles. And I know that there isn't any sort of coodinated effort for recycling these things in some parts of the country. I haven't been able to determine the country in which this backpack in manufactured, but I like to hope that it's actually made in the USA under non-sweatshop conditions. Finally, the most obvious item on the checklist is the ability to charge small consumer electronic devices using a small battery pack. The preferred scenario is charging this battery using the three external photo voltaic solar panels.
The ability to charge using available sunlight works quite a bit better than I had imagined it would. From the reading that I've done here and elsewhere about solar charging in general, I thought that I would have to wait until at least May before I would be able to get enough available sunlight to really do anything. I live in upstate New York where for most of the year not only are the daylight hours short, but the days are typically overcast. As I write this review the backpack is facing toward a window that itself faces north and even on this overcast day (big surprise) I'm getting a charge. Very impressive. I might be a little unique in this regard, but this backpack actually makes me want to walk or bike someplace instead of driving just so I can get a little time outside for even better charging. It's similar to how my Toyota Prius radically altered the way I drive (for the better) just because I'm always looking to top my "high score" in MPG. If this backpack had some similar meter or mechanism indicating just how much juice was being generated at the moment and over time, I would probably drive only when absolutely necessary.
Unfortunately not everything is spectacular with this backpack. First off, this backpack is somehow much smaller than I had envisioned. This is likely a shortcoming of my own, but if there were pictures of various real life items packed within, or even sitting next to, the backpack then I would probably have had a better idea as to how my own devices would fit inside. I'm slightly let down that I'm really not getting any more usable space than I have had with my briefcase. I'm an IT professional and as such I tend to carry an inordinate amount of cables, adapters, and various bits of gadgetry. Couple that with the fact that I also tend to carry numerous magazines, reference books, and whatever else I happen to need at the time... well there just isn't much room left to spare. With a one item carry-on limit with most airlines, traveling really turns into the art of the possible. If you're someone who likes to carry a ton of stuff with you, particularly when flying, then you may want to take this issue into consideration.
I also purchased the optional laptop sleeve that goes along with this backpack. I can't even believe this, but I still have not figured out how to use this laptop sleeve as it is advertised by the manufacturer. The idea is that you're supposed to hook the sleeve onto upper part of the backpack so that if dropped, the backpack will impact first and your very expensive laptop will absorb far less of that impact. Well I don't know if they forgot to sew on some clips or straps, but the loops on the sleeve don't appear to have anything to attach to. So it just sits in there, which I could just as easily have done with the much nicer and more protective sleeve that my XPS M1530 came with. While on the topic of the sleeve, that 15" laptop fits in the "oversized" size of the sleeve like a glove. I nearly purchased one size down, which called something along the lines of "full sized". So keep that in mind as well when making an estimation regarding your laptop size.
All in all I feel that this is an excellent backpack which lives up to the marketing. It's got great build quality, is very comfortable, holds a fair amount of things, and will charge your small consumer electronics when you're holding a plug and there's no wall socket in sight. My beef about the lack of storage capacity is likely out of the norm for the target audience.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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