The DC Traveler

I’m amazed at how reliant I’ve become on portable electronic devices. I can no longer leave the house without my cell phone and digital camera. I won’t get into my car without my GPS device. And I never travel without my laptop.

Yet some of my more tech-savvy friends, think I’m a tech dinosaur, as I don’t carry an iPhone or have a neon-glowing Bluetooth device implanted in my ear 24/7.

But even admitting to being a generation (or perhaps two) behind in the tech curve, doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated when my device’s batteries die, especially when I’m not near a convenient power source.

So I decided to investigate a product I saw at a travel show - the solar-powered backpack.

The solar powered backpack incorporates lightweight solar panels and a small battery into a backpack. The energy is created from sunlight, indoor lighting or traditional sources and then stored in a battery. The power is enough to charge most small handheld devices such as cell phones, PDAs and GPS units by simply plugging your device into the backpack’s battery.

Besides having virtually unlimited power from the sun, the backpack is perfect for finding power and staying connected during a power outage, or if you lose your device’s power cord or forget it on a trip.

So I contacted a couple leading vendors and requested samples to compare. The first I received was the V-Dimensions Helius Solar Backpack on the left ($129). The second (right) was the Voltaic Backpack ($249).

I must admit, I was rather impressed with both. “Cool” is a word that comes to mind. So much for being a tech dinosaur.

I regularly carry a backpack when I travel and tend to be fairly rough on them. And both of these backpacks looked well-made and rugged.

Size, Construction, Design & Storage - Both backpacks are approximately the same size, around 19″x13″x9″ (the Voltaic is slightly larger). Both are the perfect size for traveling, with enough room for a laptop, camera, phone, a couple books and more.

Both weigh about the same - under 4 lbs., so the added technology is barely noticeable. The Voltaic boasts three external 7″x3″ solar panels generating what looks like about twice the power, versus the Helius’ single 5″x4″ solar panel.

The Voltaic’s shell uses a water-resistant fabric made from recycled PET plastic soda bottles, making it even more green. The Helius is made from durable nylon. And both bags are only available in black.

The features of both bags are very good, with nicely padded back and adjustable shoulder straps, a nice black rubber handle (Helius) versus a somewhat small nylon web top handle (Voltaic). Both use double-stitched seams and good-quality zippers (Voltaic’s are rubber coated). Both also have adjustable waist bands.

Inside each backpack are two main compartments, the larger one incorporates a deep laptop pouch. Both have a few external pouches and pockets. The Voltaic has three smaller external side pouches and the Helius provides four, with two extras mesh pockets for water bottles.

While both have a smartly designed pocket on the shoulder strap to keep a phone or iPod handy, the Voltaic designed their’s to be size adjustable so it will fit larger devices (such as the iPhone), and added a power cord next to the pocket as well.

The Helius has four internal pockets for coins, accessories and 6 slotted internal pouches, big enough to hold a passport, tickets, and more. The key ring clip and multi-pen slots are also a nice addition.

The Voltaic provides eight internal pockets, five various sized zippered (one is lined with soft fabric for storing a watch, jewelry or other items you don’t want to get scratched), plus three 3 elastic pouches.

I’ll call this one even, as the Voltaic could use the addition of a key ring clip, internal Passport/ticket slot and a more comfortable handle. While the Helius needs a larger shoulder strap mounted device pocket and an internal pocket to hold the battery.

So let’s get to the important parts of this backpack…

READ MORE AND SEE WHICH BAG CAME OUT ON TOP ->

The Battery - To fully charge either battery, you need about six to ten hours of bright sunlight or strong inside lighting. Both can also be charged using a wall outlet or a PC’s USB port in less time. The Voltaic also includes a car charger adapter, which is a very useful addition.

The Voltiac’s battery (on left) can also be easily removed to take along with out the bag using it’s convenient belt-clip or replaced if it every fails. You could also order a second battery ($75) if you need to have a battery on standby for extra charging power.

The advantages to a removable battery is you can remove it to charge it using AC and still use the backpack, or take the battery with you as a stand-alone device, leaving the backpack at home.

The Voltaic battery also incorporates a surprisingly bright built-in LED flashlight.

The Helius battery is hard wired, so it can’t be removed. The battery also sits in the main compartment of the bag, with no ability to move it into a pocket to keep it secure or out of the way.

Due to the battery design, the advantage goes to Voltaic.

Charging the Battery - Both bags arrived charged, but I set each in a sunny window for several hours to make sure they were topped off.

