Testing
For our testing we put the Powerbag through its paces by taking it to one of the largest trade shows in the world, CES. For journalists covering the event, it is a grueling week of hiking through the 2 million square feet of exhibition space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. On the show floor you find yourself constantly rooting through your bag to pull out business cards, store a press kit, or swap out a lens for your camera. As you can imagine a good bag, in addition to comfy shoes, is a must have for covering CES.
Carrying Capacity
On any given day during the show, the Powerbag held a netbook with charger, a HP Touchpad tablet with charger and Bluetooth keyboard, a Nikon D90 with lenses in a separate camera case (the camera case went inside of the Powerbag), a jacket, and enough press kits to choke a horse. On top of all this, there was still room for a 15″ laptop if I so desired. Carrying capacity was not an issue with the Powerbag. I was able to load myself down like a pack mule and not feel like I was going to rip a seam or split a zipper.
Comfort
I think it goes without saying that comfort is one of, if not the most important factor when selecting a backpack. This is something that will be strapped to your person for extended periods of time, you don’t want it digging into your shoulders or chaffing your skin.
The straps on the Powerbag are padded with a mesh liner. This will help air flow easier and allow better adhesion to your shirt, so the bag stays in place and doesn’t slip off your shoulders. The cross strap also helps keep the straps on your shoulders and helps alleviate some of the stress. One thing that was included, that I find missing in many other bags, is padding on the area that rests on your back. Many other backpacks that have laptop compartments don’t have this and it can get quite uncomfortable having a large, flat, rigid laptop pressed up against your back. The back padding helps with that a lot.
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| Back padding really helps |
Electronics Performance
The electronics inside the Powerbag are what set it apart from your run of the mill JanSport school backpack. The standard battery is enough to charge most smart phones from zero battery to full 2 times. To put that in perspective, the included 3000 mAh battery will charge a tablet like the HP Touchpad or iPad 2 to about 50% charge.
Operation of the Powerbag is done by plugging in a device and then holding down the power button on the front of the bag. The same button can be briefly pressed to display the current battery level on the front of the bag. The Powerbag is intelligent enough to automatically switch itself off when it senses that there is no longer a load on the line. This prevents the bag from draining when not in use.
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The time it takes to charge devices is comparable to what it would be if you plugged the device into a standard computer USB port. There are some exceptions where it will charge faster though. The iPad and others like it are able to draw the full 1A that it needs to charge at max speed, while some tablets like the Galaxy Tab and HP Touchpad are unable to charge at max speed. In the latter instance the devices may complain about insufficient current for charging, but they will still charge, albeit at a reduced speed. I talked to Powerbag while at CES and they told me that an adapter is in the works for these kind of devices, as the battery itself is able to output at 2.1A max.
Conclusion
The Powerbag Backpack was able to survive the week of CES with no problems. I can think of at least 3 separate instances where other journalists covering the show needed to use the bag to charge their devices while we were waiting for an event. That just shows you how useful something like this is. The price of the bag, at about $140, is quite reasonable considering what you’re getting. A replacement 3000 mAh battery will set you back about $40, while a 6000 mAh and 9000 mAh will set you back $50 and $60 respectively. The design of the bag is quite good (besides the omissions I mentioned) and it is comfortable, which is very important. If you do a lot of traveling or find yourself away from a charger longer than you would like, then the Powerbag Backpack would make a great addition to your travels.
Pros
- Large capacity
- Good routing of charging cables
- Comfortable
Cons
- No side water bottle holder
- Bottom may allow pooling of water inside the bag
I want know the price of the bag and where came from? Thanks.