My tests included charging the bags using both solar and USB power sources, then recharging a couple devices, so please don’t consider this a scientific test.

Both backpacks allow you to keep the pack fully zipped while using a connected device. To connect a device to the battery, the Helius has a cord port on the front where you can feed the power cord, while the Voltaic has conveniently placed one connector on the shoulder strap, so it’s easy to reach while being worn. You can also plug the device into the battery inside the bag, due to the battery’s power in & out jacks.

The Voltaic provides a straight-forward charge indicator on the battery (red, yellow, green) showing how much charge is left and if it is charging. The battery pack also had three power output settings, 3.5, 5.0, and 7.2 volts. A red light on the outside of the bag also lets you know when the solar panels are charging.

The Helius internal adapter charges at 5.0 volts only and has a three less straight-forward indicator light system.

I also tested both backpack’s charging capability on a couple very dark, stormy days, and surprisingly, both did charge with virtually no sunlight.

The battery indicators and power settings gives the Voltaic the advantage in this category.

Charging Devices - V-Dimension’s Helius states that it will charge a typical cell phone, iPod or GPS device with a dead battery to a full charge in about 3½ hours. An iPhone, about double the time.

The Voltaic lists phone recharge times at 4-6 hours, and iPods in 5-6 hours.

With so many devices and types of batteries, it’s hard to state specific times, but I found the manufacturer’s estimates conservative.

I first tested both backpacks on my Garman GPS device and it charged it in just a couple hours. The next test was to charge my completely discharged cell phone.

The Voltaic charged the phone quickly, resulting in the phone’s “charge complete” icon to display in under an hour.

The Helius charged my phone to more than half power in only 15 minutes, but the indicator showed the backpack was fully depleted.

Once the battery charge level of either unit is low, your device will probably draw juice faster than it can be replenished, but they do provide a critical quick charge to get you a couple more calls.

I was also able to use my phone and GPS during the charging process, as long as the pack has some juice left.

Big advantage to the Voltaic backpack for its faster and stronger charging.

Adapters and Accessories - Both backpacks came with a bag of phone adapters and chargers, including a USB power adapter and an AC wall adapter for plugging into the “grid”. The Voltaic also included a very useful car charger. The adapters are compatible with many popular devices including the iPod and iPhone, devices that use a mini-USB, as well as many leading brand cell phones. The list of devices supported by the Voltaic was longer and included more manufacturers, adapters for the UK and European power grid, as well as offering add-on adapters ($20) for some popular Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and Kodak digital cameras.

Additional adapters can be ordered online for under $5 each from both manufacturers.

The Voltaic also offers a 3-liter water bladder for hikers, and replaceable battery pack and solar panels.

Advantage Voltiac, the standard list of accessories is longer and the add-on options make it more versatile.

Green Factor - Both get high marks, with an advantage going to Voltaic, as the fabric used is made from recycled plastic bottles. The fabric used in their backpack reduces the number of bottles that end up in a landfill by about 6, probably a similar amount of plastic needed to include the extra accessories. And the cost of the fabric is significantly higher than standard nylon, so a pat on the back of Voltaic for making the tough choice.

Cost and Sourcing - The Helius is available online from V-Dimensions for $129.95 and other retailers, including Amazon for $119.99 (use the link below).

The Voltiac is available online for $249, and at select retailers, bit none in the Washington, DC area yet. One online retailer’s price I found was $219.

Warranty - Both backpacks come with a one-year defect warranty.

Overall Scores

The Helius Solar Backpack by V-Dimensions gets a solid 4 out of 5. The main advantages is lower cost (by about $120) and good charging capabilities. Some additional user-friendly features, a removable battery and more device adapters would help add to its score.

The Voltiac Backpack scores a 4.7 out of 5, due mostly to it’s faster/more powerful charging and slightly better design. Other advantages include additional included accessories and more optional add-on adapters (camera battery chargers, foreign power adapters), all which expands it’s consumer friendliness. The only downside — cost, it’s almost double the price of the Helius, but when you really need warp power…..

Both manufacturers offer messenger bags and business/laptop cases as well.

And for a couple other solar-powered devices, check out the Geeky Traveller for a solar powered MP3 player, and the new solar charger bra (bra?) at The Gadget Blog.

Images - Nano, iPhone and BlackBerry, packs - courtesy of V-Dimensions and Voltiac - all other images from personal collection - ©2008, Jon Rochetti _______________________________________________

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